Seriously, people are sue happy and (*#$*^#*&#$ing stupid

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lordofduct
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Re: Seriously, people are sue happy and (*#$*^#*&#$ing stupid

Post by lordofduct »

dsheinem wrote:
Limewater wrote:
dsheinem wrote: I think metal bats should be banned, but that's because of their increased danger level and because I don't like their sound/feel.

<snip>

The problem, of course, is that too many people can't figure out this difference and thus do ban "dangerous" things so they don't have to deal with complaints or suits from those "without two neurons," as you put it. This is ultimately laziness on the part of those who enforce the ban, though.
These two paragraphs do not appear to go together.
Ok, smart guy. I'll explain: the difference is in the quotation marks.

I genuinely believe research indicates that metal bats are dangerous and should be banned.

On the other hand I also think that too many things that are not really dangerous but are seen as such (thus "dangerous" in quotes) are banned simply so that businesses, schools, towns, etc. can avoid red tape and frivolous lawsuits.
Lots of things are dangerous. A kitchen knife is dangerous, we don't ban kitchen knives. Guns, cars, locamotives, planes, tractors, barrels full of water, legos, peanut oil, etc etc... they're all dangerous and probably have caused for MORE deaths then an aluminum baseball bat ever did.

It's KNOWN what aluminum baseball bats are capable of. It's why they aren't allowed in most baseball leagues. Any baseball league out there that does allow them should probably ban them from with in their league. But ban them out right??? I call BULLSHIT.

Highschool and College Football causes more deaths a year then school shootings do. We don't ban football. And it isn't the equipment causing the deaths, it's the sheer strength of the average footballer.

I simply believe we should be informing people that these sports can be extremely dangerous at times. Not in a demonizing scary way, but still put some info out there about it. But banning shit is bullshit... I just don't like the idea. Banning something that 99% of people use safely just because 1% are going to hurt themselves is complete and utter nonsense.



...

Now back at the original case. Yeah bullshit case. Last night my girlfriend and I were discussing the existence of the bullshit cases.

I remember my family was ALMOST involved in a bullshit case like this. And it's pure greed oozing out of the desire of vindication for some truly awful... and it makes me ill that someone would do such a thing (i.e. suing because your son is dead with out thinking about who you're hurting). When my parents died they died in an alcohol related accident... they were drinking. I missed my parents afterward, it was heart crushing, but from a logical standpoint it's their own fault... and ONLY their own fault.

The night in question I had skipped out on work for the hell of it... it was this rare day where me and my sister and parents were just having a good visit, something that is uncommon for us (booze sooths all wounds... yeah...). So I skipped my job that was overnight in an office and went for drinks with them. We ended the night at this weird club in some rich town... one of those piano clubs in an equestrian club house. We parted ways there, my sister and I didn't live with our parents, and went home.

So anyways someone got the bright idea to SUE this club after their death... I cried bullshit. Whose fault is it that my parents got drunk at their bar? There were hundreds of drunk people there the night before. They promoted a taxi service... I think they did their best as a bar.

But the lawyer was all like, "well we do have a case."

I was flabbergasted. I walked out of the office saying I wanted nothing of it, they could sue all they wanted, but will not take part, do NOT subpoena me for it, and I want nothing of any earnings made from it. It's something I know for a fact my father would consider disgraceful... just fucking wrong.

Luckily the rest of my family came to their senses and agreed with me. So I see where it comes from... but it still doesn't make it right.



It reminds me of shit like this:

http://www.texnews.com/1998/2002/texas/ ... is918.html

where Oprah was sued repeatedly for "maligning and disparaging the beef industry". She said Mad Cow disease made her not want to eat a cheese burger ever again... what the fuck!? Yeah they never one, and finally a just threw the case out after years. But that's the thing, it took several years, tons of money wasted by all included parties, AND a bunch of our tax dollars wasted in court rooms. BULLSHIT!

And there are more. MORE! And they aren't just greedy individuals doing it. The rich, corporate types, and all kinds of people pull this bullshit. And it just pisses me the fuck off.

And the worst part is people feel for some of these people in the cases. Shut the fuck up, it's not a matter of how bad that person has it... it's a matter of fault here. And the baseball bat has NOTHING to do with the fault. It's a fucking baseball bat for christ sake! It's like the urban legend of the burgalar suing after falling through a sky light and landing on a knife. It's the EXACT same thing, and all it does is destroy, discredit, and ruin the reputation of our legal system. It opens the door for even more ridiculous cases.





Oh and this is one of the rare cases where my long post isn't trolling, or me just having good ol' debate fun... this I am 100% serious about. Shit is fucked up and anyone who doesn't realize it's bullshit deserves no less then a 4x4 up the ass in my opinion.

I'm what you can call a socialist or communist. I'm not all freemarket conservative type. But there is one thing I love about this country. It's freedom, freedom of choice, freedom of speech, freedom of all sorts (you can have communism and freedom, communism does not say anything about no freedoms)... and this kind of shit destroys and belittles our freedoms. Bans like someone suggested is a lack of freedom...
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Erik_Twice
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Re: Seriously, people are sue happy and (*#$*^#*&#$ing stupid

Post by Erik_Twice »

Bonk!

Banning a bat? Seriously? Are you going to ban a friggin' metallic tube? I can kill you with a Megadrive if I wanted to. I can run over you with my car, I can strangle you with a plastic bag, I can kill someone in so many ways it's not funny. Bats are not dangerous unless I choose to hit you with it and I can do that with anything including yourself. Hell, how many deaths by ultrafast baseballs fired by a metallic bat are there? Four? Not a lot and not many more than wooden bats.

Ban Wrenches too and every other metal appliance. They are heavier and get more crits.

And "because I don't like the sound/feel" is irrelevant to this.
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dsheinem
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Re: Seriously, people are sue happy and (*#$*^#*&#$ing stupid

Post by dsheinem »

Let me clarify...

I am not calling for a ban on the production and sale of aluminum bats - I am arguing that they should be removed from Little League, where they do cause greater injury than wooden bats because of the velocity they provide. So saving a few lives/injuries is not worth it? What does Little League lose by switching to wood?

Plenty of "marginally more dangerous" items are banned in sports, especially at the youth level. The analogies to kitchen utensils and plumbing tools are false ones.
lordofduct wrote:Shit is fucked up and anyone who doesn't realize it's bullshit deserves no less then a 4x4 up the ass in my opinion.
I have also said the lawsuit is silly, but if the goal was to call attention to a genuine problem, then it has succeeded. We can debate the motives of those involved, but none of us know for sure.
lordofduct wrote: I simply believe we should be informing people that these sports can be extremely dangerous at times...Now back at the original case. Yeah bullshit case.
The need for warnings was what the case was, supposedly, predicated on.
General_Norris wrote:And "because I don't like the sound/feel" is irrelevant to this.
Fair enough - that's just an additional opinion and extraneous to the claims I am trying to argue above.
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Luke
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Re: Seriously, people are sue happy and (*#$*^#*&#$ing stupid

Post by Luke »

I hate aluminum bats. I can't stand that "ping" sound at college level games.

Anyone see the episode of Married With Children where Al sues (and wins) a guy because he broke his hand punching him? Reminds me of this.
Gnashvar
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Re: Seriously, people are sue happy and (*#$*^#*&#$ing stupid

Post by Gnashvar »

So now we have to pay stupid people for being stupid... great. Then we wonder why the everything is going down the crapper.
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isaacsquared
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Re: Seriously, people are sue happy and (*#$*^#*&#$ing stupid

Post by isaacsquared »

If you get one good lawsuit off, you get paid way more for being stupid than you get paid for being smart. Sad.
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UBERTRON777
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Re: Seriously, people are sue happy and (*#$*^#*&#$ing stupid

Post by UBERTRON777 »

Hmm. . . I think maybe the family should be compensated in some way because it's not really common sense that by playing baseball, you could die. I mean, sure you could die anywhere, doing anything but the risks are higher in baseball and there's not that much danger associated with it. I don't think the bat manufacturer should be held accountable though, they aren't necessarily responsible for the lack of awareness and what are they going to do? Ban aluminum bats from high school baseball leagues? All that a bat manufacturer does is make bats, sure I guess they should have had some warning on the label or whatnot but that doesn't mean they should be held accountable.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that the family should be compensated but not by the bat company.
Gnashvar
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Re: Seriously, people are sue happy and (*#$*^#*&#$ing stupid

Post by Gnashvar »

So what's next car makers being sued because of deaths caused by drunk drivers?
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Luke
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Re: Seriously, people are sue happy and (*#$*^#*&#$ing stupid

Post by Luke »

Why not sue the guy who hit the baseball? Why not sue the pitcher who first threw the ball?

Not enough money in that. That's why.

Personal responsibility seems to be a thing of the past in this country. I should sue my Parents because I have asthma.
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Hobie-wan
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Re: Seriously, people are sue happy and (*#$*^#*&#$ing stupid

Post by Hobie-wan »

dsheinem wrote: I have also said the lawsuit is silly, but if the goal was to call attention to a genuine problem, then it has succeeded.
It may have succeeded, but that doesn't mean it was the right way to do it and it helps promote the problem we have in the US with people suing for stupid reasons.

If I want my 15 minutes of fame I could paint myself neon green and find a really busy public place downtown to run around naked screaming at the top of my lungs and trying to hump people (making sure a friend filmed it for youtube too), but that might not be the best way to go about it. Or heck, I could 'accidentally' release a big shiny silver balloon and say there's a 6 year old trapped in it.

If they wanted to raise awareness, they could have tried talking to the company. They could have talked to the news outlets that reported on the story already. They could have put together something for youtube. They could have talked to local news and then posted that on youtube.

Too many people's first thought anytime something goes wrong is to sue even in the case of accidents, lapses in common sense, or failure to take responsibility for your actions.
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