Note: there is an additional paragraph at the end that did not appear here originally. It was added later to make some clarifications.
As I wrote last week, on Wednesday I was attacked by a truck driver in public, punched in the face, and called a “faggot” several times. Five days later, I still have a sore neck and jaw, and I have difficulty chewing. I did not disclose the name of the company for whom the driver was delivering. It was a large truck, with a giant Yuengling logo on the side.
On Wednesday I called a Yuengling representative at (570) 622-4141, a phone number I retrieved from their website. The woman I spoke to was very kind and helpful, and she gave me the contact information for Nonie Zukas, the Vice President of Administration and Human Resources for D.G.Yuengling & Son, Inc. I forwarded my detailed report of the attack to Ms. Zukas along with an explanatory note including the sentence: “I thought your company should know so that you can prevent this man from doing it again to someone else and possibly incur litigation against Yuengling.”
Her e-mail communication with me did not contain a statement of or request for confidentiality, so I can reproduce it here. Ms. Zukas responded kindly, offering an apology and letting me know that her thoughts and prayers were with me. She also stated that “D.G.Yuengling & Son, Inc does not have any company drivers that go into Manhattan. The truck you saw that had the Yuengling logo on it does not belong to the company and again the person driving this truck is not an employee of the company.”
That was, of course, understandable. I replied with “I understand that Yuengling cannot take disciplinary action against an employee of another company, but are you able to investigate and figure out which distribution company is in charge of the man who hit me today? Can you give me any additional information on the name and contact info for the distribution company? I want to do everything in my power to make sure this man receives disciplinary action from his employer, whoever that is, for 1) talking on his cell phone while driving through busy daytime Manhattan, 2) driving recklessly and almost hitting pedestrians, and 3) exiting his vehicle mid-intersection to follow, physically assault, and call a stranger names based on his sexuality. The simplicity of the situation is that dozens of people saw an angry man hop out of a truck with a giant ‘Yuengling’ written on the side, punch a pedestrian, and then get back in the truck and drive away. I'm sure I'm not the only person who assumed he was a direct employee of Yuengling.”
Five days passed with no response, and this morning I e-mailed Ms. Zukas again to ask simply “Any chance you can provide me with the distribution/trucking company's information so that I can contact them?” She responded quickly with “After investigating the matter we are not able to provide any further information.”
It appears that her prayers are the only help I’m going to get from Yuengling. I just replied to her: “This is incredibly disappointing. All I want to do is contact his employer to tell them exactly what happened, in hopes that he will receive appropriate disciplinary action. In keeping this information from me, you are directly aiding a violent bigot and condoning the fact that he got out of a truck with your logo on the side specifically to beat me in front of a crowd of people. I will not extend the courtesy of keeping the Yuengling name out of my public statements from this point further.”
Edited to add: There's some question about whether or not I filed an official police report. Yes, I did. The NYPD has my whole detailed report, including the license plate number. Some people say I shouldn't be going after Yuengling; I should be going after the distributor instead. I agree completely. The problem is that Yuengling is refusing to give me information for their distributor. They are purposely withholding that information from me, so I don't know for sure who to contact. There are also some people who think I must be exaggerating or leaving something out, because the story doesn't make sense. Well, no... the story doesn't make sense. That's the entire point. The guy was totally irrational, violent, crazy, and scary. Everything I have written about this incident across both blog posts is true as presented, and I have included everything I remember.
Edited again to add: Thank you infinitely to everyone who’s reached out to me in the last 24 hours since my last blog post went up. I’ve gotten so many offers of help from lawyers, writers, and news people… even a few requests to discuss the story for national magazine and evening news coverage. At this point I don’t want to go the television route, so I declined. I’m really not trying to cause a riot or make unwarranted millions or start a frivolous lawsuit. I just want Yuengling to do what is necessary and right – provide me with the name and contact information of their distributor, the employer of the man who hit me – instead of curtly withhold that information and complicate my efforts to alert his employer of his actions. As I’ve said from the beginning, all I am interested in doing is making sure the guy receives appropriate disciplinary action. My opinion is that he should lose his job. No, Yuengling is not his direct supervisor. But their name is on the truck and the beer being delivered, they contracted their distributor to deliver their product, and they are withholding vital information from me to impede my own efforts. Yes, I filed a police report, and the license plate number of the truck is documented within that report. But a family member of mine is a retired Chief of Police, and he explained to me that without any witnesses coming forward, it’s not likely that the police can really do much other than keep the information on file. It’s basically in my hands, and I want to be sure that I did everything in my power to bring justice to the situation. I am acting within the law, with honesty, and with formality. Other blogs and news outlets can write (and have written) more informal and judgmental articles about Yuengling. All I have done is state the facts.
Edited again to add: There has been action taken. Please read.
