The Death Of Common Sense

[filipharvey]

Just read this on another forum.....


Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since any record of his birth was long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies ( don't spend more than you earn ) and reliable parenting strategies ( adults, not children, are in charge ).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teens suspending from school for using mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

He declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Panadol, sun lotion or a Band Aid to a student - but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do, disciplining their unruly children.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot: she spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility, and his son, Reason.

He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.



RIP COMMON SENSE!!!!

 

[TDI-line]

Well said.

 

[Donald_MacIver]

And its all a very accurate reflection of the world we are living in today.

 

[AndyMac]

Absolutely spot on.
The McDonalds coffee example is much bandied about as an example of the litigious society we now live, but it was pointed out to me, when I've used it in the past, that it wasn't just some moron spilling coffee on themselves. The coffee in question was superheated, so basically hotter than boiling (if that's possible,) and if she'd tried to drink it she would have scarred her mouth. The girl in question ended up with 3rd degree burns & heavy scarring to the groin and legs, and needed plastic surgery. So it isn't as ridiculous as it's made to sound. I think suing your employer for tripping over a piece of wood on a building site while carrying a hot bucket of tar is far more ludicrous, but anyway....

 

[Caesium]

Water Can be superheated but coffee cannot, only pure distilled water in a container that is absolutley smooth can water be heated to above boiling. (unless it is under pressure).
So the cup of coffee you make yourself every morning is the same temperature as the coffee McDonalds serve.

Even as a little baby I learnt "burnies" that hot things were to be respected as they can hurt you. If this Adult woman can't even look after something as simple as a cup of boiling liquid then she ought to be euthanised, not rewarded.

 

[AndyMac]

Yes Chris, there you go arguing with opinion against facts again. How long did it take you on Google to find that nugget.
Coffee is generally served at 155 degree's farenheit (hot but drinkable), it was proved this coffee was 190 degrees, not boiling but close. The ability to induce thickness burns rises exponentially with temp, so at 155 it would have been uncomfortable but not damaging, at 185+ it can induce 3rd degree burns especially when held to the skin by fabric. These are facts, not opinion.
Yes she was an idiot for holding the coffee in her lap while trying to get the top off (she was a passenger not the driver), but given it was a drive thru I wouldn't expect boiling water to be served to someone in a car. McDonalds coffee comes from a coffee pot, it's not made with a boiling kettle, so you'd naturally expect that it would be slurpable straight from the pot with no milk. This was proved not to be the case, and anyone trying it would have received burns to the mouth. I'm not supporting this person, just stating that as an example of nanny state culture it's not as ludicrous as the media made out. But still pretty ludicrous.

 

[Caesium]

I understand the point you are trying to convey and i'm not trying to disagree with you for the purposes of an arguement. The information upon which my post is based came entirely from my own intelligence. Water cannot be taken above 100'c centigrade unless under pressure. Coffee is not pure water, it has coffee dissolved into it. Water with impurities (which would be the coffee) will boil at a lower temperature. Any coffe machine that uses ground coffee SHOULD only heat the water to 83'C or there abouts because afterthat the coffee will taste bitter.
I don't agree that coffee on a drive thru should be cooled down, the onus of responsibilty should be on the purchaser of the coffee, not the supplier. If you purchased a kettle from Argos, made yourself a cup of tea and then scaled yourself, who would be to blame? Argos? The kettle manufacturer? The electric board? Water Company? No, it would be the person in control of the cup.

Paying stupid people out is as you point out, ludicrous.
I don't know if you recall but a somalian child rapist was recently wrongly incarcerated while his deportation was being discussed, after he had served his prison sentance. For this he was awarded 50 grand. The guy was a ******* child molester and an illegal immigrant one at that! if this isn't a case of lack of common sense then i don't know what is.

Common sense is not only dead, it has been exumed, hung drawn and quartered, cremated and then reburied

 

[smee]

How about the bloke who managed to sue Winnebago because his crashed when he went to make a cup of tea / coffee. He claimed that he thought cruise control would have kept the vehicle safely moving on the highway.
Apparently (although it may be an urban legend) Winnebago now have amended the owners manual to say that you should not leave the wheel whilst driving

Er Common sense?

 

[AndyMac]

Well there you go, two far better examples of the world gone mad.
The reason the stupid american got a payout was because it was proved the drive thru she bought the coffee from was heating its coffee 30 degrees hotter than other vendors including other McDonalds outlets. The case wasn't really about whether or not she should have taken responsibility for her own coffee handling skills (in fact they reduced the payout by 25% because of her stupidity), it was about McDonalds responsibility to serve products that wouldn't harm it's customers regardless of how stupid they were. If you make your own coffee then you know how hot it is, so you can't really complain if you spill it on yourself. Selling coffee to people in cars is entirely different. The vendor has an obligation to the customer not to serve something that would harm them. A bit like warnings on peanuts "may contain nuts" or on lightbulbs "do not swallow". I'm not saying it's right I was just pointing out that the infamous coffee case was not reported accurately and made to sound more ludicrous than it was.
Similarly just heard a report on the radio that the UK now pays x million more in income tax & national insurance than ever before, like this was the fault of the government. They failed to report that this was purely down to people earning more than ever before so of course the tax & national insurance would be more, in fact income tax as a percentage has come down as the threshold has increased. Also the doom & gloom about high street shops taking less at the tills each year, like we're heading for a depresion, when they fail to report the huge amounts being spent internet shopping & via ebay.
It's the media I have an issue with always sensationalising everything, like reporting the facts would be just too boring so they need an angle to sex it up otherwise the great british public won't understand it.
It seems to be a national epidemic and the only people to blame is ourselves for continuing to pander to this crap.
We ought to be able to sign up to a scheme stating that we fully understand the conditions of life and take responsibility for being stupid and/or having bad things happen to ourselves through no fault of anyone else. You then carry a card to prove you've opted out of the blame culture epidemic and would like to be treated as an adult. A bit like the form you sign when you go parachuting or track day racing. I'd definately sign up, (but my lawyer won't let me!)