Laws, Safety & Freedom - Part 2

Do I think we all need formal training? Do we need driver's training or parenthood classes or firearms safety? No.

[I know half of you just heard "say again?" in your head]

What we need is a high school diploma.

If I go into the Harley dealer and throw my money on the counter, instead of asking to see a driver's license I should be able to show them my diploma.

Need a John Deere tractor? Got a diploma? yup. Sign here, come back any time Sir.

Need a Snowmobile? Chainsaw? Dynamite? Sailboat? Razor Blade? Got my diploma card right here. Sold.

OMG OMG you can't teach all that in school, there's too much to learn. shut up. I'm not done.

School (and parents) should teach how to recognize a dangerous tool when you see one. You should also get taught the ENGLISH language so you know how to READ THE F***ING INSTRUCTIONS; the one that says "Poison: do not take internally" or "Contains tobacco: May cause cancer". If you can do basic reading comprehension you should be able to buy any item you want, hazardous or not, read the label and use it at a basic level of proficiency. For advanced proficiency do some research on your own [you should learn how to do research in SCHOOL], seek out others who are proficient, to learn from, and practice.

If you are thoughtless enough to drive drunk, your ability to make decisions impacting the freedoms & rights of other citizens is suspect and as a result society has a responsibility to restrict your access to other dangerous things. Can you still buy groceries? Sure. Can you live on my street? Sure. Can you buy a car? No. You're the Mass-Transit Ranger bro. A car is a deadly weapon in the hands of a negligent driver, and you demonstrated your brain has no safety catch.

Again, we don’t need lawmakers to make more rules in an attempt to prevent stupidity from happening. We need to make the education system better. Face it friends and neighbors, stupid is gonna happen no matter what. Stupidity is a force of Nature, it’s like rain and wind.

We need less of this 'no one left behind' B.S. and a lot more 'you stay here until you learn it'. Graduating underachievers is dangerous to the public. Drivers who can't read road signs are dangerous. Parents who can't read medicine bottles are dangerous.

Laws, Safety & Freedom - Part 1

Our laws are inconsistent.

We require seat belt use for automobiles, but our citizens are allowed to jump out of airplanes.

We require safety/proficiency training for legal use of automobiles, but we don't require any prior training for parenthood.

I think motorcycle helmets are a good safety feature. I think helmet use can save lives. The ER nurses who held me down and scrubbed the gravel out of my face think so too. I don't for a second think anyone has the right to MAKE me wear one. Do I wear one? Yes. Always? No. It is a choice I should be able to make for myself as an adult. At no point does my helmet usage adversely impact another living being. EVER. Why do people across the nation think the government needs to regulate it?

To my knowledge there's no law requiring condom use. Condom use quite frequently impacts more than one life.

If we are going to pass laws to keep people safe from EVERYTHING, wow that's a lot of laws we're going to need. Let's face it; if we legislate anything unsafe out of our lives we're going to be left with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and not much else.

I can see the reasoning behind training prior to using a firearm or a vehicle (or ANY potentially dangerous tool). I can see the reasoning behind a requirement for training. I can also see a reason to avoid making it a REQUIREMENT.

If you buy a saw and cut off your finger, that's all you. Call it incompetence or negligence or whatever you want; you did it to you. I don’t see any need for anti-saw legislation to keep you safe. I certainly don’t see a need for anti-saw legislation to keep ME safe in the event I might lose a finger someday down the road. Since they belong to me, and I’m an adult, I see it as MY responsibility to keep track of where I put MY fingers and MY saw. There’s no logical reason to pass a law just because we need to be careful.

When I bounced my face on the road, because I was too stupid to put on my helmet, my dad took me to the ER and then took me to the local cycle safety class. He had the instructor point to my face and point to the students’ helmets. Then he showed them the medical bill and told them where they could buy full face helmets. That’s education not legislation. And it works.

We cannot continue to pass legislation every time someone does something stupid or careless. Every time we do, we curb the rights of the citizens; the safe and conscientious as well as the stupid and careless. It is not government’s job to keep us safe from ourselves. This is the USA and we have the freedom to be as smart or stupid as we choose.

Instead of passing more unconstitutional laws we don’t need, let’s promote education.

baby sitter

I think this has been removed from YouTube but ABCNEWS still has it.

Words cannot describe how angry I am. I cannot imagine being the parents of the baby or the teen.

hat tip: Bayou Renaissance Man found this story about kids in Britain.

how does this happen? how badly have we (civilized humanity) F'd up our society for this to happen?

give 'till it hurts

Okie dokie

Normally If I have no personal experience with something I don’t shoot off my mouth about it. Today I’m gonna set that rule aside and holler at some of you so-called parents.

If you give your kid everything you are a friggin’ idiot.

Now that y’all are good and mad I will explain. The problem lies primarily with the term give; and secondly with the term everything. I have no problems with a kid who has everything; it’s the method of acquisition.

Everywhere I go I see kids who are dependent on someone to give them things. Not a problem by itself, kids by definition should be dependent on parents as a primary source of food, shelter, emotional support and other basic needs.

A BWM is not a basic need. A 3000 dollar poodle is not a basic need (and by the way is also not a fashion accessory). Pepsi is not a basic need. A ride to school ‘cuz it’s rainy or cold is not a basic need. You are thinking I’m sadistic; I’m thinking buy the kid a dam jacket.

People who don’t have to work for things and I mean work, sweat, think, strain, for more than one day, will not, repeat, will not place appropriate value on anything. There is a mountain of difference between a kid who thinks ‘mommy will get me another one’ and a kid who thinks ‘I worked all summer for that’. Kids who get up before school to check their trap-lines for gas money will have a whole different outlook than kids who thinks cars come from blowing out all 16 candles on the cake. A kid who has daddy-taxi for 18 years will be disappointed when they are late for class their first day of college, ‘cuz I’m sorry but there’s no drop off service at any of the universities I’ve attended.

A friend of mine mentioned the warm fuzzy feeling she gets from giving things. That selfless giving which makes her enjoy life. I think giving is good, giving until the recipient becomes dependent is bad. If your teenage driver doesn’t know why people are mad about 4 dollar gas you’re wrong. If you are gonna give them something just ‘cuz it’s Tuesday at least pick something they need vs. something they want (that’s what birthdays are for). If your kid has rotten teeth quit giving them candy and give them a toothbrush. See how warm and fuzzy you feel when the ungrateful lil’ tyke screams about not having candy. I heard a teenager yell at their parent once about a purchase she was being denied, “Just buy it!!! What’s wrong with you!!??” That’s probably not uncommon really, but the stunned look of disbelief on her lil’ face when momma explained there was no money for it because she had spent it already was priceless. Sad, but priceless.

I think there are lots of issues with raising kids in the world we live in today. Perhaps this is not the most important but I find the idea that children do not know the price of a dollar astounding. I’m not talking about knowing what a dollar will buy, but the concept of how much effort goes into earning that dollar. You have to spend money to make money is lost on them. You have to spend money for gas, oil, tires, clothes, insurance, license plates, soap, shampoo, breakfast, the list goes on. … all before you can earn just one dollar.

So stop just giving them everything. Use their childhood years to teach them things they will need when they are out on their own. Teach them the length of a workday. Teach them the high cost of luxuries. Teach them how much of their hard earned money goes to pay taxes. Teach them how to budget. Don’t shield them from experiences they will need when they leave the nest and venture out on their own.

Maybe if more people know what a dollar costs more people would fight when someone takes it away.