ahavafriend: "Simple" Adults (via Mowser)

A few situations recently have combined themselves in my mind to produce this post: there was a school shooting somewhere, a school bus accident, and a conversation with my boss over "company policy".

There was a comment in the flurry of coverage of a school shooting, in essence, stating that there were no metal detectors [that would have prevented this tragedy]. For the life of me, every time someone shoots someone else in a public place, I cannot figure out why people bring up metal detectors. I mean, I get why they mention them, but I have no idea what they think a metal detector would actually do. If a guy has actually stocked up on ammo and written his own suicide note, does anyone really think he would call off his deranged plan because a metal detector goes off as he's walking through the door spraying bullets? The first shot would probably be at the UNARMED guard standing there monitoring the lights and bells on the detector. This rush to put metal detectors at every entry way of every public building is honestly, mentally deficient, truly "simple-minded." Why can't the average adult think through this? I know it's SOMETHING [as in, let's just do something]. But maybe this is just the sad, brutal, uncontrollable reality of living in a free, but fallen world. Not sure.

A recent school bus accident that killed at least 2 kids provoked the age-old controversy regarding making kids wear seatbelts on buses. Statistically, a child is 8 times more likely to be injured when a parent drives him to school then by riding a bus. This is the same "unreasonable" fear that many people have when a plane crashes [statistically one of the safest forms of transportation]. Yet, adults still think in such simple terms and offer such simple non-solutions for government intervention. Why?

Finally, my boss and I were discussing a policy at work that, to me, seems very "simple". It's one of those "we must ALWAYS" do such and such. There is no room for personal discretion or reasonable accommodations that would deviate from this policy [i.e. We actually throw out stuffed animals from "last season" or bottles of water when they pass their "expiration date". Like we can't even use it to mop the floor? Nope! We must throw it out because what if employees intentionally damage a bottle so that they get to drink it for free? It happens, you know.] Well, I guess I have an answer for this, but it really doesn't matter, because there's this company policy that takes away any potential for fraud, theft, loss, etc. To me, this is such a "simplistic" policy. It really makes me wonder where all the adults went.

I thought there was a level of cognitive functioning capable of dealing with complexities and shades of gray and the difference between "fair" and "just" and all of this that makes someone an adult, or at least mature. Why is it that the adults running things can't think of better things to say or do when confronted with the complex (and sometimes just commonsense) issues of our daily lives?

ahavafriend

"Simple" Adults

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