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The Epidemic of Stupid
Now that winter is finally over, and the spring blossoms are signalling renewal and life across the country, some Canadians are looking back at the 2008-2009 season as a paramount failure in the promotion of safe riding, skiing and snowmobiling on many of Canada’s slopes. Last winter alone there were 19 deaths attributed to “accidents” in BC’s backcountry, when they should have been attributed to stupidity.
Mike Wiegele, a founding member of the Canadian Avalanche Association, featured in The Province on May 4th, 2009, wants a “crackdown on ‘unacceptable’ selfishness.” Wiegele laments that “It's totally unacceptable that people are dying in large numbers. It's an epidemic. They go into closed areas without caring about anybody else.”
If stupidity is an epidemic, perhaps the desire and need for extreme sports or any activity in which the participant puts themselves at risk should be deemed illegal. If a person goes into uncharted, cordoned off areas on snowmobiles, skis or snowshoes, there should be a sign that says, “If you cross this line, you’re fucked,” or, “If you cross this line you selfish bastard, don’t expect anyone to come rescue you. It's people like you who give common sense a bad name.”
If the epidemic of selfishness and stupidity is making adventurers across the province take their lives into their own hands, that is their problem. One of the main issues with freewill is that it doesn’t take into account the bystanders who are affected by their actions. What would be the purpose of an outright ban of backcountry activities? These people are selfish, remember? If anything, making something forbidden just makes the fruit that much more sweet.
When will extreme activities get to point of being completely unacceptable? How dare these adventurers put rescue workers and medics into situations where they themselves could get injured, not to mention the exorbitant costs of rescuing these individuals. The extremists should have a lifetime ban from owning or operating any such vehicles and also be responsible for paying the search and rescue and hospital fees. I’m sure a $50,000 bill will make the selfish think twice before they head out again. Then again, they may posses a similar attitude to those macho jerks who get caught in near-fatal incidents and boast that they would never give up their passion, however dangerous it may be.
Perhaps such people should have their helmets and jackets emblazoned with a scarlet “S” for stupidity (or selfishness) and be left at the bottom of the hill for people to publicly chastise them and pelt them with snowballs in passing. “Look, there goes Bob. He’s a backcountry snowmobiler. The nerve.” Perhaps when the stupidity stigma becomes to much to bear they will relent and take the bunny hills out for a spin. I’m by no means suggesting that everyone who snowmobiles is an idiot, but when you buy a motorized sled with handlebars and take it up the side of a mountain just for kicks, it leads many people to believe that they deserve whatever tragic outcome they are seeking. We can only wait until next season to see if this year’s carnage has abated the desire for adrenaline-fuelled antics. My guess is it hasn’t dissuaded them in the least.
Mike Wiegele, a founding member of the Canadian Avalanche Association, featured in The Province on May 4th, 2009, wants a “crackdown on ‘unacceptable’ selfishness.” Wiegele laments that “It's totally unacceptable that people are dying in large numbers. It's an epidemic. They go into closed areas without caring about anybody else.”
If stupidity is an epidemic, perhaps the desire and need for extreme sports or any activity in which the participant puts themselves at risk should be deemed illegal. If a person goes into uncharted, cordoned off areas on snowmobiles, skis or snowshoes, there should be a sign that says, “If you cross this line, you’re fucked,” or, “If you cross this line you selfish bastard, don’t expect anyone to come rescue you. It's people like you who give common sense a bad name.”
If the epidemic of selfishness and stupidity is making adventurers across the province take their lives into their own hands, that is their problem. One of the main issues with freewill is that it doesn’t take into account the bystanders who are affected by their actions. What would be the purpose of an outright ban of backcountry activities? These people are selfish, remember? If anything, making something forbidden just makes the fruit that much more sweet.
When will extreme activities get to point of being completely unacceptable? How dare these adventurers put rescue workers and medics into situations where they themselves could get injured, not to mention the exorbitant costs of rescuing these individuals. The extremists should have a lifetime ban from owning or operating any such vehicles and also be responsible for paying the search and rescue and hospital fees. I’m sure a $50,000 bill will make the selfish think twice before they head out again. Then again, they may posses a similar attitude to those macho jerks who get caught in near-fatal incidents and boast that they would never give up their passion, however dangerous it may be.
Perhaps such people should have their helmets and jackets emblazoned with a scarlet “S” for stupidity (or selfishness) and be left at the bottom of the hill for people to publicly chastise them and pelt them with snowballs in passing. “Look, there goes Bob. He’s a backcountry snowmobiler. The nerve.” Perhaps when the stupidity stigma becomes to much to bear they will relent and take the bunny hills out for a spin. I’m by no means suggesting that everyone who snowmobiles is an idiot, but when you buy a motorized sled with handlebars and take it up the side of a mountain just for kicks, it leads many people to believe that they deserve whatever tragic outcome they are seeking. We can only wait until next season to see if this year’s carnage has abated the desire for adrenaline-fuelled antics. My guess is it hasn’t dissuaded them in the least.
Comment
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Comment by Eric Pettifor on May 17, 2009 at 5:22pm -
Half the population is below average intelligence, and not even the most aggressive eugenics program will change that. That's why Gordon Campbell is premier, and why Obama didn't pull a much larger share of the popular vote. The miracle is that the species gets on as well as it does. Personally, I suspect that there are invisible hosts of overworked angels watching over us. Sounds incredible, impossible to prove, but a lot of things don't make sense otherwise. 19 backcountry deaths? That's it? In the face of all that stupidity?
Next season stupid people should be partnered with non-stupid people equipped with exploding flour packs. When the stupid person gets away with an ought-to-have-been-fatal move, the non-stupid person sets off the flour pack covering everything around in white dust, including any interfering angels -- "Hah, caught you at it, interfering with Darwin and allowing these people to live to breed. For shame!"
Or perhaps something like that was tried last year, 19 times. The angels were tipped off.
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