goldberry Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/12/world/americas/canada-runaway-train/index.html?hpt=hp_c2 This incident was horrifying and someone at the train company was clearly negligent. I'm just a little shocked though, at the anger being directed at the CEO personally. They are calling him a murderer, throwing rocks at him, etc. I could understand it if it came out there was a big cover-up, the negligent employee had a bad record that was never handled (altthough that might not even have made it to the CEO). But it's early yet and the truth hasn't even come out. It seems like the whole town is blaming this man personally. I dont' really understand the reasoning. ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I would suggest that not having a high profile company representative on the scene the second it was at all possible was a mistake. I would further suggest that it's a bit galling to whine about unfair treatment given the magnitude of the disaster to the residents of Lac-Megantic. I can't begin to imagine what they're going through. It's so much to process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabinfl Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Grief will do strange things to people. In my EMT training (many years ago), one of the simulated scenarios involved a woman jumping onto the gurney carrying her husband, while we were trying to resussitate him. Everyone in class thought it was a bit ridiculous, but sure enough I ran into very similar situations on real calls -- family members would try to pull us away from the person we were trying to treat, refuse to let us put their kid into the ambulance, all kinds of wacky stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Several of the comments below the linked article allude to Brit. vs. French tensions. Would any Canadians care to enlighten me on what that has to do with this incident? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Several of the comments below the linked article allude to Brit. vs. French tensions. Would any Canadians care to enlighten me on what that has to do with this incident? probably more the tension between English speaking Canadians vs quebecois (French speaking). there's a fairly strong movement in quebec to succeed from the rest of Canada. they just haven't yet managed to get the votes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/12/world/americas/canada-runaway-train/index.html?hpt=hp_c2 This incident was horrifying and someone at the train company was clearly negligent. I'm just a little shocked though, at the anger being directed at the CEO personally. They are calling him a murderer, throwing rocks at him, etc. I could understand it if it came out there was a big cover-up, the negligent employee had a bad record that was never handled (altthough that might not even have made it to the CEO). But it's early yet and the truth hasn't even come out. It seems like the whole town is blaming this man personally. I dont' really understand the reasoning. ??? as a pp said - grief will do strange things to people. people want a focus for their pain and anger - and the ceo of the company is a logical target to take the blame. (he's their face.) even if they'd had someone on site asap - I'm sure there would still be people throwing rocks and screaming. it's likely some of them aren't even related to those who died or were injured, they just want to throw rocks and it's as good an excuse as any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilaclady Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I think grief makes people do things they will not do in another situation. It is a major disaster so he is being naive if he thinks the people should accord him a Hero's welcome for coming 3 days after the event happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 probably more the tension between English speaking Canadians vs quebecois (French speaking). there's a fairly strong movement in quebec to succeed from the rest of Canada. they just haven't yet managed to get the votes. I know there are tensions between the English speaking Canadians and the Québécois. I used Brit. (I think that is exactly how it was written), because that is what I saw it in the comments. I assumed the comment referred to people of British descent not people living in England, but I didn't want to change the wording. What I don't understand is what influence those tensions have on this situation or what influence this situation has on those tensions. If that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Either the brakes on his trains failed, or his employee failed to properly place the brakes. Either way, the train company is responsible. The CEO is the face of the company - he makes the money in good times, and reaps the blame in bad times. Part of the job. I'm not saying that is fair or logical. Obviously we can sit here and dissect reasons to not yell at him. But in the midst of a tragedy, I can see why people react as they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Several of the comments below the linked article allude to Brit. vs. French tensions. Would any Canadians care to enlighten me on what that has to do with this incident? The CEO has an English name and probably a British-Canadian cultural way of communicating to go with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicentra Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Here's an analysis piece from the CBC's website on the PR gaffes made by the CEO: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/07/11/f-lac-megantic-quebec-train-explosion-public-relations.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted July 13, 2013 Author Share Posted July 13, 2013 Here's an analysis piece from the CBC's website on the PR gaffes made by the CEO: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/07/11/f-lac-megantic-quebec-train-explosion-public-relations.html Thanks, that's interesting. It mentions the language issue too, that he didn't have a French interpreter with him. I was unaware of that subtext going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meriwether Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 The CEO has an English name and probably a British-Canadian cultural way of communicating to go with it. I promise I'm not trying to be dense, but wouldn't the majority of Canadians have English names? It seems like there would have to be more to it than that. One of the people commenting didn't even want Alberta's oil to be transported across Quebec! Maybe the comments were made by hotheads who are fixated on the issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 the tensions between English speaking Canadians and quebecois (notice they don't refer to themselves, or the English speakers, as Canadian? even though they are all citizens of the same country. the "brit" comment was probably by a quebecois.) are pretty darn high. I've read enough comments from people in the past that there is real discrimination between the groups. English speakers in quebec MUST enroll their children in school. native French speakers can homeschool. that's just a start. there is some serious animus. I know there are tensions between the English speaking Canadians and the Québécois. I used Brit. (I think that is exactly how it was written), because that is what I saw it in the comments. I assumed the comment referred to people of British descent not people living in England, but I didn't want to change the wording. What I don't understand is what influence those tensions have on this situation or what influence this situation has on those tensions. If that makes sense. It mentions the language issue too, that he didn't have a French interpreter with him. unless he was fluent in French, that was dumb, de dumb dumb. I promise I'm not trying to be dense, but wouldn't the majority of Canadians have English names? It seems like there would have to be more to it than that. One of the people commenting didn't even want Alberta's oil to be transported across Quebec! Maybe the comments were made by hotheads who are fixated on the issue? quebec has had several ballot measures to secede from Canada. the last one was last year???, but some of the vitriol was over the top. there are some who despise the rest of Canada and consider it a foreign country. these "hot heads" aren't a rare exception. then again - the squeaky wheel gets the grease . . . . whatever they did, I want to be able to manually do quotes/quotes . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicentra Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 I promise I'm not trying to be dense, but wouldn't the majority of Canadians have English names? It seems like there would have to be more to it than that. One of the people commenting didn't even want Alberta's oil to be transported across Quebec! Maybe the comments were made by hotheads who are fixated on the issue? It depends where you are in Canada. In Quebec, no, I would not think the majority would be of English descent. Here's a fairly long article detailing franco/anglo relations in Canada, if anyone is interested. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/francophoneanglophone-relations I am not from Quebec and so someone from Quebec would have a far better understanding of the situation. I think the reasons for the reactions of the townspeople are complicated but, overall, I imagine they are shocked, sad, angry, and overwhelmed. My heart goes out to them. May they find some bit of peace and solace in the midst of this terrible disaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 probably more the tension between English speaking Canadians vs quebecois (French speaking). there's a fairly strong movement in quebec to succeed from the rest of Canada. they just haven't yet managed to get the votes. Yup. Quebec may be a province in Canada but it has never truly been part of Canada kwim As for the train disaster and the reactions of the people. It is their grief and shock at this point. They are lashing. The CEO is not a public speaker clearly, and should not have been the front person from the company at teh site. Some of the comments he makes just dig the hole deeper. I do not see the point in pointing fingers of blame until the investigation is done but can understand why those greiving are doing so already. When bad sh*t like this goes down you feel safer knowing the "bad guy" was caught. If it is just an accident, the fear is there it could happen again and kill or harm more people, even yourself. If there is a bad guy to blame then you feel better knowing he/ or she will be dealt with and the bad thing could not happen again because the bad guy is caught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 The buck stops somewhere. The lack of CEO presence in the aftermath is like the number one PR Crisis Management mistake a company can make. Clearly they were not prepared with a crisis response and failed to seek professional help immediately after. Any CEO with his or her head screwed on straight should be up on this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Grief will do strange things to people. In my EMT training (many years ago), one of the simulated scenarios involved a woman jumping onto the gurney carrying her husband, while we were trying to resussitate him. E while class thought it was a bit ridiculous, but sure enough I ran into very similar situatin on real calls -- family members would try to pull us away from the person we were trying to treat, refuse to let us put their kid into the ambulance, all kinds of wacky stuff. Not to get off the subject too much, but when I had EMT training many years ago, we were warned about doctors who wanted to pull victims out of car accidents in order to lay them flat on the ground. Sure enough, at my first big accident, a doctor showed up and wanted to pull a woman with a possible neck injury out of the car. Thank goodness for the training and thank goodness another EMT came to the scene right after I did and was able to distract the doctor with other, less seriously injured people! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 It depends where you are in Canada. In Quebec, no, I would not think the majority would be of English descent. Here's a fairly long article detailing franco/anglo relations in Canada, if anyone is interested. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/francophoneanglophone-relations I am not from Quebec and so someone from Quebec would have a far better understanding of the situation. I think the reasons for the reactions of the townspeople are complicated but, overall, I imagine they are shocked, sad, angry, and overwhelmed. My heart goes out to them. May they find some bit of peace and solace in the midst of this terrible disaster. I know two completely unrelated people from quebec. both speak fluent English, but they are native French speakers. they are of French ancestry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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