I've got very divided views on this. On the one hand I feel that if people are so stupid that they're going to trip over obvious hazards, or drug themselves to death, or believe everything they see on TV and try to recreate it, only to discover that they're dead, then let them die. Surely we have to accept that people die and it's better to have stupid genes remain unpropagated than nanny a population into such a stupor that the only think keeping people from death is a warning on a hot drink saying: "Warning: hot drink may be hot". That's one end of my view.
On the other hand, though it may seem like natural selection for some inbred deadbeat to blow themselves up, what if they take someone with them? What if it were me? There I am minding my own business, washing my hands after going to the toilet, and before, and some guy in a cubicle doesn't notice the sign on the toilet roll that says "beware of paper cuts", and causes himself a cut so deep that he has an arterial spurt, which hits the floor before anyone can put out a "warning floor may be wet due to blood... and sticky" sign, and I fall over, injuring myself. What then? Would I feel like someone ought to have done something to stop that from happening? I think I would.
In these days of post religious belief, and sorry folks, but God is just a fairytale now, the only power people have to look up to is whichever ruling body happens to sit between you and the authority to do something about something. The hazard sign has become the new religion with the accident lawyers the priests. "Someone ought to pay for this bad thing that has happened to me," says the sinner and the law giveth. Then the new commandments are passed down from on high. Thou shalt label they nuts with the words "warning: if you have a nut allergy, these are nuts and you are allergic to them" and the people shall rejoice and they shall become weaker of mind and fatter of body and shall whinge that life is no fun no more and then buy an iPod.
Here endeth the lessening.
On the other hand, though it may seem like natural selection for some inbred deadbeat to blow themselves up, what if they take someone with them? What if it were me? There I am minding my own business, washing my hands after going to the toilet, and before, and some guy in a cubicle doesn't notice the sign on the toilet roll that says "beware of paper cuts", and causes himself a cut so deep that he has an arterial spurt, which hits the floor before anyone can put out a "warning floor may be wet due to blood... and sticky" sign, and I fall over, injuring myself. What then? Would I feel like someone ought to have done something to stop that from happening? I think I would.
In these days of post religious belief, and sorry folks, but God is just a fairytale now, the only power people have to look up to is whichever ruling body happens to sit between you and the authority to do something about something. The hazard sign has become the new religion with the accident lawyers the priests. "Someone ought to pay for this bad thing that has happened to me," says the sinner and the law giveth. Then the new commandments are passed down from on high. Thou shalt label they nuts with the words "warning: if you have a nut allergy, these are nuts and you are allergic to them" and the people shall rejoice and they shall become weaker of mind and fatter of body and shall whinge that life is no fun no more and then buy an iPod.
Here endeth the lessening.
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