BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Bill D
Date: 05 Jan 05 - 11:40 AM

Have you seen ALL the circles in DC, Little Hawk? Some are reasonable and simple (Chevy Chase Circle, Westmoreland Circle)...some are multi-lane, many-legged horrors that take months to learn...with inner and outer drives and traffic lights WITHIN the circle (Dupont Circle, Thomas Circle)...and some are just too much traffic trying to change lanes too fast. Very few are classic 'roundabouts'....none are 'fun', unless you think demolition derbies are fun.

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: DMcG
Date: 05 Jan 05 - 12:00 PM

When I moved into this area about ten years ago, there was a fairly straightforward crossroads in the town centre. Then they improved it by building a dividing wall in the middle of the road and introducing a one-way system. About every three years they improve it again, with months of disruption while it happens, of course.

The latest improvement plans have just been released for public comment - they take it all back to how it was when I arrived.

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 05 Jan 05 - 12:16 PM

Thank you, Dr. Malthus, for explaining the problem.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Peace
Date: 05 Jan 05 - 12:36 PM

Central Place Theory

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Tannywheeler
Date: 05 Jan 05 - 01:30 PM

Seems like most of the folks posting to this thread are male.
Bill D, another solution would be universal vasectomies: at about 11 yrs old all male children would get DNA tested. They would go to boarding schools where, besides academics and shop, they would learn intellectual and physical self-control techniques. At 18 they would graduate -- to college, vocational courses, full or part-time jobs -- to "half-way" houses; more in the mainstream of life, but not enough privacy to have sex. At 21 a vasectomy, and full liberation. Starting at about 28 they would be eligible for a vas. reversal (free), by signing an agreement attached to their DNA print that they would acknowledge and support any child they engendered. Then, if a man and woman pair up, they think permanently, they could choose a temporary female contraceptive while they try out their relationship. When they decide to have kids they can stop the contraceptive. So far, most female contraceptive products increase various health risks to women. Long-term use is dangerous to their life and well-being.

My aunt taught sign language to the deaf who had been dumped by their families at the State Hospital. These were folks who had been there a while and had maybe been made crazy -- well, she went in, one of a group of churchwomen who had chosen this road to do something good for the community. Once the patient had learned some sign language he/she could start seeing a doctor and getting counseling, always accompanied by their teacher/translator. These teachers were included in some of the patient-care meetings with board members and docs (mostly older white guys). Once, the continuing problem of patient pregnancies was being addressed and one board member jovially solicited ideas from my aunt for solutions. My aunt smiled politely (she always starts that way), and said: "Yes, sir, I do. We should start by castrating all the male staff members and doctors who have any contact with the female patients." She was not allowed to elaborate -- other topics were taken up. Strange?             Tw

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Bill D
Date: 05 Jan 05 - 05:05 PM

well, Tannywheeler, I would not rule out various 'adjustments' applied to men...but the truth is, it would be more complicated (chancey surgery), expensive and less efficacious. Women are the 'bottleneck',that is, one man can provide sperm to fertilize many, but a woman can only produce progeny at a certain rate. (Future space colonies will need MANY extra women, probably). To be effecient, contraception MUST be applied to women, and the techniques are already well understood....if it is also applied to men in some way, that could be a bonus.

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 12:20 AM

I certainly haven't seen all of 'em, Bill, but I remember one that was pretty nasty.

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Kim C
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 11:52 AM

It isn't so much that people are stupid as they just don't pay attention to their surroundings.

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Rapparee
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 12:33 PM

Amen to that, KimC!

Also, in DC there is such an overwhelming sense of self-importance that it provokes a "Screw you, git outa my way" attitude, especially towards driving. When I visit I try not to drive there -- my wife, who was born and raised there, does drive there and doesn't mind doing so.

The accepted rule for a stoplight in DC is "wait at least 15 seconds after the light changes to green, 'cause at least three cars are gonna run the red."

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 01:43 PM

Bloody-minded selfishness and acute impatience is the hallmark of North American drivers, it seems. It's also the hallmark of kindergarten-age children... :-)

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Bill D
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 01:52 PM

"...at least three cars are gonna run the red." you have it right, Rapaire! I have seen as many as 7 cars continue thru a red light in a double left-turn lane...that's 4 in one lane and 3 in another. I have, on 3 occasions, braked for a yellow light, only to have someone pull out and PASS me in order to run the red light.

The DC area has an unusual demography of drivers, including MANY immigrants whose habits were instilled in countries with 'different' attitudes...plus many bureaucrats of varied ilk whose sense of self-importance is exceeded only by the size of their cars. Add to this, a nasty street arrangement, with only a few main arteries and very few usable detours ("I don't want traffic in front of MY house") and a booming economy where cars and shopping are common......and you have the 2nd worse traffic in the country.

I am SO lucky to be retired and not have to deal with it on a daily basis.

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 02:02 PM

Yeah. Driving in Washington D.C. is a bit like being in hell...I figure.

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Cluin
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 02:11 PM

Why do people take such stupid chances while driving? Do they think they're in a freakin' tank? Have they never SEEN a serious accident?

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 02:19 PM

They think it'll happen to "someone else".

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Cluin
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 02:21 PM

It likely will, while they--the "cause" of the accident--go haring off down the road.

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 02:28 PM

No such thing as an "accident" as people think of them...someone is always to blame...either by stupidity or negligence. Even the British Police now call them collisions.
Best wishes.

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: GUEST,Blind DRunk in Blind River
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 02:52 PM

I don't know about the rest of you, but fer me it's, like, a self-protection, eh? It's a sruvvival tactik.

If yer too smart, girls don't like ya. Who wants to be a flippin nerd or a bookworm?

If yer too smart, people expect you to "buckle down" and hold down a serious flippin' job! You will never see me do that. No sir.

If yer too smart, people won't buy the stories you make up, like...

"Oh, I was just borrowin' the snowmobile. Didn't you tell Don to tell me it was okay?"

"Oh, well, I didnt' realize it wasn't you, cos the lights were out, eh? I thought it WAS you. Dead straight, babe. I would NEVER cheat on you. Never. I don't even know her. I don't. Who the flip do ya figure she is anyway?"

"The beer? There's none left? Shit! Who would've drunk all the beer while you was downtown fer an hour?"

"I never got that ticket, officer. Honest. It musta been lost in the mail."

"It wasn't me."

"It was Don did it."

"Search me...NO, I didn't mean that literal, eh? You don't have to... Ohh...shit. ..... Jeez, look at that, eh? These are my brother Don's pants I borrowed, officer, and...look at that! My brother msut be usin' DRUGS! Look...I will help with his cownselling, eh? Just take my number down. And call me. Okay? Can I go now?"

BDiBR

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 02:53 PM

69

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 02:53 PM

Subject: RE: BS: So why ARE we so damn stupid???
From: GUEST,Blind River in Boind DRunk
Date: 06 Jan 05 - 02:55 PM

A postion I never refuse if I get the offer, eh?