"You don't knooow me!"

So a (very) brief background: I got my BS from the University of Mary Washington, which was in the national spotlight last year at this time (and again last December) because our newly-hired President got drunk, drove, got in an accident, went to the hospital, checked OUT of the hospital against doctor's orders, went home, got BACK in his car (still drunk) and went for another drive. He got two DUI's (to which he entered an Alford plea - accepting charges without admitting guilt). In December he wrote a long, self-absorbed letter to the Washington Post, claiming that he was wronged for being fired.

First of all, there isn't much that I can say. I know that my description was extremely biased, but if you want unbiased news, go to the BBC. We put our faith in this guy, as a school and his employer. We trusted him to run and represent our school and he turned around and buttsecksed us. Then he claimed that he had a "problem"... a "disease" and he needed help not ostracism. This pisses me off. I've known alcoholics, and I have clinical depression, so the idea that this guy is suddenly the poster child for untreated depression and alcoholism pisses me off. You've hit rock bottom, so you deal with it. Don't expect anyone to fix your mistakes for you. I'll grant you the disease aspect, because that doesn't change my opinion of you. Ok, so you have a disease that's been untreated and self-medicated for 40 years. That sucks. But when did that become MY problem? When did that become UMW's problem to deal with?

I've seen people comparing his untreated alcoholism and depression to having cancer. They say "If they fired him for having cancer, there would be an uproar!!"... News Flash, genius: Cancer doesn't put innocent bystanders in harm's way. Cancer patients don't get in a car and kill people because of their cancer. Alcoholics do. UMW didn't fire him for having a disease. UMW fired him for making a very poor decision and putting himself as well as everyone around him at risk. There is no comparison. If he had taken responsibility right off the bat (that means not driving drunk to begin with) and asked for a leave of absence to take care of his disease, I'm sure the Board of Visitors would have been much more understanding. But no, he just left it alone and got himself into trouble and then turned it around on US. Because WE weren't understanding enough and WE acted rashly and WE ostracized HIM. Bullshit. He did all of this to himself.

Anyway, all that aside, the latest incidents crack me up. April 10th, 2007 he got TWO DUIs. He was put on driving probation for a year in September. April 10th 2008 he got another DUI. Do I really need to say more?

This guy lambasts his former employer for firing him, for not having compassion for his disease, for not letting him go into rehab before deciding to terminate his employment. Then he goes and does it again. Oh yea, and he was on his way home from an AA meeting.

Apparently his wife had taken out a restraining order on him a few months prior to his latest incident. I have to wonder what exactly is going on in his life. Despite everything, I would love to read his book when it comes out, because I just cannot understand what can be going through his head right now.

This all sounds just like a Lifetime movie in the making. :)