group responsibility
Seminole HeightsThe Trib has a follow-up article about Dog Belden today. The special State Attorney has declined to file charges against him where he unwantedly touched Julie Irwin in Jackson’s. After Belden apologized, she declined to press charges.
What is interesting in today’s story is that Belden had drank so much he had been cut off by the bar. However, he continued to drink as he had “members of his group buy him drinks.” After he placed his head twice on Julie Irwin’s breasts (video), he was coaxed away by one of his employees Preston Trigg, as the bartender said something to him. Then Belden approached another group of women touching 3 of them, one quite extensively (video). Preston Trigg intervened and had to pull Belden away.
From comments Trigg made in earlier reports, (“You watch him to make sure nothing happens.”) it is clear he felt he had to be Belden’s handler, and keep him out of trouble. Perhaps if his group members had stopped giving drinks to a man who now says he has an alcohol problem, some of this might not happened. I wonder if any of his peeps ever told him they thought he had a alcohol problem. Those peeps share some of the blame for what occurred that night.
Cross posted on Seminole Heights Blog
Tags: citizens, county, tampa
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November 14th, 2006 at 7:33 pm
oh for gods sakes, what a puritanical hypocrite….as if we havent all gotten drunk before and done stupid things….he happens to have a name and get his paycheck off the taxpayers, but geez, this whole stupid thing has been blown way out of proportion, i say…
November 15th, 2006 at 11:45 am
“Puritan hypocrite?” We should demand better behavior from the people who live off our taxes! If this had been an average everyday lush pulling this crap he would have gotten his arse whipped out of the media’s view. And he wouldn’t have had the power to mess with your taxes in retaliation. Plus, Doug lied when he said the incident never happened. He should resign just for that.
November 15th, 2006 at 11:46 am
And, no, alcoholism and its itinerant lack of control is not your friend’s fault.
Don’t wanna be a drunk? Don’t drink. Nobody’s fault but yours.
November 15th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
I was asked if “Dog” Belden was a misspelling or wordplay.
Wordplay. He was acting like a dog in heat, zeroing in on the dog in Irwin’s lap and pawing on all of those women.
Regarding the comments. If you friend is cut off and he has been acting like a jerk, why enable that by getting drinks for him?
November 15th, 2006 at 6:48 pm
Enabling is a bullsh*t excuse that people have invented to justify a dynamic that still comes right down to a drunk acting like an idiot.
Yes, it’s a dynamic, but c’mon - like this bloated moron didn’t throw his weight around for years til he got everyone in a position where they were used to getting him more drinks no matter how wasted he was.
He’s just gross. And it’s not any group’s fault.
December 13th, 2006 at 4:24 pm
Wow, to act like an out-of-control teenage jerk and then to have all of this captured on film–priceless! Question. After Belden was cut off from getting more drinks (a responsible act on the part of the bar) why in the world did others in his group contribute to his poor behavior by buying Belden even more drinks? Apparently Belden’s “friends†don’t have common sense, they aren’t really his friends, and they don’t know what enabling means.
December 13th, 2006 at 4:42 pm
At a time when college alcohol abuse, especially by minors, is a fairly constant news item, it makes me wonder if Belden has any children and what kind of role model he has been regarding “responsible drinking†through the years. Belden’s totally irresponsible behavior makes me wonder if he’s the kind of parent who tells his high school kids that it’s okay to get drunk “once in a while.†Even if Belden does not have any children, there are a lot of adults out there who act irresponsibly like him. And I can’t help but wonder what these irresponsible adults have “passed on†to their children as far as drinking goes.
December 13th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
Holy cow manure, I just thought of something–how did Belden get home after his “night on the townâ€? Please don’t tell me that he drove. What a scary thought!