People are idiots, and I'm sick of it.

[Anticrombie0909]

A while back, I was working at Davanni's (a local pizza place) when a customer told me we were out of ice. Ok, I said, I'll go refill it. I filled up a bucket with ice, and went to go get a ladder. I returned with it, only to have my employer tell me that due to the fact I wasn't 16, I couldn't step on a ladder. The godamn thing wasn't more than three feet tall, it was more of a stepstool than anything.

I read another article recently about yet more and more laws trying to be passed that will restrict and prohibit youth work and the environments they work in. One example they used was a kid working at a golf course that somehow managed to run a golf cart into the deck and puncture his heart, killing him. The mother sued the course and is supporting the legislation.

What pisses me off, is that kids like him and their parents shouldn't be able to play along with the legislators and make more laws we don't really need. I mean, did anyone ever consider that maybe the kid was just intensely stupid? How do you run a golf cart into a deck? Its not like they're easy to miss.

Its hard enough for minors to get jobs. The job market is terrible (no thanks to dubya), and more and more potential employers are turning us kids away, telling us we have to be 16 or 18 or even older than that, because some stupid kid who killed himself's mother sued the company for this 'n that. And even in the jobs we can get, they're almost always low-level, menial jobs. Sure, they've got no risk, but they've got no payoff, either, and giving up my weekend for $6.50 an hour doesn't really click in my mind. Why shouldn't we be able to perform higher level tasks? As long as we can do the job right, why the hell should it matter if we're 15 or 16 or 21?

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I'm sick of America restricting everything because Americans won't take responsibility. I wish I could have told my boss that if I somehow managed to slip and die on a three foot stepstool, I promised not to sue. But nobody can take the chance of that anymore because nobody wants to fess up and admit they did something wrong. Our legal system is bullshit and in a world where the German Cannibal can get off homicide charges, people like me are starting to lose faith.

I don't want to live in a country where for doctors, anything less than perfection means a lawsuit. I don't want to live in a country where a documentary can be on the verge of banned just because it pokes fun at the pres. I don't want to live in a country where lawyers are the largest and fastest growing profession, and can still find plenty of work. I want to be able to get up on that damn ladder and refill that ice, and not have my employer worry that I might slip and sue because it was somehow their fault I can't balance. That's all I want, really.

[EDEdDNEdDYFaN]

Best.Arguement.EVER!!


Yeah this is a pretty good topic heh. Lots of Americans are stupid and are just trying to sue their way into some form of money when they really don't have anything. Its not like America isnt in any debts or we'd be in some REAL trouble >_>>>>>>> :O

[FishFishRevolution]

Hahahahaha OH MAN, its so true Anti, I HATE people that ruin it for the rest of us. Fortunately I don't have that problem where I work. I work at a construction site where you don't get workman's comp; if you get hurt, you're fired, and you never worked here. It's kinda an incentive to be carefull and not be such a reckless dumbass. I wonder if somehow we could apply that to the world of work everywhere...

Good Arguemnet though, i think this might due well in CT (although there are a lot of pseudo-intellectuals there). Ownage.

[Spazzbite]

Hm.. I need to find a way to show this to a bunch of my friends, this is a really good topic with one of the best arguments I've ever seen. Nice job anticrombie, many good points too.

[IAMTHEEVILBEAN]

The average kid is a complete moron. The problem is, businesses hire the idiots. If they were to find more qualified teens, and leave the drug taking alchohol obsessed teens (roughly 80% of America's teenagers) to rot and die with no job and no rims on their fucking cars that they care so much about, the people who are serious about working and are going to make something out of their lives can be trusted for higher jobs. After that, a new system might evolve, but I wouldn't count on it.

[Squeek]

I would agree with everything except I can't empathize... I'm kinda 18. But I can recall plenty of moments where I wasn't "qualified" to so some simple menial task. Qualifications included: Being of age.

The worst part about it is the really stupid people who sue as you said. The worst case I can remember is the lady suing McDonald's because her coffee was "TOO HOT". Now, I'm pretty sure she knew that the coffee was hot, considering that ALL COFFEE IS HOT. She was just driving recklessly and spilled it. She should get a traffic violation ticket and maybe a free coffee. That's all.

One thing that pisses me off more is the loose use of the term, "Hero". We had a presentation at our school about drunk driving and the main speaker was a kid who survived a crash that he brought on himself by driving intoxicated. In the video part of the presentation all his friends and family were calling him a hero for his rehabilitation and recovery. WHAT? NO! Knock the kid out! He broke a law and wrecked his car and forced you to pay $2,000,000+ in hospital fees! He's not a hero! He's a nuisance!

Ugh. Another example that people tend to get down my back about is that girl who was captured in Iraq and freed eventually. You know, the one with the movie deal and all that? Yea. She's also not a hero. She failed her mission and got captured. That's the worst thing you can do in the military. And she gets praise for "escaping". I must have missed something here...

Err...sorry for the rant. More things that I feel need to go along with Anti's statement.

~Squeek

[QreepyBORIS]

When my brother was 15, he held down a summer job that had him work alot with formaldyhide (if that is how you spell it). I don't think we have quite the same laws over here.

But although I am too YOUNG to empathize, I still agree with many of your points (and Squeek's, for that matter). I even stole his wording.

[xObserveRx]

Anti, this is where you edit your post adding in this last line:

"That's it, i'm moving to Canada."

[Izzi]

to much reading so im not going to...

<edit: THEN DONT REPLY JERK .xoxo. Jewpin>

"Grandma tell me, please, what you were like as a child" said the little girl.

"Oh...back when I was your age..which was a long time ago...it was during the depression. Oh, what a jolly time I had.." replied the Grandma with a slight sarcastic tone in her voice.

"Whatsa 'epression GamGam?" asked the little girl.

"Well, it was a time in American history where there wasnt enough money for everyone....so...err...people had to do some desperate things...you know...for money."

"What did you do GamGam?"

"Your Great Grand Pappy...made me errr... 'dance' for money."

"OH! I love dancing!" Exclaimed the little girl enthusiastically.

[Dronak]

Originally Posted by MrESqueek

The worst case I can remember is the lady suing McDonald's because her coffee was "TOO HOT". Now, I'm pretty sure she knew that the coffee was hot, considering that ALL COFFEE IS HOT. She was just driving recklessly and spilled it.

Exactly. That's my classic example of American idiocy. I *still* can't believe that she actually got money from that case. (I don't remember if she actually won or there was a settlement both sides agreed to.) People seriously need to take some responsibility for their own actions, stop playing "pass the buck" and stop trying to always be a victim.

You're right. It's really ridiculous that you can't let people do simple things or take them at their word for fear of liability and being sued. It's like some level of trust has been lost and it's not going to be regained because everyone's got to protect himself/herself. Of course, it the government and judicial system wasn't so stupid as to actually reward people who spill hot coffee on themselves, we might not be in such a mess now. *sigh* Unfortunately, I don't think there's much that can be done about it.

P.S. -- One of my brother's favorite jokes is to imitate an infomercial and say "Are you a fat, lazy, stupid American? Heck, if that's not redudnant, I don't know what is!" Almost needless to say, we don't think very highly of the population in general.

[Anticrombie0909]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I woke up this morning and felt like typing, and that's what came out.

Anyway, the coffee lady you're thinking of was Stella, and she was the first of many frivolous lawsuits. If you think that's bad, you have no idea what you're missing (as she actually did have some validity to her suit). A guy in Ohio sued Oreo for not telling him that the cookies contained hydrogenated fat, even thought it clearly says so in the ingredients list. A couple of sisters sued McDonalds for making them fat. A man in Indiana got a coupon for a free $20 lottery ticket, used it, then proceeded to waste $250,000 in the same casino in a month, then sued the casino.

I think the worst one is this: remember a few months back when the Statton Island Ferry crashed? A woman on the ferry wasn't hurt whatsoever. She sued the company for - listen to this gem - psychological trauma. And she WON. $200 MILLION DOLLARS.

I hate America sometimes.

Edit:

to much reading so im not going to...

Then don't post you illiterate dope.

[Verruckter]

WHAT THE FUCK psychological trauma?!? Oh yeah it's always the captains fault, never the weather... Altough you can't sue the weather... but you can sue the waether guy

Anyways, I wish these forums had some kind of impact on society.

[LEGO]

Originally Posted by xObserveRx

Anti, this is where you edit your post adding in this last line:

"That's it, i'm moving to Canada."

Maybe, if Canda weren't such a god-awful place.

[Verruckter]

OMFG don't start another Canada VS. USA flame war.

[Omeganitros]

People are idiots.

OLD NEWS.

[Lupin_the_3rd]

hmmm. That doesn't sound like a bad idea, apart from looking like an idiot. Think about it...stretch your story enough to win a suit for millions. I'd say that woman was deviously smart. Either that or just plain retarted.

[Squeek]

Originally Posted by Anticrombie0909

psychological trauma

Thank the famous court case "Gideon vs. Wainwright" for that one. That court case was good in the sense that it allowed for all people under trial to the right of attorney. Of course, that could be a bad thing too.. it allowed Psychologists and Doctors as part of the defendant's testimony. And of course faking a psychological trauma is as easy as taking candy from a baby.

OMG MY LAST SENTENCE HURT MYSELF! GIVE ME $10,000,000,000 OR I BLOW MYSELF UP!

Basically.

~Squeek

PS - If you are or know one of the wussies claming that they've had a traumatic experience when nothing really happened, make sure you smack them in the face really hard for me. WALK IT OFF AND MOVE ON. I FELL OFF A MOUNTAIN. AM I SUING THE MOUNTAIN?!

[Anticrombie0909]

I FELL OFF A MOUNTAIN. AM I SUING THE MOUNTAIN?!

No, but my dad did actually have a case (he's a lawyer, go figure) where he was defending a national park against a woman suing it, because she was in the forest in the middle of a thunderstorm and a tree got struck by lighting and fell on her. This, of course, was the park's fault, so she sued them.

My dad said his deposition went something like this:

"So...you said you had some memory loss?"
"Yes, I've had severe memory problems since the accident."
"Could you describe some of them to me?"
"Well...like, when I meet people. Sometimes I don't always remember their names."
"..."
"Or I have to write down phone numbers, sometimes, or I forget them."
"Would you really call those uncommon memory problems?"
"Oh, yes. I actually had similar problems before the accident as well, though."

Yeah, she was a moron of the highest degree (she lost the case, you'll be happy to know.)

[Squeek]

Originally Posted by Anticrombie0909

Yeah, she was a moron of the highest degree (she lost the case, you'll be happy to know.)

Most satisfying.

My mountain story was true too. I did fall off one. 4 feet onto a ledge under it. But that still constitutes as falling off a mountain, right?

That's basically how these people screw over the jury. And like Anti's example.

~Squeek

[FishFishRevolution]

I broke my leg on a trampoline once, my best friend bounced me too high and i came down on the thing and the force snapped it. I sued the trampoline and won the case for 800 Million Dollars, i didn't know trampolines were so rich, or i would've sue them more often.

....

Good to know that dumb forest moron wasted money going to court. Dumbass.