A sad story out of England, where an Irish lawyer was found dead in her home just days after she was released from prison for spitting on an Air India flight attendant.
Simone Burns had a few too many on an Air India flight from Mumbai to London last November. When flight attendants finally cut her off, she became irate. Among other insults, she proclaimed:
I’m a f***ing international lawyer!
I have done so much for you f***ing Indians and f***ing Pakistanis, you should be grateful to me!
But what really got her in trouble was when she followed up her verbal abuse by spitting in the face of a FA after he denied her a fourth bottle of wine. All of it was captured on video.
Burns was arrested, pleaded guilty to public drunkenness and assault, and sentenced to six months in prison. She was released, in late May, after two months. Friends say she was unable to cope with her living situation and the negative attention from internet trolls. Her suicide came just 13 days after her release.
CONCLUSION
I did not hear about this story when first reported; today is the first I’ve heard of it. It’s truly a sad testament of how one mistake can ruin our life. But even if she “got what she deserved” concerning the internet trolls who so viciously mocked her, let’s all use this as case study reminder that words can hurt tremendously. Therefore, we should always be prudent in doling out insults, keeping in mind how what we might consider harmless may be disastrous to another life.
I’d like to see more internet trolls sent to prison. The number of suicides caused by these Facebook scumbags is truly alarming, and countless youngsters being bullied, demeaned, harassed and belittled by them. A scourge of the new century.
As for the lawyer: she went to prison, and fair enough. But was the crime so heinous that these creepy trolls had to continue after her release? Dreadful.
Well, I have less sympathy. Her behave was way out of control, anyone consider FA’s feeling? He could feel depressed and commit suicide. Harm was there when incident occurred. As a lawyer, should be stronger than that.
She literally spit in the face of someone IN REAL LIFE and you use this as an opportunity to complain about internet trolls?
Actions have consequences. If you are stupid enough to get so drunk to the point of spouting racist BS while obviously being recorded, and then you are willing to physically assault someone while still being recorded, you do indeed “deserve” whatever online repercussions are sent your way.
why are airlines feeding alcoholic drinks to passengers on aircraft when such things can happen.
You sound silly….she assaulted the FA and you are worried about her. I mean white women and men continue to feel entitled even when they are criminals #racecard pulled out yes
Of course you did not hear about it when it first came out (eye roll), yet you write about how a “profane” black rapper should be banned for his twitter comments…Not surprising.
Yes he should.
We Indians and Pakistanis should be thankful for for her she screams? I am thankful.. that she killed herself lol :). Clearly this c*nt thought she was above other human beings who were being VERYYYY restrained. They crew handled themselves amazingly and I’ll never feel bad for anyone this openly racist who kills themselves. Make it happen faster please.
Also, anyone, anyone who expects respect for themselves KNOWS spitting in someone’s face, man or woman, is one of the most disrespectful things you can show someone and should never be done unless you realize some form of repercussion will happen because of it. Maybe the guy didn’t hit her or do anything but the amount of negative energy she put out is likely what she got back for a lifetime of being someone who not only looks down on others (do it in your mind if you have to you pos) but also was willing to display it to a person…to their face…in front of the public… on a plane where no one can leave. If trolls are bad, she’s the worst kind.
disrespectful ?
Well, yes but more to the point it is usually assault. To the best of my knowledge, Bacterial and Viral diseases, Hepatitis and more can be contracted secondary to saliva to the face, mucous membranes and eyes.
Well, she made a mistake by creating a scene and being foul mouthed. But obviously she knows well about the double standards of indians. And I think when she heard the FA preaching to her, she’d have felt ‘look who’s talking ..’. She might have given it out to the wrong indian, but that’s what happens when the world learns about you – the wrong indians will get it.
Now talking about ‘disrespect’, do indians respect each other? And this is exactly the problem with indians – you treat each other in the most abusive and sickening ways, and then go out in the world and cry foul about the slightest inconvenience. Now that’s what the world calls ‘double standards’. And at some point of time the world will give it back to you. What you give is what you will get.
As for the lady, yes she was nasty, abusive and foul mouthed. But she was drunk and she took out her frustration on an innocent FA. But she repented and paid the highest price. I think she deserves some respect. At least she did not kill or rape anyone, and in spite she paid the highest price. That shows some character. And that never comes with double standards.
Well in all likelihood she had a drinking problem. Multiple studies show ETOH increases likelyhood of a suicide attempt by 50% or more. The fact she had a outburst on an airplane likely shows how far her depression and drinking had already spiraled. She may have done this either way and 14 days later suggests the incident was not the cause (hospitals use a 3 day post discharge rule for liability and mistaken discharge). I hope she rests in peace.
So she was drunk and not entirely in control of her faculties. She spits on someone. She is called the devil. But when groups of African migrants commit a disproportionate amount of crime, violence and rape, murder and assault western men and women, very few say anything.
This woman didn’t belong in jail for one second for a first time non violent offense. Yet migrants whomsexually assault women are sometimes released in 2 years. The U.K is sick.
To err is human, to blame someone else is more human.
She did wrong and probably did permanent damage to her career and reputation. For us to posthumously assume that her suicide was because of trolls is disingenuous. Maybe, just maybe, she realized her oh so fair and holy reputation was destroyed, exposing her to be the racist that she was. Probably not the type of person the UN would pay to create their neutral reports.
Then again, blame the persons that let the news spread after her rant, they enabled her to ruin her career but saved humanity a lot of BS reports from the UN.
Alot of commenters here are judging-and-jurying someone they do not know and never met based on one lousy video. Maybe she was already depressed when she behaved so rudely and outrageously on that plane. Maybe that’s why someone wants 4 bottles of wine? Who the heck knows? Not I and not anyone else on this thread. A suicide is never a cause for celebration nor is it a laughing matter.
sad, I think not , a disgusting human being. Her actions speak for themselves. One less hater to deal with in this life
This incident reminds me of the Michael Richard (the actor who played Kramer on Seinfeld) incident where he got upset with hecklers and used racist slurs against them. He claims he isn’t a racist and this is probably true. So why did he say such things?
Answer: He was upset.
Doesn’t anyone understand the concept of “curse words?” Curse words are things we’re not supposed to say but do when we’re upset. Panic, anger and fear cause people to express themselves in a manner to get attention. I have a 3 year old and she regularly “acts out” (she has quite a curse word vocabulary!) Adults do this too under extreme duress. Hit your thumb with a hammer unexpectedly and you’re likely to say “Dammit!”
Yes, I said “dammit!” as a kid and I got in a LOT of trouble. Different times.
So ironically, even and perhaps especially a church going goodie-two-shoe may say the most horrific things when they’re drunk and/or under extreme duress but this doesn’t reflect their natural state of thinking. That’s rather the point.
Regarding this case, a woman who may truly NOT be a racist but said racist things when she wasn’t quite “herself” and now is publicly shamed may have suffered depression because she was now labeled as something she truly didn’t want to be and probably wasn’t. She was hated by people who claimed to be against hate.
I’m not perfect myself. I’ve had high stress situations where I was less than gentlemanly and I’d seek out the person I had wronged, explain what had happened, apologize profusely, and offer to make amends (give them a gift card or present.) I’ve also received such acknowledgements from people who had treated me poorly and it was quite touching. A childhood bully at a reunion told me he had gotten himself together and become a mentor for kids. Sometimes it’s not the person whose a hater, but the situation. How can people improve if they can’t transcend the situations that they’ve moved past?
Don’t get on a plane if you’re a drunk, depressed alcoholic. The innocent people on the plane don’t have to put up with her psychosis. The flight attendant should sue her estate for damages. Attorneys have access to rehab treatment.
This blog is sheer entitlement: “A precious blond, blue-eyed life has been lost because of internet trolling…” No, she killed herself because her career was over after revealing her blatant racism and offensive sense of entitlement. Maybe also because the cancer on the outside was going to ravage the veneer that covered the rot on the inside.
I’m not defending her. I am condemning trolls.
I absolutely agree with you, Matthew.
Simply speechless about some comments full of hate towards her. She went to prison, didn’t she!? We have a system of law. She was punished for her terrible behavior. Once she was released, other people should stop trolling and spitting their hate against someone dead.
I’m guessing it’s not that. Even if the trolling stopped the instant she went to jail … it’s not the trolling that did the damage, it was the being sentenced to jail.
Yes, the legal system did its thing, and she was punished accordingly. But, whereas many can attempt to resume a normal life (worst case: move to a different city and change your Twitter name), her entire career probably ended.
She had a different profession than (probably) you and (definitely) I and, although she, too, is human, her job REQUIRES her to be even more in control of herself than others.
If her claims were not exaggerated, then she was a high-level international attorney … a profession she would never ever be able to return to ….
But that she ( still ) knew after she emptied her third ( !!!! ) full bottle of wine ….
But how do you conclude that the internet trolls were responsible for her suicide? Do you have proof? There is no proof whatsoever on a balance of probabilities that the trolls drove her to suicide. It could be her own embarrassment over her conduct, her inability to face the world after the video went viral, her own reputation in tatters and perhaps her inability to deal with her own demons and depression? Perhaps she cannot now work for the Indians and Pakistanis anymore, the very people she vilified. Perhaps the incident caused a career to be affected. There are so many variables and to attribute the suicide to internet trolls is rather fanciful. In any event her conduct whether she was aware of her actions or not, would invite reactions from the internet community. Negative comments are expressions of free speech. Not trolling.