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From: faustus@ic.Berkeley.EDU (Wayne A. Christopher)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,misc.legal,alt.flame
Subject: Re: The lawsuit of the year.
Message-ID: <272@pasteur.Berkeley.Edu>
Date: 21 Jan 88 08:54:18 GMT
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Maybe we can get some facts here for a change.  I don't know the details
of this case, and it seems to me that a few of them are important to
the discussion...  Maybe somebody can provide them.

Did the officials in charge know that there were people lying on the
tracks?

Did the engineers see the people on the tracks, and if so, could they
have stopped in time?  Did they know whether or not the people could
get off in time?

Did the protesters see the train in time to get off the tracks, and
realize that it couldn't or wouldn't stop?

If the answer to the last question is yes, then clearly Willson
deliberately got hit in order to become a martyr and make a point.
Whether or not this is "noble" or "stupid" is a judgement call...

Otherwise, either the officials are at fault, or it was just bad luck.
No point in castigating Willson either way.

I think the engineers' suit is probably concocted by the government
to screw the protesters -- sure it made them feel bad, but it's silly
to even compare their hurt to Willson's (whether he deserves it or not).

	Wayne