Comments on: Sense and nonsense, Malaysian style

By: hrugaar

hrugaar — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 16:51:00 +0000

re. smokers – one could also argue, do people who do lots of sports and end up with sporting injuries deserve so much extra free medical care (and all that paid sick leave from work)?

But yeah, sense is far from common. And our legislation seems to be developing in such a way that when things go wrong you just pass the blame on to someone else and sue them. 😮

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 May 2007 23:33:00 +0000

By nature we are all lazy pi*s, so often we just ignore the obvious until "it's too late". Think of an ostrich with its head in the sand.

For example,

I'm sure many people in Indonesia were subject to the haze...actually, every year. Does it change anything?

No.

By: Glenda Larke

Glenda Larke — Wed, 30 May 2007 14:39:00 +0000

P.S. One reason I am sure the child car seat thingy is cultural is this. Car seats – at least for toddlers – were available here as long ago as 36 years – I know, cos I bought one for my own child.

And yet I have seen no more than a handful installed. Ever. In all the years since.

That’s an interesting question re smokers, btw. The answer is of course, for most things. But what about diseases directly related to smoking, such as lung diseases? Becomes more iffy there…alth0ough think of how rich the lawyers could get arguing that…lol.

By: Glenda Larke

Glenda Larke — Wed, 30 May 2007 07:46:00 +0000

Ah, Patty, but I am not talking so much about the individual here.
God knows, we can all be irresponsible and stupid at times.

I am talking of cultures that promote stupidity by removing responsibility from the individual and placing it elsewhere - God, luck, feng shui, custom, adat, whatever. And you find it in developed nations too, of course. Look at Scientology.

People here don't bother with seatbelts because of Asian or religious fatalism. Same reason they often don't go to the doctor when they should. Insh'allah.

I don't get mad if it involves only themselves - we all have choices, and if that is theirs, affecting themselves, fine. But when they take the choice away from another because of their own cultural hang-ups, I get irate. Especially when the life a child is involved.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 May 2007 05:29:00 +0000

I hope you don't think lack of sense is restricted to developing nations or 'ignorant' cultures ;-) I, too, have seen children unrestrained in the front seat (on Sydney's North Shore). I have seen a parent take a little child by the hand and drag them across two lanes of traffic to stand on the weeny median strip on a main road. These people probably all drive expensive cars, too (which they then fail to service on time). Hmm - what about smokers? Do they deserve Medicare as long as they still smoke? Not to pass judgement on any of these groups, but where does ignorance and general behaviour blur into one another?

Problem is, I think, that people tend to be pretty selective in what they ignore about their own behaviour.

That is not to say that I don't agree with you that your examples are prime candidates for stupid behaviour. I'm just wondering how 'good' we are ourselves ;-)