Ben Smith of Room Eight: New York Politics sent me a link to the video of a loco guy going postal at the Kensington P.O.
But once I saw it up everywhere I decided I ddn’t need to post it. Gowanus Lounge says the Daily News had it first but since they weren’t updating the Brooklyn page — no one saw it until Ben Smith sent it around. The videographer, Jefferson Pang of Kensington, has come forward to claim the glory. The Daily News has the story: their website looks a whole lot better now. And they even updated their "Brooklyn" page.
The videographer who caused a mini Internet sensation by posting
footage of a bizarre outburst at a notorious Brooklyn post office
branch stepped forward yesterday.It was Brooklyn native Jefferson Pang who caught the obscenity-laden
tirade of a fellow customer on video while waiting at the Kensington
post office branch, which for years has drawn complaints because of
spotty and rude service."He saw the line was superlong, so he just beelined it to the
customer-service window and started screaming," said Pang, 35, whose
video has been viewed more than a thousand times on YouTube.com."There was only one clerk that day, so people were waiting on line
for at least 30 minutes," the marketing executive, who lives in
Kensington, told the Daily News.As The News reported Tuesday, the 5-minute, 43-second clip shows an
irate, profanity-spewing man demanding to see a manager until cops
stepped in.At one point, a surly, overworked female clerk can be heard
screaming at the crazed customer: "Who the hell do you think you are?""I’m the customer, that’s who the hell I am," responds the man, who a source said is a longtime Kensington resident.
The McDonald Ave. station came under fire last month after customers
complained of routinely spotty service, employees’ bad attitudes and a
lack of postal equipment.The outrage prompted City Councilman Bill de Blasio (D-Park Slope)
to send a letter to Postmaster General John Potter demanding employee
retraining and customer representatives, among other improvements.A spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service did not return a call seeking comment yesterday.
"It was a circus," Pang said of the incident in December. "I thought this was great entertainment while I was stuck on line."
Apparently, YouTube viewers agree: Since Pang posted the clip in
December, 1,620 people have viewed it, including more than 500 fresh
looks this week alone."I’m only surprised it took so long for someone to go postal at this
post office," one viewer wrote this week. "Almost all employees there
are arrogant. The lines are always long and they treat you as if
they’re doing you a favor when they do finally get to you."
So the dude was gay. So what? what’s to misunderstand about that?
My comment was “developmental disability” not “delay”
Most people with AS function normally, some at a very high level.
I prefaced my remarks by stating that I was not a psychiatrist, so I agree it is difficult, even for a psychiatrist, to make a diagnosis based upon a 5 minute video. I think you’ll agree, however, that the subject of this video displayed a highly unusual speech pattern, a pattern of repetition not usually seen in daily functioning.
What bothered me the most was that nobody seemed to come to his aid or comfort.
I have seen comments on this video on another site, where a significant number of viewers mocked or misinterpreted the subject’s mannerisms and speech.
To the OTBKB reader,
I agree with your point that the choice to not include the video was certainly a good one.
But please note that Aspberger’s Syndrome is not a developmental delay. Furthermore, it would be impossible to tell from that film clip what someone’s diagnosis is. Clearly the person is in a highly emotional and disturbed state. Leave it at that.
Louise: I am glad you decided not to post the video. I have seen it elsewhere and while Mr. Pang may have thought he was contributing to the public’s understanding of the effects poor customer service may have in the post office, he unwittingly filmed a developmentally disabled man in an embarrasing, vulnerable moment. I’m no psychiatrist, but I’m willing to bet this gentleman has Asperger Syndrome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger%27s), a disorder that is often considered to be a type of autism. Individuals with Asperger Syndrome may function relatively normally in life and often are quite intelligent (this gentleman seems to have a fairly good vocabulary), but may have impaired social interactions, a fairly rigid response to certain stressors and may be likely to have very stereotyped, repetitive reactions to certain situations. While the film certainly shows how he reacted to a certainly stressful situation (the postal clerk was no doubt rude to him, perhaps reacting to his disability, particularly his unusual speech pattern), it has been viewed by many who have reacted to him in a mocking fashion. What I wonder is how Mr. Pang could have stood there filming this sad episode and not come to his subject’s aid.
Someone should have stepped forward and offered some comfort to him.
Finally, in this era of direct-to-Youtube video, to post this video without the consent of the subject strikes me as a bit unethical.