Man, people are stupid!
Administrator | Aug 07, 2012 | Comments 69
Steve Campbell
I have two topics for this column, and they are totally unrelated. So don’t apply the title to the second part, or I might get sued. That part is not about being stupid. Just silly.
This is an unprecedented column. I am about to give a tip of the hat to Dalton McGuinty.
For those few of you who think Dalton is the Saviour of Ontario – Jesus reincarnated, except driven by politics and egotism instead of ethics and heart – you may want to clip this bit and pop it on your fridge with your ‘Dalton Rules!’ fridge magnet.
And he does rule. A good Ruler doesn’t listen to anyone, because they have a God-given gift to be right. Historically (in the Old Country), it’s often because you have an ancestral bloodline of inbred cousins and aunts and uncles. And potloads of money and gold and other valuable stuff. And thugs who will kill anyone who disagrees with you.
In modern times, it’s because you have the gift of dodging political meteors, covering up boondoggles, and making deals to ensure you have the right amount of seats to remain in power.
Dalton created the Nanny State, in which all of us are considered too stupid to make up our own minds, so he builds legislation to comfort us.
I’ve often railed against it, because stupid rules tend to make us less responsible for our own behaviour, while building court-worthy cases against the people we would like to blame for our own stupid actions.
Now we’re so worried about liability, that simple jobs take forever to complete. We lose our focus on ‘getting the job done’, and spend most of our time dancing around, crossing the Ts and dotting the Is, and checking with the legal department.
But, as I travel around the County all summer long delivering magazines, I started to see that people are, in fact, stupid. (This is the part Dalton fans will want to clip.)
Dalton is right! We are too stupid to run our own lives!
For example, back out of your parking space in the Canadian Tire parking lot, or any large parking lot in town. You can check all three mirrors, and twist around to look out the back as you’re in motion getting out of your spot. And a wandering, oblivious couple will appear three inches from your bumper, just waiting for you to bust their knees. Apparently ‘detecting danger’ is no longer one of our survival skills.
I’ve seen young mothers with baby strollers (which seem to be a quarter of the population of Picton) standing ready to cross the street between two parked cars. They are standing in the right spot, but the baby is stuck out three feet into the traffic!
Believe it or not, I saw a guy with a parked SUV rearranging his truck, and he set his baby (in a certified Safety Seat) in the middle of the traffic lane!
This could go on forever – and I know you have your own stories of blatant stupidity – but I also saw a woman doing a U-turn in the middle of summer at the top of the Town Hill!
Pick your worst place to pull a U-turn, and that would be it. Maybe later she drove around and around in the centre of the Tim Horton’s lights, looking for an exit.
This is painful for me, because I like humans. And I like to think they can think. But here’s my hat tip, Dalton. People are stupid and you saw it first.
One more quick story from a friend of mine. He attended the great Bath celebrations of the War of 1812, and this is his story:
“All along the road they’ve got pylons and yellow tape, to make sure people don’t fall into the deep trench that runs along the roadway.”
“But there was one six-foot spot with no yellow tape. And I saw this guy, who was about 75, go down there to cross over. He stood there, and apparently figured he could jump the four feet over the four-foot trench.”
“He lost his balance and, thank God, a teenager was right there and grabbed him by the back of his collar, lifted him off the ground, and hoisted him back.”
“The senior guy went on his way, and the teenager looked around to see if anyone saw the incident. ‘A thank you would have been nice,’ he said.”
Really, I think stupid people should be culled from society through natural causes. Through attrition. Darwin saw this, and me too. But not Dalton. If Darwin and I are right, and stupid breeds stupid, we’re all doomed.
Completely Indispensible?
Now on to Part 2: I laughed out loud when I read in one of the papers that our (still) new CEO had hand-selected three people to ‘take his place’ while he was gone. Presumably on a vacation, out determining how fast a County pickup can actually go, or at a critical meeting on whether the price of Garbage Bag Tags should be raised to $50 per tag.
Is this kind of back-up really necessary? It’s not like he’s the Captain of a ship and, if he goes for a snooze, he’ll find himself aground in South Africa.
I know. I’m an excellent business manager myself. I know, when I need to leave the shop on deliveries, County Mag’s designer and Everything Girl Janet Davies says: “Oh, no! How will I carry on without Steve’s brilliant insight and keen managerial skills?! How is it possible for me to do a job I’m well-skilled at, without having Steve physically present in the room? I am lost!”
Seriously, she actually says: “My, it’s suddenly quiet in here, maybe I can get some work done!”
This is another of my bizarre analogies.
How important are you, that you can’t leave for a couple of days, without the Kingdom of the County crashing down around your ears?
Sure, the news report said that the ‘stand-ins’ would only receive a little extra pay. A mere pittance really, considering they have been determined to have the skills to warm the seat cushion of the CEO in his absence.
And what’s the deal with having a line-up of three people? I’m sure Merlin Dewing is going to be valuable, but he’s not President Obama.
Do we need three people in case one is killed in a plane crash, the second is suddenly diagnosed with Swine Flu, and the third was caught in a porn theatre on Yonge Street in Toronto. (Actually, watching porn in theatres is not a crime, but a County official travelling to Toronto is unforgivable.)
I think the CEO should get over himself a bit, and save us some money, by doing what other people do. Go away. Come back to a load of paperwork accumulated while gone. I’m sure the Great County Ship of State will not collapse in the meantime.
Filed Under: News from Everywhere Else • Steve Campbell
Doris, Rick got into this blog due to the article he wrote this week. It was so left fielded we could smell the ones who must of helped him write it, (Shire Hall)lol and i couldn’t agree more that the County is in way over its head. The people should be listened to as we/our grandchildren will be the ones picking up this debt for many years to come.
Paul yes this is true but the only thing in a small community like PEC is that it sure dosn’t take long for an individual to loose credibility, as we are all witnessing now.
Note: If anyone is interested in knowing the individuals who voted AGAINST the new CAO having all the power it is now on the County website, and it amazed me to see the ones who were more than willing to sign their jobs away SHAMEFUL !!!! All i can say is that Councilor Gale i am ashamed to say i voted you in for my area, as is many others……But good to know for next election 🙂
YES–it is not about any one persons feelings–it is about what is best for the County–YOU DO NOT PUT YOURSELF FIRST–you put the welfare of the people of PEC and what they have asked for
Well Doris, since you ran for council, if you had been elected, would YOU have opted to resign if the motion to reduce council’s size had gone through?
Yes The Wellington Times did support Mertens in the last election. Rick actually had his choice for people on council too.
I don’t know how Rick got into this blog, I guess it felt like a good thing to do but there was never any connection to Steve
I have fears about what is happening in the County. WE are very heavily in debt and I do not see us getting out of it anytime soon but we will just have to wait and see.
I do wish council would do as the people wanted in the last election and reduce the size of council–we certinly do not need all of them–a waste of money.
Lets get back to the stooopid stuff its way more fun..
Most newspapers have a political alignment and are sometimes biased whether it be to the left or right.Federal,Provincial and Municipal Governments are very aware of which papers are favorable to their point of view.
Chris, Yes i do agree that Rick use to be unbiased (that is when Leo was Mayor) however since Mertens has become Mayor his writing has changed and all you have to do is follow his stories. I was told just this morning that The Wellington Times was a huge supporter of Mertens in his running??? I am not sure if this is true so if its not don’t shoot the messenger I’m just putting it out there? But they may explain some changes in penmen ship….
Marnie, You hit it right smack dab on the head…. I have read both reporter’s news stories and there is no comparison in their writing styles. Steve says it the way it is and he’s not affraid to defend something/someone and when something smells, walks and talks like a skunk we all know thats what it is. I enjoy his articles and wish we had more reporters out there like him and this goes from most of the people i know, and we’ve all lived here for centuries. So in closing Steve keep up the good work and continue to investigate the stories that will keep everyone’s head above water here in Prince Edward County/Skunkville lol
After reading this,this morning it makes we wonder why Steve didn’t title it “Woman,people are stupid!”as well. To be more gender neutral. LOL
Killashandra, no one is confusing Steve with Rick. Steve is in a class by himself and has more style. Rick’s editorials are well written but he doesn’t stop there. Smack dab in the middle of his news stories he often inserts asides that reflect his personal opinions. It’s not objective and not professional.
Rick Conroy does not need me to defend him, but to say he has never written anything critical about Shire Hall is simply incorrect. He has had, and continues to have very strong opinions and has not been afraid to be highly critical of Shire Hall and its occupants in the past – or any other government or government agency, for that matter. For the most part, the same cannot be said for the other two local papers.
It seems to me that the Mayor and CAO have to explain quite clearly not only the changes that are being proposed, but WHY they are being proposed, and what we save (gain) as a result. You get nowhere by being critical all the time, so if some of these changes meet with Rick’s approval, why wouldn’t he write an editorial saying so?
Steve, I think it appears you have some how been magically morphed into Rick Conway. As Rick is in fact an editor, it is therefore quite legitimate for him editorialize. But you said it and they proved it here, “Man, people are stupid!”
Marnie, You are so right, someone said to put an article in the paper about an issue once but they also said don’t go to Rick due to his partiality for some friends at Shire Hall, if this is (and it apparently seems to be) he should write only letters to the editior because they are opinion pieces and what he has been writing has been definitely HIS opinion. The people are not dumb they do know that most of his articles are totally one-sided…. I do remember Shire Hall at one point saying,”Its nice to read something good for once”. I wonder why hmmmm
The man also editorializes in almost every story that he writes. He should stick to the facts and save his personal opinions for the editorial page.
Rick from Wellington Times I understand how its difficult to write an article and not be biased in any form or way???? Howevcer everyone finds it quite ironic how you have not wrote one negativie thing about the Mayor/CAO/Council, write or wrong. I guess its difficult when you have a relationship with some of these individuals.A good writer says it the way it is not the way he/she personally feels…
You may have encountered OPP officers on Main Street on occasion Elizabeth but for the most part they are not a visible presence. We actually used to see a town police constable directing traffic at the top of the Town Hill or standing in front of the Regent theatre when the show let out on Saturday nights. I am on Main Street almost every day of the week and rarely do I see a policeman. Kudos to you for using the crosswalk but I would not trust it too far were I you.
For the record, the OPP do walk the beat downtown. I have had some great conversations with a couple of them while walking up to a cross-walk so I could get to the other side.
I would rather be t-boned in the roundabout at the lower speeds that you have to do, than be t-boned at the speeds that people were travelling east/west on 33. There was a lot of blood at that intersection over the years.
Well if I had not stopped when I did not have to, I would have been hit twice this summer in the roundabout
I am always glad when someone takes the time to help me back up when I am in the sobby’s mall as it is hard to see what is back there when I try to get my Honda out between two vans.
Marnie tell your husband to keep up the good work.
To my way of the thinking the roundabout is as bad as the Tim Horton light