Monday, June 22, 2009

Metro Train Crash: Cracks in The Facade?

Washington DC. Metro train crash today, at least 6 dead. Sad, but no surprise. Safety seems to be the last thing on Metro's list of priorities. To venture into the Metro system is to take one's life in one's hands (as well as one's health and sanity, but that's another story). A few months ago, my fingers were caught between two closing Metro system elevator doors (at Gallery Place). I had to ride all the way up to the upper level screaming with my fingers squashed with immense force between the two doors, and wait what seemed an eternity for the elevator doors to open, before I could extract them. The station manager, after blaming me for allowing my hand to be so trapped, said she would file a report. Somehow, I doubt that she ever did. I would have filed one myself, were it not for the fact that my numerous safety (and other) complaints have been substantially and conspicuously ignored and unresponded-to for years by Metro management. I feel fortunate that my fingers were not broken. To me, the ultimate irony is that Metro's (that is, WMATA's) Board of Directors is chaired by a man whom I consider to be one of the top crooks in the region, that assessment being based on my personal experience with him, which is, again, another story. Some people go to law school in a quest to serve humanity, many in a quest for fame and/or fortune; and then there are those who go to law school to learn how to be crooks (or could it be that power corrupts, and that having gained power, corruption is simply the next logical step, and a convenient one, as their presumed legal know-how gives them an inside track on knowing what they can get away with, how to do so, how to cover their tracks, how to discredit and destroy their adversaries, and how to preserve their oh-so sterling reputations via smoke and mirrors?). Perhaps one day soon, the Internet explosion will change all that, and the Emperor and his nefarious dignitaries will be seen to truly wear no clothes. Meanwhile, maybe I'll lay off Metro for awhile; when I wanted to catch a bus last month, I checked their web site for the schedule, and found a blank page; not just for that route, but for ALL the routes. I checked it again a minute ago . . . same result. Uh, is anybody home? Is it any wonder that trains are crashing?! Maybe everyone, including the drivers, were on their lunch hour? These trains are supposed to be computer controlled, with the driver only there to take over in case the computers fail or need some help. Most crashes involve human error or inattention . . . we'll see.

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