I'm currently reading "Deep Survival" by Laurence Gonzales. The idea that people see what they expect to see, plays a large part in survival, or lack thereof. Also helps magicians do their job...
Don't bother to reply via email...I've been JoeJobbed.
By coincidence NPR did a story this afternoon on railroad crossing fatalities. The link is at:
Yes - it's more of a perception than an actual threat, but that often plays into the politics of the decision.
Why does it come down to just those two choices ????
If you were a 5' woman weighing about 100 lbs, your attitude might be a smidgen less cavalier about the possible dangers of the various options.
There is at least one other choice: look for the train before crossing the tracks, even if the warning lights, etc. are not operating. And if the warning devices indicate a train is coming, wait. No tunnel, no cross-over needed. Just a smidgen of intelligence.
Ed
in article snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, Greg Pavlov at snipped-for-privacy@fastmail.fm wrote on 7/13/04 7:32 AM:
After this entire discussion, I didn't see a post which might suggest another thought.... that the woman deliberately stepped in front of the train. It certainly woldn't be the first time that someone took their life that way...
dlm
What is cavalier about the comment? I was simply stating that those were the choices that were being discussed, and that they were both real. I guess you misunderstood my meaning of the word "amazing", or whatever.
Final word: Personal responsibility is the key. Or, should I say, accountability? While the scenario was indeed tragic, it points out many flaws about society today:
1) Nobody wants to be personally accountable any more 2) Blame it on someone else 3) People tend to want to be protecetd from EVERYTHING anymore, and expect someone else to be sure that they are protected. Given the attitude of today's society, I'm sure they're surprised most of us made it past the age of 10.Chris
Greg Pavlov wrote:
It's more of a perception than an actual threat.
No, there were other choices as well. But you wanted to make a point...
... and there it is. You say "nobody" so clearly you feel that you do not want to be personally accountable, blame others, etc. So why not just speak for your own actions, thoughts, etc ? Instead of trying to project them on everyone else ?
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