I’m a little late, but I just ran into this story about UU, Mona Shaw and her harrowing hammer story!
Since Comcast is making huge efforts to change the nature of the internet into something more like paid cable television (and has been dubbed one of the Worst Companies Ever) I’m all for raising a little hell!
Mona “The Hammer” Shaw is an elderly Bristow, Virginia resident who rose to national media celebrity in August 2007 when she registered her discontent with Comcast customer service by smashing equipment in her local cable office with a hammer. Some regard her as an American folk hero of consumer and elder rights, while others dismiss her actions as criminal and inappropriate.
From the Washington Post:
This once mild-mannered retired nurse from northern Virginia (a square-dancing Unitarian, no less) got so fed up with Comcast’s lousy customer service that she went down to the local office armed with a claw hammer. Here’s the play-by-by from a Washington Post profile of Shaw:
Shaw storms in the company’s office. BAM! She whacks the keyboard of the customer service rep. BAM! Down goes the monitor. BAM! She totals the telephone. People scatter, scream, cops show up and what does she do? POW! A parting shot to the phone!
Shaw was arrested and earned a $345 fine, along with the admiration of millions.
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Please support Net Neutrality.
April 24, 2008 at 2:43 pm |
Personally, I think she’s a crazy old lady who is to be pitied. As horrible as Comcast is and they really are her reaction was really awful and made me wonder about dementia.
I know Comcast is really hated, and for good reason, but I really wish people wouldn’t romanticize her.
CC
April 24, 2008 at 2:55 pm |
From my understanding of the story, the event happened a calm day later. Her husband knew about it and did not stop her. I don’t think dementia is a factor.
It’s certainly an extreme act, but it’s also an extreme act to make an elderly person wait outside in the heat for two hours and then dismiss them, telling them that the whole reason they were waiting was invalid…
She didn’t hurt or threaten any person according to the accounts I’ve read. It seems like it was a controlled act.
But you still have a point, CC.