By Debbie Burke
Dictionary.com defines victim as:
a person who suffers from a destructive or injurious action or agency: a victim of an automobile accident.
a person who is deceived or cheated, as by their own emotions or ignorance, by the dishonesty of others, or by some impersonal agency: a victim of misplaced confidence; the victim of a swindler; a victim of an optical illusion.
a person or animal sacrificed or regarded as sacrificed:war victims.
a living creature sacrificed in religious rites.
Merriam Webster defines villain as:
a character in a story or play who opposes the hero;
a deliberate scoundrel or criminal;
one blamed for a particular evil or difficulty.
Merriam Webster defines antagonist as:
one that contends with or opposes another.
~~~
At 2:30 a.m. on January 19, 2023, a car crashed into the downstairs bedroom of a home in Austin, Texas, while the resident was asleep in the bedroom upstairs.
Homeowner Chris Newby described the accident:
“It sounds like a plane hit the house, I mean, I felt like I hit the ceiling,” Newby said. “The whole house just shook…Basically, there’s an entire car, right here inside the bedroom.”
See photos of the damage at this link.
Emergency workers rescued the driver. Police arrested him on suspicion of DWI.
End of story?
Not quite.
Ten days after the crash, Mr. Newby received a letter from the city of Austin, dated the day of the crash, informing him of code violations because of the condition of his house.
Every window, skylight, door and frame shall be kept in sound condition, good repair and weather tight,” one of the violations reads.
Another violation said that “all exterior walls shall be free from holes, breaks, and loose or rotting materials.
According to KXAN.com:
The letter explained Newby had 30 days to get his house in order or face consequences, including as much as a $2,000 fine per violation, per day.
The letter apparently was in response to a report by the Austin Fire Department that had responded to the accident scene.
Mr. Newby said of the letter: “I’m in violation for being a victim.”
[Austin Code Department division manager Matthew] Noriega explained the citation is the city’s policy and procedure, with the ultimate goal of ensuring safety.
“This was a catastrophic incident and they wanted to ensure that the homeowners were safe and the building was safe,” Noriega said.
“If an extension is needed, we will give them that extension,” Noriega explained. “We work with the owners or management.”
The code department granted an extension. The driver’s insurance will pay for repairs.
~~~
TKZers: What are your thoughts about which roles are played by the real-life characters in this true crime story?
One of the first screenwriting books I bought was: “Bullies, Bastards & Bitches,” by Jessica Morrell. At least two of those words describe the Austin Code Department. Their conduct is inexcusable. “Oh, we always send out rude, threatening letters. Haha! It’s just what we do,” won’t hack it.
It’s a good book, by the way.
J, I’ll look up the Morrell book. Sounds like a keeper.
SOP. Standard operating procedure.
Another good Jessica Page Morell book is Between the Lines. Lots of things you wouldn’t necessarily think of.
I’m rereading her section on endings because the WIP is going to need an epilogue, I already know sort of how, and I want maximum resonance. Don’t want to miss anything.
Thanks for the reference, Alicia. For writers, the study never ends!
That story reminds me of something that happened to a friend in Houston years ago. Someone broke into their house, stole their new TV and a lot of other stuff. When the thieves arrived, they let out the big, friendly Irish Setter.
The next day, the city gave my friend a citation because their dog was loose. When her husband went to court to contest the fine due to extenuating circumstances, the judge cited him for contempt!
Sharon, what an awful experience for your friends. First, victimized by the burglars and then by the “system” with no recourse.
Even if you hadn’t included a date on the happenings of this post, it would have clearly been present day because that’s how screwed up things are. Sadly, such a ridiculous story doesn’t surprise me in the least. JGuenther’s ‘bully’ description seems quite apt of the city in this case. Oye.
Brenda, isn’t it sad that incidents like this are becoming commonplace?
You can’t fight City Hall, as they say!
The driver must have been Hunter Biden! [rimshot]
(I couldn’t resist).
Philip, if the drunk driver had run into City Hall instead of a home, would a citation have been issued?
Interesting story and thought experiment, Debbie.
The victim is clearly the home owner, Mr. Newby. When we get to the villain and antagonist, the roles have been shifted from the drunk driver to the City of Austin and its code department. If we were allowed to discuss politics we would notice the location of this story and the story told by Sharon above, and add to the list of villains and antagonists the name of a “philanthropist” who helped get certain people in power elected.
Thanks for getting me fired up and ready to rip, er, I mean write.
Steve, go write a story about justice being done! At least we can make that happen in fiction when it doesn’t in real life.
That’s well into fantasy territory, Debbie!
Mr. Newby is certainly the victim in this story, Debbie. The villain is the drunk driver who caused the damage, themselves perhaps also a victim of their own poor choices and previous actions in getting drunk. Such was the case for the drunk driver who could have killed me twenty years ago.
Skipping the part where the City sends out an inspector (or equivalent) to check-in with the owner and immediately go to DefCon 2 with the letter makes them the villain for *not* being more nuanced in approach. I certainly appreciate the value of having building codes, being aware of disasters caused by blatant code violations, but this was not that, and certainly not of the owner’s causing.
Fortunately, reason and fairness prevailed, in the end, but, equally unfortunately, after Mr. Newby was made to feel the villain.
Dale, DefCon 2 is an apt description of overreaction.
The world of mindless automatons. We send out letters. Every one gets the same letter. We only think when it becomes a public outrage. Like when someone’s house is destroyed by a criminal and the city blames the homeowner.
At least the city lightened up on the homeowner.
“Mindless automatons” is right, Alan.
“But that’s our policy” is a frequent excuse Does anyone ever consider changing the policy?
Ah, bureaucracy. To riff on a current phrase, it’s where competence goes to die.
Love that, Kay! Thanks for the smile.
My first thought was like Kay’s. Bureaucracy at its best. 🙂
Shaking my head, Patricia.