outofnowhere wrote:john, you should of stopped after you said "i have no strong opinions on this" because the analogies you provided have nothing to do with a parent being smart enough to make a kid wear a mask.. football is football and if you elect to play it, no amount of protection is going to keep you from breaking a leg, or getting a concussion... as for driving, the parent cannot drive the kid, can only try to advise them to be cautious and safe..... now for the mask, you can make your kid wear it..... if they don't, then you can elect for them not to play one of the three positions that are most likely to cause damage.... i have always respected your posts but am still scratching my head on this one???
I'll try to explain myself better, though my approach may be even more maddening and nonsensical (not to mention too long):
Let’s say I had a 17 year old niece who was driving home after school one day. Let’s say she was stopped at an intersection at the HS entrance. It was a typical, relatively chaotic scene with people everywhere walking and driving home at the end of the school day. There was no shortage of distractions. Let’s say the light turned green and she proceeded to turn onto the main road by the school. She apparently didn't look and see the gentleman in the car that was going way too fast to stop at the red light. Let’s say that gentleman ran the red, his car slammed into her and she died in the accident.
If I were to look at that, I might have a number of thoughts:
1. If she had not been so distracted by what was going on and checked like she normally did for oncoming traffic, she would not have made the turn into the guy’s lane.
2. I heard a report some time ago that teenage drivers are in a disproportionate number of accidents. I have no link to a study that states this but I believe it is likely true nonetheless.
3. If she had not been allowed to drive until the age of 18, she would be alive today.
Let’s say that I have concluded that, given the statistics, her case is something short of freakishly rare and I find that sad and cause for concern. Concern about how it relates to my own kids and by natural extension, to kids in general. Since 16/17 year olds don’t typically have to drive themselves to do the things they need to do, driving for them is in fact an optional activity that they may or may not engage in. (Kind of like the option of wearing a mask when pitching.)
And so, let’s say, I believe there should be a law that prevents kids from driving until they are 18. For their own good and out of normal concern for the lives of children. Furthermore, I believe that whether a 16/17 year old is allowed to drive or not is a matter of common sense. I believe that any parent who allows their child to drive is a bonehead and further, that they have obviously handed over all decision making to their children. In sum, such parents should never have been allowed to breed and are wholly and completely unfit. Laws are needed to step in for the safety of kids whose parents are clearly so deficient.
How in the Hell could this possibly have anything to do with softball? In my view, it is relevant that you can replace the driving of the car with pitchers not wearing masks and the points being made are strikingly similar. There are certainly differences as well but I don’t consider the location of the activity to be as important as the nearly identical nature of the issues being raised.
Now, given how often my kids have told me my little analogies make absolutely no sense, I can’t help but wonder if this is another such case. Your suggestion that I stop after my first statement may very well have saved me this public embarrassment if I had listened. Sometimes I’m too freaking stupid to stop myself, just ask my wife and kids.
Would it strengthen my arguments for laws preventing 16/17 year olds from driving if I provide a link to pictures/video of the accident scene that I spoke of?
John
10 years from now I'll wish I felt like I do these days.
