Salon: "What not to do after you fall into a fountain" (Sarah! Pay attention to this.)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Thursday, Jan 20, 2011 15:43 ET
What not to do after you fall into a fountain
Cathy Cruz Marrero's tumble in a mall became a viral hit -- but her reaction has turned her into a villain
By Mary Elizabeth Williams

http://www.salon.com/life/going_viral/index.html?story=/mwt/feature/2011/01/20/woman_falls_in_fountain



Her name is Cathy Cruz Marrero, but you probably know her better as the Fountain Lady. Last week, as she walked past the Piercing Pagodas and Radio Shacks of Pennsylvania's Berkshire Mall, engrossed in the act of texting, she plowed face first into a fountain. And because this is 2011 and every minor public mishap is not just recorded but broadcast, it didn't take long for the security camera footage -- replete with the delighted giggles of mall security and their enjoyment of the spill from two different angles -- to make its way to YouTube.

At this point, Marrero could have shrugged the whole thing off and accepted her place in the hall of YouTube infamy next to Star Wars Kid and Grape Lady. Instead, she got mad. On "Good Morning America" Thursday, Marrero, who works at a store at the mall, sat with her attorney and appeared to be fighting back tears as she noted that the world has been "having a great laugh at my account." She admitted she had been "embarrassed" after she took the spill, but the bigger issue for her seems to be the utter lack of compassion the entire incident has generated ever since. "Nobody took my feelings into consideration. Nobody called, are you OK? Nobody went to my aid. Not one single person." On the video, her fall and recovery happen so quickly, it's easy to assume none of the shoppers even noticed. But that doesn't explain the security team hooting, "Play it back! Play it back!"

Marrero may well have good reason to be wary of the sudden spotlight: After her "GMA" appearance, she was in court Thursday regarding charges that she used a co-worker's credit card to rack up over $5,000 in bills at two local stores. Marrero's lawyer says, "Her prior personal affairs have nothing to do with what happened to her at the Berkshire Mall and the video that has been posted," and told George Stephanopoulos this morning, "We intend to hold all responsible parties accountable, whether that means requesting or demanding an apology, certainly requesting an explanation of how this happened, and certainly we want to know the identity of all persons responsible for making the video public."

These new twists certainly aren't endearing Marrero any further to her Internet fans. YouTube commenters have been flocking to the clip all day, asking, "Why is she suing? To be an attention whore some more?" And indeed, appearing on "GMA" is probably not the fastest way to make this whole thing disappear. But to everyone who owns a phone, I say, ask not for whom the shopping mall fountain waits, it waits for thee.

[Arctic Dave]

1. Call the Wambulance!

[Historic NY]

2. Thats pretty funny, imagine if she was driving a car that distracted...

its the malls fault....they didn't have a no texting dumbass sign.

[Eric J in MN]

3. She didn't seem to need help.

If someone had asked her as she was walking around a minute after she fell if she needed help, she probably would have felt more embarassed.

[pacalo]

4. No one would have known her name if she hadn't gone on tv.

That, plus the credit card theft for $5,000 leaves no room for sympathy.

:silly:

[Lorien]

5. All I could think of while watching that video was of all the DRIVERS who text

at the same time. :scared:

[jberryhill]

6. That and visually impaired persons at the mall

I'm surprised she's not arguing there should be a railing or other barrier.

[yellowcanine]

7. Actually there may be a serious issue here. Security cameras are an invasion of privacy but are

permitted by courts because of their public safety value.

But does a person have a reasonable expectation that if they are observed on a security camera and they are not committing a crime that the video is not going to be posted on the internet?

How is this significantly different from TSA workers hooting at someone they see on a scanner and then posting a video of the person on the internet?

[Locrian]

11. exactly

>>But does a person have a reasonable expectation that if they are observed on a security camera and they are not committing a crime that the video is not going to be posted on the internet?

Exactly right - not that I dont think she's an idiot - but wtf? So a security video of "hot chicks" or whatever is ok to upload on YouTUbe? At the least those security guards should be canned.

[Tutankhamun]

8. I hope she isn't going to try and sue because of what a horrific tragedy she

has endured, ruining her life and leaving deep emotional scars that can only be healed with a whole bunch of money, preferably so much that she can quit her job and, you know, heal and stuff.

[alarimer]

9. I for one say fuck you to those "security guards"

What would they do if there was an actual crime of some kind? Or somebody really hurt. Instead they laugh at someone's misfortune/.

Fuck all the people who posted and laughed. We are a nation of cold-hearted shitheads. I really, really HATE people.

[saras]

10. An exception

In general, I don't like security cameras, but in this case it was good she was filmed so that there's concrete evidence that the problem was entirely her fault and she has no grounds for a lawsuit.

Personally I think people showed an entirely reasonable amount of consideration for her feelings - she was a blazing idiot, she was completely unharmed, she brought the problem on herself, and she continues to work to make it worse.

People didn't ask if she was okay because they already knew she wasn't. She was the sort of fool to text her way into a fountain. It's not as though they could have helped that any. "Here, I'm sorry you haven't a clue, but I've got a couple to spare."