World of Suck

Why is it that the world needs to be responsible when an individual makes a stupid decision? Further, why is it seemingly impossible for ordinary people to own up to their own mistakes? Case in point, people with SUV's backing over their own children. It's never their fault. It was the auto manufacturer for selling a behemoth vehicle without backup sensors or equipping it with a camera. It was the government's fault for not mandating the use of these technologies. It was the child's fault for running after the parent.

But it absolutely was NOT the fault of the parent for not being aware of their child's location. No, clearly not.

That's crap.

No you don't get any sympathy for buying a vehicle six times larger than you really need. You wanted something the size of a small tank, fine, you got it and you know what? Along with the oversized barge you bought comes the problems of navigating it. You bought a vehicle that makes it harder to see the ground, so where's the wonder that you increase the chances of running over something you can't see? Including your own child?

It's not for the auto industry to instantly make you smart enough or skilled enough to be safe in the vehicle you choose to buy. Nor is it their job to alert you to the changes you need to make in your routine to manage your new status symbol. When you test-drive the car, it's your opportunity to decide how it meets your needs.

Here's the deal, if you choose to buy a vehicle, appliance, device, toy then it's your responsibility to drive, use, function the item in a safe manner. While manufacturers are responsible to ensure that normal operation is hazard free, they are not the ones to shoulder the blame when you, the operator, fuck up.

Ford didn't back the SUV over your kid. You did.

No touching. That's the rules. Not even a hug - full body or not. Even a handshake is off-limits. Now those are rules that will help the next generation succeed in life after public education.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/17/AR2007061701179_pf.html

Can you just see the look on the face of a kids who went to this school and he/she shows up for a job interview and the interviewers put out their hands to shake his/her hand? With shit like this, no wonder the up and coming generation doesn't know how to act. Hand shaking, and even hugging in some circumstances, are almost beyond socially accepted greetings - they verge on socially expected. By not allowing these kinds of important social interactions, the administration of that school are crippling their students.

and Vermont may champion the call.

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1383163/posts

The 21 drinking age has always left a sour taste in my mouth. Adults can vote, smoke and join the army at 18, but god-forbid they might want a beer. It is a clear case of age discrimination. The government thinks 18 to 20 year olds can handle entering legal agreements but not their liquor, and then magically they are mature enough to handle it at 21. On the flip side, we frequently hear about under-age binge drinking. The 21 drinking age isn't stopping underage drinking, just making teenagers more sneaky about it.

After 1984, when the feds held highway funding hostage as a leverage to raise the drinking age, proponents heralded the raise in drinking age as the reason drunk driving fatalities decreased. A clear correlation of cause and effect were simply not there. Did drunk driving fatalities decrease? Sure, the statistics don't lie. However what is completely ignored is that aggressive anti-drunk driving campaigns started at the same time. The reality of blanket DWI patrols are as much a fact of real life now as big hair was a fact of life when these asinine laws were passed.

Before the aggressive stance on drunk driving, police typically only pulled over people who were so totally loaded they were swerving all over the place or speeding and the tests for driving while under the influence were, shall we say, a bit more subjective than they are today - "Walk this straight line. Now put your finger on your nose with your eyes closed." Now, as we know, its more along the lines of: "Blow into this tube." and a device makes the call whether someone is drunk.

Since drunk driving has decreased significantly across all age groups since 1984 it is high time to rescind the 21 drinking age. Let 18 and 20 year olds come out and join us in our favorite watering holes. Also let them call a cab or drag along their favorite designated driver, like the rest of us do.