The beauty contest for whom to name the person of the year is always open to debate. Time Magazine, the most prominent publication to bestow this honor, named Donald Trump. Certainly, he is a logical and reasonable choice. Another might be Mr. Trump’s newest sidekick, Elon Musk, who could be chosen for many reasons including his energizing the Trump campaign to a new level. I have a different choice, and I feel quite confident mine is the best choice. That person is Daniel Penny.
On May 1, 2023, Daniel Penny was taking the New York subway like he often did at that time in his life. He was a 24-year-old man who had already spent four years in the United States Marines which he left in good standing. He was currently seeking a degree in architecture from the New York City College of Technology. He was living in an apartment in the East Village section of New York City. He had two jobs — teaching swimming lessons at a gym and working at a restaurant in Brooklyn.
When he entered the subway, he assumed his day would go along normally without anything more than the typical challenges of traversing New York City in 2023. Then a man who he later learned to be Jordan Neely entered the subway car. Neely was clearly on drugs and soon became menacing to the other passengers. He was acting erratically and yelling at people. He took his jacket off and threw it. Neely began screaming, “I don’t have food, I don’t have a drink, I’m fed up. I don’t mind going to jail and getting life in prison. I’m ready to die.”[ Another witness heard Neely say, “Someone is going to die today.”
That is when Penny did what almost no one would do today. “Authorities” have sternly admonished us not to intercede with these people. We are supposed to tolerate their foreboding behavior. Our elected officials have given priority to the homeless, the drug infused and the mentally unstable over the needs of the ordinary citizen. Our wives and daughters have become fearful of walking streets even during daylight hours because of the uncontrolled behavior of these folks.
Penny saw the fear on the faces of his fellow passengers and heeded the words of Neely. Penny stepped behind him, grabbed him around the neck and wrestled him to the floor of the car. He was intent on restraining Neely until the next subway stop and the police could take this obviously dangerous person from the subway.
Unfortunately, in the process Neely died. The New York authorities headed by the office of Alvin Bragg decided the villain here was Penny. Let me be clear at this point, I vehemently disagree.
We have heard the sad story of Neely’s life. I can tell you whenever I see a person like this, I have two thoughts. First, there but for the grace of God go I. Second, what decisions do people like Neely make that lead them to this point. As much as I feel sorry for someone, they still made the decisions that lead them to their current circumstances. That is what is absent in the thinking of many authorities – any consideration of these people taking personal responsibility for their actions.
I must say I was confronted with a situation like this. I was getting gas on a bright sunny day. A clearly erratic woman started to approach me. I could not tell whether she was on drugs or mentally ill or both. I felt physically threatened and was preparing myself to deck the woman if need be. While I was thinking about that, I was also thinking of the people whipping out their cell phones and taking a picture of the guy standing next to his convertible vehicle striking this woman. Fortunately, she backed off and the situation was defused.
You certainly know about Neely’s history of 42 prior arrests and his many dangerous actions. All that didn’t matter because Alvin Bragg saw a white guy taking down a black guy. He had a chance to race bait the incident and was encouraged to continue by despicable elements of our society.
For the benefit of all of us — especially Penny — sanity prevailed, and he was acquitted of the charges. He lost a year and a half of his life. He may have to look over his shoulder for a long time.
Penny is more than a hero. He altered the course of history. He didn’t fight back. He just did the right thing. He did not stand idly by and watch others with less physical stature be threatened by an out of control, wild and potentially murderous person. He reminded us that a safe and sane society is only maintained when people are willing to get involved and defend it. He did not cower in the face of evil. He stepped up and defeated it. Then he stood tall while weak, cowardly people threatened him for his actions.
Penny was the manifestation of Howard Beale yelling, “I am mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” The difference is Penny never yelled; he just did the right thing that he had training to do.
Donald Trump had a fabulous year and is a worthy choice. This country was built on the idea that it is in the hands of “ordinary” people. That was what happened when the Minute Man took his position to create this country. It continued when the soldier gave his life at Gettysburg to keep the Union together and free the slaves. It was manifested when the Doughboys saved Europe from itself and once again when their children saved the world from fascism. It continues when our ordinary citizens have gone to dark parts of the planet to save us from extreme Islamic maniacs. That is what Penny represents.
We should all be grateful to him. He made our society safer and better. He is the Person of the Year for 2024.
