Ex Humanitas

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{Freezing Death of Michigan Man in House Sparks Anger}

Marvin Schur was 93 years old when he froze to death in his home. After not paying his electric bills for 4 months, a machine called a “limiter” was attached to his home’s electricity. This machine determines when too much electricity is being used and automatically shuts off the home’s power completely. To restore power, the homeowner must go outside, in this case, in the middle of a freezing winter, and reset the machine.

Marvin Schur was 93 years old. His wife had recently died. He had no children. Marvin Schur probably had dementia and didn’t know how to go outside and reset a machine. Marvin Schur had faithfully paid his electric bills for 50 years, and probably missed paying it because of dementia. Marvin Schur had $600,000 in the bank. He had enough money in his house to pay the electric bills.

Marvin Schur was 93 years old.

Machines don’t know what 93 years old means.

Employees who read customer numbers off invoices, employees who forward delinquent invoices to other departments, and employees who receive instructions to attach machines that limit power, are all situated so that they are not able to know what 93 years old means.

We are all responsible for knowing what 93 years old means. We are all responsible for choosing what machines we trust, or if we should trust any of them at all.

We are responsible for putting our humanity first, machines second. A very very very distant second.