Subway hero needs saving

[kskiska]

Source: NY Daily News

Subway hero Wesley Autrey stands by the spot where he jumped onto the tracks to rescue a man who fell onto them during a seizure in January.

(snip)

Wesley Autrey is suing a lawyer and her Hollywood hotshot partner - accusing them of ripping him off before he's even made any money.

They persuaded the underground superhero to sign a deal giving them 50% of his earnings - far more than the standard 15% or 20% found in entertainment contracts.

They convinced Autrey he could capitalize on his selfless, death-defying act of heroism - leaping from a Harlem subway platform in January to save a stranger's life as a train rolled over both of them.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/03/27/2007-03-27_subway_hero_needs_saving.html

[Javaman]

1. The man with a good heart, just got it ripped out of his chest

by life sucking vulture agents.

[Ian David]

3. He *WAS* A hero until he stood-up at Bush's State of The Union and allowed himself to be exploited..

by the Chickenhawk troop-killing Repukes.

[Captain Hilts]

4. He was respecting the office. He has no expressed political leanings.

He's not wealthy, or all that professionally successful. He's had some hard knocks, getting invited to attend the State of the Union is a Big Deal. I'm glad he accepted. He IS a hero.

[Ian David]

6. Jessica Lynch came forward and corrected the record when Bush tried to exploit her.

This ass-hat has remained silent about it.

[Raskolnik]

8. Jessica Lynch corrected misinformation. What is the comparable misinformation here?

Has Bush distorted this man's actions in some way?

[Ian David]

13. Yes, he has.

<snip>

BUSH: Three weeks ago, Wesley Autrey was waiting at a Harlem subway station with his two little girls, when he saw a man fall into the path of a train.

With seconds to act, Wesley jumped onto the tracks, pulled the man into the space between the rails, and held him as the train passed right above their heads.

He insists he's not a hero. He says: "We've got guys and girls overseas dying for us to have our freedoms. We have got to show each other some love."

There is something wonderful about a country that produces a brave and humble man like Wesley Autrey.

More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/23/AR2007012301075_pf.html

Autrey said no such thing.

[Raskolnik]

14. You're mistaken. He expressed that sentiment several times in several interviews after the incident

Is that all you're basing your opinion on?

[Ian David]

15. Then I stand corrected. He's still a hero, but he's also a Bushie warmonger.

I can't call him a Chickenhawk, since he's obviously not a coward.

[Raskolnik]

16. Wow. You apparently have very low standards for labeling someone a "Bushie warmonger"

Myself, I would probably reserve that kind of sentiment for people that either caused or continued the war.

[Ian David]

17. I consider standing at The SOTU to support the war to be a significant level of involvement. n/t

[Raskolnik]

18. How does standing up to be recognized for his actions constitute support of the war? n/t

[Ian David]

20. "We've got guys and girls overseas dying for us to have our freedoms." n/t

[Raskolnik]

25. I many people (myself included) would interpret that as recognition of service, not support of war

Is that what constitutes being a "Bushie warmonger" in your world?

[Ian David]

27. They're not dying for our freedoms. They're dying for $1.57 a gallon.

They signed-up to protect our freedoms, and the Bushies betrayed them.

[Raskolnik]

30. Of course I agree with that.

That's not the issue, however.

The issue is whether Mr. Autrey should be classified as a "Bushie warmonger" because he did not clarify his own position to the satisfaction of some posters on this thread.

(And not to quibble, but I don't think Bush et al. necessarily want *cheap* oil. Bush cronies benefit from *control* of oil, not inexpensive supplies.)

[Firepit 462]

36. I'm afraid to think how many have to die to GET $1.57 per gallon.

They are suffering WAR, %#@*&$^ WAR! and big oil nets the largest profits in history. Gazillions of dollars filling the coffers of oil companies as the United States Military just fills coffins.

God Bless the United States Military, God Damn the united states government.

[Catherine Vincent]

22. I remember when he said that repuke talking point.

I rolled my eyes at the time but I got to thinking that he was giving so many interviews and he may not have had much to say besides what he did when he saved the guy in the subway, he had to say something like that. I gave him a pass.

[Ian David]

29. He jumps under a train, I throw him under the bus. I can live with it.

Anyone who gives Bush cover for his war crimes does not deserve "hero" status, no matter how noble and selfless their prior acts.

[Raskolnik]

31. How did his actions either cause or continue the war? n/t

[Raskolnik]

7. Oh please.

The man risked his life to save a perfect stranger. Standing up to be recognized at a SotU address does not outweigh that. Not even close.

[Ian David]

10. No. The problem is his silence AFTER the SOTU when Bush misquoted and exploited him. n/t

[Raskolnik]

12. You didn't answer the question.

What is the misinformation that Mr. Autrey was duty-bound to correct, in your opinion.

[MrPrax]

21. Good point...

Right said...

Apparently the guy was too stupid to figure out he was being exploited...TWICE.

Everything this guy is complaining about are things he did consciously...what every happened to individual responsibility for one's actions -- especially when it is a conscious attempt by the so-called hero to cash in on his celebrity status which is entirely manufactured by a media that is exploiting him just as much as the people who he signed a contract with.

Mind you it is interesting that some folks are more than willing to defend this guy's political apathy, his lack of "expressed political leanings" during highly politicized times, his desire to profit handsomely from simple acts, but still figure that being a stage prop for Bush is an honour and no democrat should be critical.

[Raskolnik]

24. So you think the "so-called" hero's "simple acts" were really no big deal?

I'm pretty sure the guy he saved would disagree.

Maybe you think you would have done the same thing in his position and literally risk your own life for that of a perfect stranger, but I have no such confidence in my own moral fiber.

edit spelling

[MrPrax]

33. I have...

and I told the scumbag reporter than must have gotten my number from the cops to 'to go fuck herself'.

Your citizenship and your humanity requires you to provide assistance in such situations; I understand our religious traditions also command us to act selflessly.

Simply because OTHER people don't, doesn't make the people that do, heroes.

Surely you are not suggesting that people only 'help' save a life IFF they get their name in the papers or receive a Hollywood contract, do you? This guy is rather guilty on that point? Is that what you tell children what a hero is?

Here's another hero depending on who you talk to...



heroin:

Since the 1890s from a German trademark, derived from Greek heras "hero" due to the feelings of power exultation while under the influence of the drug.

Wiktionary

[Raskolnik]

34. I really don't know what your point is.

Because some people think Bush is a hero, applying that label to Mr. Autrey is inappropriate?

Mr. Autrey achieved a degree of fame for his actions, so he is not worthy of praise?

We would hope to respond like he did in his situation, so what he did is not valuable?

[Horse with no Name]

23. I think that is a little harsh

It could be possible that he was so overwhelmed by being at the SOTU that the words buzzed by him.
In any event, it would have been considered rude in any circle to correct the President of the United States when he was a guest of the same man.
Sometimes putting politics aside and playing that game "Oh if I had ONLY thought to say this..", the guy is a hero.
It's a shame he is getting screwed now.

[Dorian Gray]

32. He was honored by the POTUS.

He did nothing wrong there. I may not like Bush, but he didn't do anything wrong in accepting recognition at the State of the Union.

[Ian David]

2. Repuke Bushie getting ripped-off? I can live with that. Damn big-city trial lawyer are un-Merikan!nt

[Raskolnik]

5. And you consider him to be "Repuke Bushie" why exactly? B/C he went to the SotU address?

Pretty weak, if that's all you've got.

[Ian David]

9. No. Bush put words in his mouth to turn his heroism into support for the war.

And this clown has kept his mouth shut about it.

[Raskolnik]

11. What words did Bush put in his mouth? n/t

[LanternWaste]

39. I'm wondering...

I'm wondering if we're absolutely sure he said nothing at all to retract his earlier statements, or if it's simply a case of his retraction not being picked up and/or reported by the MSM.

[cali]

26. I actually couldn't give a shit if he

supports bush or the war. What he did is so incredibly selfless and brave, that he's earned a pass from me regarding his political persuasion. YOU may think that his purported support for bushco is the most important thing about him, but I'll bet anything in the world, the young man he saved and his family, feel differently.

[LanternWaste]

40. I completely agree...

I completely agree. I think there comes a time when we have an obligation to discard a mans politics for the time being and recognize him by his humanity and by his acts and by his deeds.

My gosh! My father and my grandmother were hawks during Viet-Nam. But by some obtuse moral code, Am I supposed to belittle them, denigrate them, question their humanity, regardless of how the other 99.9% of their lives were lived? No thanks. One judgment, one decision, one small turn to the left or the right does not define the sum of a person.

[fidgeting wildly]

19. I hope he wins this.

SOTU or not, Wesley Autrey is a superb human being, and that contract sounds pretty nasty. From the article: "The contract allegedly contained a clause requiring Autrey to pay Kleiman's legal fees in any dispute with her."

[Joe Chi Minh]

28. I think some people are missing the point. Many of the finest people

on the planet, don't understand politics and are consequently are not even interested in it - putty in the hands of the cynical, worldly-wise politician. What most people do excel at, however, is what the worldly-wise tend not to even close, i.e. seeing the other guy as a human being; feeling for his fellow human beings in the respective plights they find themselves in.

The world scorns such wisdom and prizes its own worldy version, but we should be more aware of this inversion of Christian/humane values. Christ taught that we should be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. Unfortunatey, with its historical bias for the wealthy and worldly wise, that is not a precept the insitutional Christian Church has expended a great deal of effort or ingenuity in propagating.

[Rosemary2205]

35. This man is just the kind of person progressives claim to care about.

He is not "book smart" or sophisticated. He's getting by in life the best he can. This selfless act created an opportunity to get a little something out of this life and IMHO only a complete asshole would hold that against him.

It really saddens me that some on DU allow their hatred for GW to spill over onto innocent bystanders like this man.

[Joe Chi Minh]

38. And how lmuch lower could a person get than to want to rip of such an extraordinary hero!

Truly life is stranger than fiction.

[NorthernSpy]

37. Diane Kleiman is just a parasite who uses legal expertise to prey on the naive...

Mr. Autrey showed us an act of almost unimaginable heroism. The other thing we know about him is that he works at a fairly risky job (construction) and hopes to give his family a better life. Most of us react to all that by admiring his courage and sincerely wishing him well.

But some people have seen in him an opportunity to get the best of a simple working class man, and they took advantage of this, fixing to wring a whole lot of cash out of his hide.

So to extricate himself from their claws, he's had to obtain yet more legal counsel. And then the whole story just becomes yet another feast for lawyers. Between them, those people will keep the litigation going til they've jointly picked the carcass clean.

What a bunch of jackals. They can take anything good, and turn it sour. They'll get away with it, of course. No wonder this country is headed straight down the crapper.


:puke: