Some of you might remember that I blogged awhile back about an unarmed Polish immigrant who was killed by four members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at Vancouver International Airport.

Well, the various inquiries into Robert Dziekanski's death specifically, and police use of Tasers more generally, continue to chug along. And this weekend, I was sickened to find a column in the National Post, essentially blaming Mr. Dziekanski's 70+ year-old mother for his death. "How do you figure?" You might ask. Well, she had already arrived in Canada, nine years earlier, and was supposed to meet him at the airport. They'd arranged to meet at the baggage carousel - both unaware that it was still within the secure area. Mr. Dziekanski, confused when he arrived to find that his mother was not there, and unable to speak English, waited by the carousel for ten hours. Outside, his mother spent several hours asking airport officials to search for him or to tell her where he was. Finally, after being told that the authorities had checked the secure area (they had not) and that her son was nowhere to be found (he was right where she'd said he would be) she left, thinking he hadn't made the flight.

Lorne Gunter's column suggested that she hadn't done enough to find her son, hadn't made enough of a fuss, hadn't contacted anyone in Poland before leaving the airport, etc, and that this resulted - albeit indirectly, since it was four blasts from a Taser that killed him - in his death.

I sent an email directly to the editor of the National Post's opinions page, and today - victory! - I received word that she agreed the column was inappropriate and that it had been removed from the paper's website. So now a tiny bit of my faith in the world (which the whole Dziekanski tragedy has done a great deal to destroy) has been restored...

If there's a lesson here, it's that speaking up for what's right (not to mention what's true) isn't always pointless, no matter how much it may seem that way in this, the Bill O'Reilly era. I can't point you to the article in question since (huzzah!) it's been removed from cyberspace. My irate email and the editor's reply are below:

Dear Marni Soupcoff:

As I was unable to find an email for Lorne Gunter (and I suspect he is oblivious to any reader criticism anyway) I will address you instead.

Mr. Gunter's column blaming Zofia Cisowksi for her own son's death was appalling. I am struggling to even find words to express how distasteful, cruel and ignorant it was.

It was not even factually accurate - far from it. How could she have spoken directly to Customs officials about her son's whereabouts? They are within the secure area - and as anyone who has gotten on a flight since 9/11 (and I presume this includes Mr. Gunter) knows, civilians without tickets are not simply permitted to wander where they like asking questions. Mr. Gunter also suggested that she should have spoken to staff from the airline her son was flying to find out if he was on the flight; but it's been well reported in recent cases that airlines will not disclose passenger information to anyone making inquiries. It's considered to be a breach of privacy. How would anyone in Poland have known whether Robert Dziekanski made his flight? Someone might - at best - have dropped him off at the airport and known that he entered the building, though it's just as likely he would have taken a taxi, and his friends would have known only that he intended to depart that day. Even if they had dropped him off and entered the building with him, they would only have been able to accompany him as far as the secure area - none of them would have been able to confirm with any confidence that he physically boarded the plane. Is Mr. Gunter so intent on blaming a grieving mother that he ignores all this? Or has he never visited an airport before?

Furthermore, suggesting that Robert Dziekanski "may have had mental health issues" is pure speculation.

Gross ignorance (or deliberate misrepresentation) of standard airport security practices aside, Mr. Gunter's column remains one of the most mean-spirited pieces of trash I have read in a long time. Mr. Gunter writes at the end: "I'm not saying her actions helped kill her son." Yet by raising all these (spurious) questions, Mr. Gunter is indeed suggesting just that - what other purpose could this column serve? If he believes that the answers to his questions bear any relation to the inquiry into Mr. Dziekanski's death, then he must believe that Zofia Cisowski's actions played a role in the events that followed, even if they were not "the biggest and most immediate cause of his death." Making excuses in the final lines of a column designed entirely to blame Zofia Cisowski will not fool readers - at least not this one.

Yes. After several hours of searching for her son, seeking help from airport authorities and receiving no assistance whatsoever, Zofia Cisowski left. She did so after being told repeatedly that her son was not in the airport. She did so not only because it's dangerous to make a scene in an airport these days (as her son learned), but because she trusted airport officials and believed them when they said he was nowhere to be found.

If Zofia Cisowski made a mistake, it was in trusting the authorities. I'm sure she won't make that mistake again, and neither will I, or the millions of Canadians who watched the Dziekanski death video.

It's a shame that we must add the media to the list of people we can no longer trust. The National Post should be embarrassed by its association with Lorne Gunter and his highly inaccurate, needlessly cruel attack on Zofia Cisowski. You should be ashamed of yourself, as editor, for allowing this piece to run. I am extremely disappointed.

Eva Holland

Dear Ms. Holland:

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and concerns about Lorne Gunter’s post. I understand what you’re saying and ultimately agree that the post did not belong on our Web site, which is why we chose to take it down. I’ll forward your message to Lorne Gunter as well.

Best,
Marni Soupcoff