A young friend of mine recently fired a 12-gauge through his foot. It was his own fault, and he acknowledges that he broke several basic safety rules and paid the price. He's got months of operations and skin grafts ahead of him, and it'll hinder him for the rest of his life.
What shocks me is how many coworkers of mine (who've never met him, we were just discussing it) expressed absolute glee over his misfortune. My father had a terrible accident as a result of a moment of carelessness with a chainsaw, and no one ever said "Good". I had a nasty accident with a circular saw, and don't remember anyone expressing happiness about it. If one of my coworkers described an awful car accident to me and I said "They deserved it", I'd be talking to the Human Relations department about keeping my job.
Attitudes have certainly changed dramatically over the last few decades. A couple friends and I used to take our .22's to high school and keep them in our lockers so we could rabbit-hunt our way home afterwards. Nowadays that would bring on the SWAT teams and make international headlines.
Anyway, I was thinking about what a remarkable and disappointing change it is from the days when an ax and a rifle were the standard outdoor accoutrements, and people relied on themselves for food and self defense. Most folks seem to have been trained to think self reliance is somehow evil.
What shocks me is how many coworkers of mine (who've never met him, we were just discussing it) expressed absolute glee over his misfortune. My father had a terrible accident as a result of a moment of carelessness with a chainsaw, and no one ever said "Good". I had a nasty accident with a circular saw, and don't remember anyone expressing happiness about it. If one of my coworkers described an awful car accident to me and I said "They deserved it", I'd be talking to the Human Relations department about keeping my job.
Attitudes have certainly changed dramatically over the last few decades. A couple friends and I used to take our .22's to high school and keep them in our lockers so we could rabbit-hunt our way home afterwards. Nowadays that would bring on the SWAT teams and make international headlines.
Anyway, I was thinking about what a remarkable and disappointing change it is from the days when an ax and a rifle were the standard outdoor accoutrements, and people relied on themselves for food and self defense. Most folks seem to have been trained to think self reliance is somehow evil.