Trying Hard Not To Be Judgmental

I'm trying hard to understand why some seem to think that tragedy, grief and loss should mean a shot at the big brass ring.

Earlier this week, a U.S. District Court judge gave the green light to a possible flood of lawsuits because of what happened on 9-11.

The judge decided that the hijacking and crashing of jetliners on 9-11 was a "foreseeable risk."

He also ruled that the owners of the World Trade Center property can be challenged on whether they provided a safe environment.

This is a big deal.

It means that families of 9-11 victims can sue Boeing, United Airlines, American Airlines and the New York/New Jersey Port Authority.

It means they'll have to choose between getting large sums of money from the victims compensation fund - tens of millions of dollars sent by people from all over the world - or, go for the really big bucks via lawyers and lawsuits.

That the judge thinks that 9-11 was "foreseeable", leaves me slack-jawed.

That families of victims think it's their shot at the big brass ring, leaves me disturbed.

Like I said, I'm trying hard not to be judgmental, but I don't think I'm succeeding.

Want to share your thoughts with Ken Schram? You can e-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com