Reasonable Assumption of Risk

Very quickly (because so often I'm neither quick nor brief when I'm spouting off), North America is going to Hell in a handbasket (the off-white Flurbe basket from IKEA) because we no longer assume the risk for our own actions.

When a judge awarded damages to an idiot who put a hot cup off coffee between her thighs then pulled away from the drive-thru and burned her lap when the coffee spilled, it was handbasket time.

I know I know --- I'm not the first person to rant about that stupid woman, but I do need to rant so I will.

Back in 1983/84 when I was in Teachers' College in London we were taught about the Reasonable Assumption of Risk (RAR) with regards to children, playgrounds and gymnasium equipment. In essence, what RAR states is that a child using playground equipment is at least partly responsible for their own behaviour and use of said equipment, within reason, based on their age.

A three-year-old has neither the experience, the strength nor the reasoning ability to not stand up and jump up and down on the top of an seven-foot slide without holding on. An eight-year-old (without any developmental delays) on the other hand should know better, primarily because their parents have had eight years to teach little Johnny that some things are safe and some are not.

Does this all mean that the adult supervising the playground can duck around the corner for a quick smoke break and not keep an eye on the little monkeys? Not at all. But it also doesn't mean that the teacher has to hold little Johnny's hand and place an airbag at the bottom of the slide in place of the sand pit for Johnny to land on. Nor does it mean that the Board of education has to place a stupid bloody warning sticker on their slides stating that "SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH COULD RESULT IF USERS DO NOT EMPLOY COMMON SENSE BY HOLDING ON AND NOT FUCKING AROUND WHILE UTILIZING THIS PIECE OF EQUIPMENT"

The problem is, common sense has been removed from the damned equation now, in 2008. The court system has ruled that no one is required to use even a modicum of common sense before venturing out into the world to maim themselves.

We are no longer punished for our stupidity like we were when I was a kid in the 60s and 70s. We are, in fact, rewarded, even when we get hurt while committing a felony. Yes, you can be sued by a burglar if he gets hurt on something unsafe in your own fucking home where he admits he wasn't even invited. If he enters your house, slips and hurts his back on spilled dog kibble you neglected to clean up before going away for the weekend, he can sue you and will in all likelihood win.

If you think that this is such bullshit, raise your hand high and shout "It's Bullshit, Brother Timothy!" Thank you. It is.

If we are not made to take responsibility for our own actions, then we don't teach our children to be similarly responsible, and if we have an entire generation of irresponsible, litigating little shits, it's time to get out the handbasket and pray for deliverance, Amen.

It's all bullshit. Plain and simple.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Ciao for now.

Tim Reynolds.
Author of Stand Up & Succeed
www.StandUpAndSucceed.com