2. Compliance - Louise Ogborn's Abuse Story
In 2012, a movie was released called "Compliance". It was about a middle-aged restaurant manager and her inability to defy authority. During the movie, audiences were subjected to the accusation and later sexual and psychological abuse of a young cashier as her manager strip searched her at the command of a police officer, who was instructing the manager over the telephone. The police officer explained to the manager that the employee in question was under suspicion of having stolen from a customer earlier that day and needed to be searched for the property. I have seen a lot of uncomfortable movies in my lifetime (The Girl Next Door being the most disturbing), but this is one that I had to turn off and finish watching later on. I was so angry and in complete disbelief that any person could stand by, not question the morals of authority, and emotionally scar a young woman. I thought, "Clearly no one is that ignorant! This would never happen in real life!" Then I realized that this had actually happened. On April 9, 2004 at a McDonald's in Mount Washington, KY, 18 year-old Louise Ogborn endured the most unforgettable, scarring, and evil hours of her life. Donna Jean Summers, Ogborn's manager, received a call stating that the young cashier had stolen a purse and was to be placed under arrest, though there were no available officers to go to the restaurant and collect her. Because of the time sensitivity of the case, Summers was ordered to strip search the employee. And she did. Without question. Ogborn was left standing naked in the back room of the restaurant for hours while Summers and the rest of the staff attended to the night rush of customers. Ogborn was watched by several members of staff, male and female, while Summers' responsibilities as manager interfered with the interogation. When Summers called her fiance to take over some of the watching, per the officer's request, is when the real abuse started. Following the instructions of the officer on the other end of the line, Summers' fiance, Walter Wes Nix, forced Ogborn to go through a series of physical tasks, such as squatting, jogging, and dancing, while completely nude. When she did not comply, he spanked her like a child, just as the voice told him to. What is even more disturbing, is that this is not the first time this has happened. These hoax phone calls had been happening for years. YEARS! Reports were coming in since the late 90s of managers strip searching employees, exposing themselves to customers, and any other inane, ridiculous thing you could think of, all because a voice on the telephone told them to. Summers, when asked why she didn't assume it was a prank, stated that she had never heard of any of the instances of prank callers to restaurants, even though it had happened not too long before only a few miles away. People will demand their independence and defend their intelligence, but they will still follow orders, no matter how obscene, no matter how ridiculous. It's disgusting.