We need to stop over-protecting the stupid -- it’s threatening our species
The herd needs thinning and we’re getting in the way. Every day there are new rules and regulations
to protect the amazingly stupid among us.
And you know what?
It’s a waste of time.
It just prolongs the inevitable. Plus it gives these astonishingly idiotic
people time to reproduce, bringing more knuckleheads into this world, thus
further degrading the gene pool.
It also enriches trial lawyers who find juries of equally stupid
people eager to grant jackpot verdicts to some of the dumbest among us.
Face it: some people are just too stupid to live. We see examples every day.
That doesn’t mean we start rounding them up and turning them
into fertilizer. However, we certainly shouldn’t
be protecting them; we should stand aside and let nature take its course.
Look, some people are brighter than others. But some people are clearly much dumber than
the norm, not because they are mentally challenged, but because they don’t have
the good sense God gave a sweet potato.
You can put all the warnings you like in front of them – in flashing
72pt. type and with graphics – and they still go off on their merry, stupid way
and do things that put their lives and health in serious jeopardy. And then seem honestly surprised when bad
things happen.
Somewhere along the way, our government decided we needed to
protect these people from their own boneheaded actions. It mandated all kinds of rules and labels
that have absolutely no effect on those too stupid, or thoughtless, to pay
attention. You can't fix stupid.
So I say “Give Up.” Let
nature take its course.
Stop wasting time and money on postponing the nasty ends the
awesomely stupid are destined for by their own hands. Oh, and while we’re at it, find some way of
preventing trial lawyers from making millions off the stupidity of others.
Do you understand electricity? Apparently a lot of Americans don’t. That’s why there’s a cartoon on your blow
dryer that shows you not to use it in the tub or while taking a shower.
Do you need to be warned not to iron your clothes while you’re
wearing them? Apparently some people
need to be … because your iron carries that warning.
Do you need to be told that the plastic bags your laundry
comes in should not be placed over your face? Or that coffee is hot? Or that you shouldn’t hold lit fireworks in
your hand? Or that you shouldn’t eat the
desiccant pack included in some products?
That knives are sharp, you shouldn’t swallow mouthwash or drink rubbing alcohol,
and that some microwaved foods can be very hot –
especially the steam part?
It’s not just product labels. In their continuing effort to protect the
stupid from becoming extinct by their own hands, there’s a constant barrage of nanny-state
rules being promulgated.
One of the first I can remember was about wearing seatbelts. Now you can be fined for not wearing a seatbelt
while driving; some states fine passengers not wearing seatbelts, too. Yet most of us wear seatbelts anyway, not
because of the fine, but because we think they’ll help keep us alive in a
crash.
Today most cars also come equipped with air bags. While those certainly cut down traffic
fatalities, I’ll just bet that air bags also encourage the stupid to drive more
recklessly.
That's because I think the more you lessen the
risk for the dumbasses, the more they’ll push the envelope. Give them Lipitor and they'll eat more crap foods. Come up with the HPV vaccine and they'll engage in even more risky behavior. Morning after pill -- why worry about condoms anymore?
You can't legislate common sense. New York banned big sugary soft drinks. Before long they – and others – will try to ban
greasy foods. Salty foods. Fatty foods.
High calorie foods. All to save
the stupid from eating themselves to death.
They’ve now required restaurants to post nutritional statements so
people will know how bad certain foods are for them.
Like that’s going to make a difference. The stupid won’t pay any attention.
When they have a massive coronary they’ll find some lawyer
to help them sue McDonalds for making their food so irresistible. They’ll sue Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme,
because they’ll claim they never knew donuts weren’t health foods.
And the bizarre thing is, they’ll find some equally
numbskull jury that agrees with them.
Listen, if you eat a dozen donuts for breakfast, two Big
Macs with large fries for lunch, drink a six pack with a dinner of Kentucky
Fried Chicken – and you do this every day, you’re going to get fat. Unless you won the luck of the draw in the
gene pool, you’re also going to have high cholesterol and a whole host of other
health issues. Cause and effect.
The problem is, the stupid don’t believe in a causal
universe. They don’t associate bad
behavior and bad habits with potentially bad outcomes, the way the rest of us
do, no matter how much you try to educate them.
You might as well try to teach physics to parakeets, or your
dog to play the bagpipes. They simply
aren’t interested.
Want more proof? Let’s
take a very recent example.
When you are told to evacuate an area because of fire,
flood, or a hurricane, most normal people would. But not
the stupid among us.
Well in advance of hurricane Sandy, there were dire warnings
of catastrophic storm surges and repeated calls by officials to evacuate the
Delaware, New Jersey and New York coastlines.
Yet at the height of the storm I saw news clips of people
wave boarding in those areas. I saw
people nearly blown off piers as they took pictures of themselves in front of
the waves. I saw people happily driving
their cars on clearly flooded streets in more than foot-deep water.
At Battery Park in New York, again with orders to evacuate,
I saw people taking pictures of the news reporters and then two guys stripped
off their shirts and jumped in the water laughing.
Great fun. Reminds me
of my favorite short joke:
What’s the
last thing a redneck ever says?
“Watch this
…”
It also applies to the hopelessly stupid.
So what are we to do?
For once, there is a simple solution.
We don’t have to do anything. We just need to stop doing some things. Like rescuing the clueless when they've put
their own lives in danger through their own stupidity. Or rewarding – through ridiculous lawsuits –
incredibly stupid behavior.
Let’s let nature take its course for a change. The species might be better off.
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