US LAW, a blunt dull instrument of abuse.
So I woke up this morning and was thinking for some reasong about something that happened to me a while ago.
It was a balmy TX night lying heavy under a blanket of fog. I was riding off to work on my bicycle. Given how thick the fog was and how close to me all these cars were, I decided to get onto the curb. As luck would have it, the curb I turned onto was at a McDonalds. The curb was about 2 inches high and my bike came to a screeching halt, rear tires flung up and over the handlebars I went, right under a car that had just pulled away from the drivethrough. Since I wasnt wearing a helmet (I know, dumbass), I put my hands up to protect my head and my thumb was broken during this disagreement with the pavement.
As I lay there dazed under the car, skin all scrunched coz i peeled of quite a bit of skin, thumb broken...everyone got out around me terrified and helpful...including the McD's manager and staff, as well the the poor woman whose car had nearly done me in for sure...Had she been going faster, I would have hit the front of her car, instead of sliding under it.
I was pulled out from under the car where the relieved owner was glad to know I wasnt going to be a hood ornament on her car, I was noted to be in one piece, remarkably and as I was now late for work...I work in an ED, I picked up my bike, thanked my would-be rescuers and off I hobbled to work.
At work, I was oohed and aahed over, offers were made to send me home so someone else could pick up my shift. I discovered the broken thumb while trying to take care of a patient and made an appt to see an ortho and had surgery later with pins to repair the "boxers" fracture I'd sustained...The rest of the scrapes and bruises, I chalked down to experience...I always watch curbs now when biking although I still dont reliably ride with helmets...(they are UGLY)!!!
This is not the point of this blog however. What surprised me and terrified me, however, came later.
Over the next few weeks and up to 2 years following the incident, I received calls from McD's management offering condolences, free meals. Their lawyers called trying to find out my intentions and determine what settlement would suit me. Somehow, other lawyers caught wind of the matter and seeing an opportunity for "big bucks", they started calling. I started receiving calls offering me free representation in my lawsuit against McDs. Now I was quite bemused by all this. Lawsuit against McDs...FOR WHAT!!!!
First of all, I drove my bike. I made the decision to turn into a particular driveway that no one had control over, certainly, McDs hadnt put their driveway there to steer me into temptation and my downfall, so if I, through my carelessness or sheer bad luck, fell and things went pearshaped...I did not see how McDs was to blame...I was at a complete loss to understand why McDs even felt a need to call to find out how I was and certainly VERY irritated when the lawyers got a hold of my number...not McDs', the OTHER lawyers...
You can see where I'm going with this...apparently McDs being the unfortunate recipient of my business that day could be held accountable for MILLIONS!!! for my injuries, as one irate lawyer pointed out to me. Why was he irate...well, I wasnt playing ball and refused to sue and he could see his 30% of 10,000,000 flying out the window.
Call me old-fashioned but I do believe that people should take responsibility for their own actions and not every misfortune that befalls you is a reason to get paid. I do believe in hard work and reward. I dont think exploiting loopholes in the law unscrupulously is a fair use of the law. But why does this matter and what does this have to do with you - the proverbial man in the mirror.
Over the years, our society has become ever more chaotic, there's this thread I've noticed gaining hold...it is causing us untold misery and leading to the breakdown of our society. There is a perception that our lives and its outcomes are someone else's responsibility, that we are owed something by "someone"...and that if we dont do well, blame someone, if we are poor, blame someone and that someone has to pay for us..poor us. If that means making Millions you are not entitled to, then so be it and we act as if there is no consequence to that behavior.
Sadly, there is. I posit that there is a consequence to that mindset and attitude and we are living it, in the form of a high crime, fearful society of isolated human beings who rely not on community and shared responsibility and relationships between members of the community to police itself, but have turned the legal system and the police into their personal bodyguards...with a rule for EVERYTHING, and a judgement for ALL SINS, no matter how trivial. Neighbors dont argue with each other anymore, they go to courts. Kids cant fight amongst themselves and sort things out, no, parents get involved, they go to court. One can sue for just about anything, any reason, however asinine...and the lawyers keep getting PAID!!! Which of course, is why they encourage us to do EXACTLY that. You see,unlike medicine where, like it or not, there is always business, after all, there is one certainty to life - YOU WILL GET SICK AND YOU WILL DIE, lawyers must rely on strife to get paid. Now normally, there is a certain level of strife in any system of human endeavor which would keep them busy but not as busy as they'd like to be and certainly not as wealthy as they'd like to get. The solution therefore is to CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STRIFE!!!
You see there is a price to pay for those millions, there is a ripple effet that has turned life into a prison. Take for instance, the lady who bought a coffee from McDs at the drivethrough. She then sat said coffee between her thighs and drove off...now most 6 yo's probably know better than to do that..after all it IS COFFEE and therefore by definition HOT!!! Well she drove off and in responding to issue on the road, forgot the cup between her thighs, squeezed her thighs together on the coffee cup and scalded herself.
Now this is unfortunate, it's sad and, ok, for u twerps out there :), funny also (every often, I delve into the low :0, what can i say, I'm human...), but what it shouldnt have been was an opportunity to make several million dollars. Having been awarded that insane sum of cash because some lawyer assured her he could manipulate the loopholes in the law and did and got a great payday himself as a result. The result being we have more ambulance-chasing lawyers than you can shake a stick at...in fact, there is nothing you cant get sued for these days...and frivolous lawsuits are on the rise...It occured to me the other day that US law now is not a matter of getting at the truth of a matter but hiring the lawyer who can spin the best lies. The better lie spinner wins the case, irrespective of the "TRUTH" of the matter. That being the case, what happened to TRUTH, JUSTICE or FAIRNESS - which were supposed to be the tenets, nay, the very bedrock of LAW...JUSTICE is the ESSENCE of the law...or is it?
What you may ask are the implications of this payout of McDs...more cost, less trust, more rules. You see...in response to that humongous payout. McDs provided cups and lids for the coffee, then installed a regulator so your coffee could never get to scalding temperature. Then they changed their curb so you couldnt fall off it then trained staff regarding all this idiot things and hired more lawyers to get them out of this kind of idiot trouble...and passed the cost on to you, the consumer, in the form of a more expensive burger, less quality. They refused to build in certain areas, cutting down further job opportunities..and on and on it goes, the ripple effect of one misdeed.
You see, my dear reader, we live in a world today of Me, Me, Me...no one wants to work, but every one wants to get paid...BIG. As we become ever more self-involved, mercenary, grasping...we have to understand..the collective cost to us is the fragmentation of our society, the loss of wellbeing and isolation and living in fear.
Having lived in other places where the law is treated less as blunt club and more like a fencing blade, where wisdom and common sense are allowed to temper justice, and the legal system can be relied on to be a fair and just arbiter and the police are not only guardians and punishers but friends of the community, where people take personal responsibility for themselves, their childrens actions as well as a responsibility for the community, corporations are more humane, less rigid and more concerned with their responsibility to their community as well. Rules can be relaxed to allow for human frailty and people are happier, healthier and less stressed, as a result.
You see, the principles that allow man to live a happy, healthy, productive life havent changed just because we turn our back on them. Our unhappy, sick, miserable lives are a direct result of choosing to live in selfishness and greed. Every company out there is "screwing" us first before we "screw" them...which should make sense..you see, since we as individuals aren't good citizens, neither are the companies - which are merely, aggregations of us, after all.
Some of you, may argue that this is a simplistic view of the world. I understand that corporations are about money, and so they should be, that is, after all, their reason for existing. What I find interesting is the the character of corporations, matches the milieu in which they form. After all, if a town is populated by greenies, what do u think the corporate vision and responsibility is...yes, it is eco-friendly. If a corporaton iforms in a town of liers and cheats and murderers, what do you think is the dominant behavior of that corporation???
So what is this blog about...
Firstly, an observation on the perversion of law and justice to serve man's greed...and as an offshoot, a commentary on why societies are failing, having lost the sense of collective responsibility for self and community, as well as having lost the call to be our brother's keeper and by so doing, be our own keeper.
Anyhoo, read, enjoy and please comment, I'd like to hear your views.
It was a balmy TX night lying heavy under a blanket of fog. I was riding off to work on my bicycle. Given how thick the fog was and how close to me all these cars were, I decided to get onto the curb. As luck would have it, the curb I turned onto was at a McDonalds. The curb was about 2 inches high and my bike came to a screeching halt, rear tires flung up and over the handlebars I went, right under a car that had just pulled away from the drivethrough. Since I wasnt wearing a helmet (I know, dumbass), I put my hands up to protect my head and my thumb was broken during this disagreement with the pavement.
As I lay there dazed under the car, skin all scrunched coz i peeled of quite a bit of skin, thumb broken...everyone got out around me terrified and helpful...including the McD's manager and staff, as well the the poor woman whose car had nearly done me in for sure...Had she been going faster, I would have hit the front of her car, instead of sliding under it.
I was pulled out from under the car where the relieved owner was glad to know I wasnt going to be a hood ornament on her car, I was noted to be in one piece, remarkably and as I was now late for work...I work in an ED, I picked up my bike, thanked my would-be rescuers and off I hobbled to work.
At work, I was oohed and aahed over, offers were made to send me home so someone else could pick up my shift. I discovered the broken thumb while trying to take care of a patient and made an appt to see an ortho and had surgery later with pins to repair the "boxers" fracture I'd sustained...The rest of the scrapes and bruises, I chalked down to experience...I always watch curbs now when biking although I still dont reliably ride with helmets...(they are UGLY)!!!
This is not the point of this blog however. What surprised me and terrified me, however, came later.
Over the next few weeks and up to 2 years following the incident, I received calls from McD's management offering condolences, free meals. Their lawyers called trying to find out my intentions and determine what settlement would suit me. Somehow, other lawyers caught wind of the matter and seeing an opportunity for "big bucks", they started calling. I started receiving calls offering me free representation in my lawsuit against McDs. Now I was quite bemused by all this. Lawsuit against McDs...FOR WHAT!!!!
First of all, I drove my bike. I made the decision to turn into a particular driveway that no one had control over, certainly, McDs hadnt put their driveway there to steer me into temptation and my downfall, so if I, through my carelessness or sheer bad luck, fell and things went pearshaped...I did not see how McDs was to blame...I was at a complete loss to understand why McDs even felt a need to call to find out how I was and certainly VERY irritated when the lawyers got a hold of my number...not McDs', the OTHER lawyers...
You can see where I'm going with this...apparently McDs being the unfortunate recipient of my business that day could be held accountable for MILLIONS!!! for my injuries, as one irate lawyer pointed out to me. Why was he irate...well, I wasnt playing ball and refused to sue and he could see his 30% of 10,000,000 flying out the window.
Call me old-fashioned but I do believe that people should take responsibility for their own actions and not every misfortune that befalls you is a reason to get paid. I do believe in hard work and reward. I dont think exploiting loopholes in the law unscrupulously is a fair use of the law. But why does this matter and what does this have to do with you - the proverbial man in the mirror.
Over the years, our society has become ever more chaotic, there's this thread I've noticed gaining hold...it is causing us untold misery and leading to the breakdown of our society. There is a perception that our lives and its outcomes are someone else's responsibility, that we are owed something by "someone"...and that if we dont do well, blame someone, if we are poor, blame someone and that someone has to pay for us..poor us. If that means making Millions you are not entitled to, then so be it and we act as if there is no consequence to that behavior.
Sadly, there is. I posit that there is a consequence to that mindset and attitude and we are living it, in the form of a high crime, fearful society of isolated human beings who rely not on community and shared responsibility and relationships between members of the community to police itself, but have turned the legal system and the police into their personal bodyguards...with a rule for EVERYTHING, and a judgement for ALL SINS, no matter how trivial. Neighbors dont argue with each other anymore, they go to courts. Kids cant fight amongst themselves and sort things out, no, parents get involved, they go to court. One can sue for just about anything, any reason, however asinine...and the lawyers keep getting PAID!!! Which of course, is why they encourage us to do EXACTLY that. You see,unlike medicine where, like it or not, there is always business, after all, there is one certainty to life - YOU WILL GET SICK AND YOU WILL DIE, lawyers must rely on strife to get paid. Now normally, there is a certain level of strife in any system of human endeavor which would keep them busy but not as busy as they'd like to be and certainly not as wealthy as they'd like to get. The solution therefore is to CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STRIFE!!!
You see there is a price to pay for those millions, there is a ripple effet that has turned life into a prison. Take for instance, the lady who bought a coffee from McDs at the drivethrough. She then sat said coffee between her thighs and drove off...now most 6 yo's probably know better than to do that..after all it IS COFFEE and therefore by definition HOT!!! Well she drove off and in responding to issue on the road, forgot the cup between her thighs, squeezed her thighs together on the coffee cup and scalded herself.
Now this is unfortunate, it's sad and, ok, for u twerps out there :), funny also (every often, I delve into the low :0, what can i say, I'm human...), but what it shouldnt have been was an opportunity to make several million dollars. Having been awarded that insane sum of cash because some lawyer assured her he could manipulate the loopholes in the law and did and got a great payday himself as a result. The result being we have more ambulance-chasing lawyers than you can shake a stick at...in fact, there is nothing you cant get sued for these days...and frivolous lawsuits are on the rise...It occured to me the other day that US law now is not a matter of getting at the truth of a matter but hiring the lawyer who can spin the best lies. The better lie spinner wins the case, irrespective of the "TRUTH" of the matter. That being the case, what happened to TRUTH, JUSTICE or FAIRNESS - which were supposed to be the tenets, nay, the very bedrock of LAW...JUSTICE is the ESSENCE of the law...or is it?
What you may ask are the implications of this payout of McDs...more cost, less trust, more rules. You see...in response to that humongous payout. McDs provided cups and lids for the coffee, then installed a regulator so your coffee could never get to scalding temperature. Then they changed their curb so you couldnt fall off it then trained staff regarding all this idiot things and hired more lawyers to get them out of this kind of idiot trouble...and passed the cost on to you, the consumer, in the form of a more expensive burger, less quality. They refused to build in certain areas, cutting down further job opportunities..and on and on it goes, the ripple effect of one misdeed.
You see, my dear reader, we live in a world today of Me, Me, Me...no one wants to work, but every one wants to get paid...BIG. As we become ever more self-involved, mercenary, grasping...we have to understand..the collective cost to us is the fragmentation of our society, the loss of wellbeing and isolation and living in fear.
Having lived in other places where the law is treated less as blunt club and more like a fencing blade, where wisdom and common sense are allowed to temper justice, and the legal system can be relied on to be a fair and just arbiter and the police are not only guardians and punishers but friends of the community, where people take personal responsibility for themselves, their childrens actions as well as a responsibility for the community, corporations are more humane, less rigid and more concerned with their responsibility to their community as well. Rules can be relaxed to allow for human frailty and people are happier, healthier and less stressed, as a result.
You see, the principles that allow man to live a happy, healthy, productive life havent changed just because we turn our back on them. Our unhappy, sick, miserable lives are a direct result of choosing to live in selfishness and greed. Every company out there is "screwing" us first before we "screw" them...which should make sense..you see, since we as individuals aren't good citizens, neither are the companies - which are merely, aggregations of us, after all.
Some of you, may argue that this is a simplistic view of the world. I understand that corporations are about money, and so they should be, that is, after all, their reason for existing. What I find interesting is the the character of corporations, matches the milieu in which they form. After all, if a town is populated by greenies, what do u think the corporate vision and responsibility is...yes, it is eco-friendly. If a corporaton iforms in a town of liers and cheats and murderers, what do you think is the dominant behavior of that corporation???
So what is this blog about...
Firstly, an observation on the perversion of law and justice to serve man's greed...and as an offshoot, a commentary on why societies are failing, having lost the sense of collective responsibility for self and community, as well as having lost the call to be our brother's keeper and by so doing, be our own keeper.
Anyhoo, read, enjoy and please comment, I'd like to hear your views.
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