Another step lower in society and our species

[CommonCents]

Exactly. They most likely didn't know how to swim. Even if they did, the last resort is to go in after... Even then you risk getting pulled under by a panicked drowning victim.

 

They could have called for help, they could have reached, thrown something...

 

The drowning victim was stupid, he couldn't swim either, why is he in water?

 

The teens were right on the Darwin aspect.

 

Is it a Darwin Award for the one who drowned, they did warn his stupid azz.

 

But... Compassion should win out or try to overcome Darwin?

If you are unable to help someone that is about to die wouldn't you call someone that could? Or would you make jokes and taunt the fool so his dying memory is being helpless and hearing your voice? If you can't swim or your

balls haven't dropped yet and your adrenaline doesn't overcome doubt...then press 911. !@#$.

[Acantha]

 

How could you wish this on anyone? That's sick.

!@#$ them! I'd throw em a weighted vest.

[GoBills808]

Not to excuse this, and I'm not going to watch the video, but attempting to rescue a drowning person is dangerous in and of itself, especially if you aren't a strong swimmer.

[Acantha]

Not to excuse this, and I'm not going to watch the video, but attempting to rescue a drowning person is dangerous in and of itself, especially if you aren't a strong swimmer.

Since you didn't watch the video; there's a big difference between not being able to help someone and screaming obscenities and laughing at them as they go down.

[GoBills808]

Since you didn't watch the video; there's a big difference between not being able to help someone and screaming obscenities and laughing at them as they go down.

Very true.

[Saxum]

i'd rather them learn from their stupidity and poor choices to grow and become something of themselves if i had first choice.

 

off course i wouldnt care if they got hit by a train either, but i'm a sorry bastard prick

 

I am not as kind hearted as you. I'd care if they were hit by train for it would likely end up a mess for some train engineer.

 

I would not care if they played russian roulette with a gun with 6 bullets.

[ExiledInIllinois]

If you are unable to help someone that is about to die wouldn't you call someone that could? Or would you make jokes and taunt the fool so his dying memory is being helpless and hearing your voice? If you can't swim or your

balls haven't dropped yet and your adrenaline doesn't overcome doubt...then press 911. !@#$.

Or... One is just so desensitized, letting then law of the jungle & Darwin take over.

[boyst]

This is a terrible action by these kids, or rather inaction I guess. But I find it funny when people say things like a "step lower in our society and species." You do not have to look far into the past to see really lower steps in our society and our species. From homophobia, to sexism, to racism, to genocides, to absolutely brutal trench warfare, to brutal working conditions, to slavery, etc, etc, etc. Many things still exist, yes, but to a much smaller degree than they did in the past. Pretty much every generation is more civilized than the last in one shape or another if you really think about it.

uh. I am not sure that this post actually reflects anything of merit to reply to. Insulting those who offer this as an example of how !@#$ed up we are because we were worse in the past is ironic. Because we were but we are also way worse than we are now. Your societal inference that homophobia was rampant is weighed against the pride marches of today that occur on a regular basis across this country with fully nude men and women engaging in sexual acts on the street. I think they cancel each other out.

 

And racism has been a major thing of the past for 30+ yrs. My generation was devoid of the issues that reoccured across this country recently.

 

Sexism is another far cry from reality.

 

The soap box you stand on is that of a bygone era where even this issue would have been judged. In a former era these kids parents would have beat them senseless. Now, kids are raised by grandparents who need a.mulligan on the first kid to mess up the grand kids more.

 

Our society has become an extreme example of idiocracy. And going back to our past to say "hey, it's not so bad compared to 50 yrs ago" is a cop out to responsibility and ethics today.

 

These kids have every opportunity of life at their feet. They !@#$ed up here and it's tragic. But, they're a product of their raising in a generation of selfies, instant gratification, me first, mt dew taco bell give me something for nothing and a trophy now

Not to excuse this, and I'm not going to watch the video, but attempting to rescue a drowning person is dangerous in and of itself, especially if you aren't a strong swimmer.

I had to earn a life saving merit badge once. I can attest to this. The instructor beat our was and showed us how to save someone.

[Saxum]

Exactly. They most likely didn't know how to swim. Even if they did, the last resort is to go in after... Even then you risk getting pulled under by a panicked drowning victim.

 

Yes it is very difficult thing to do.

When I was a mid-teen we had our family reunion at an uncle's farm which had a pond.

I was sitting in the shade watching some kids go off the diving board and I noticed one of the kds not come back up in lake.

I ran to diving board pushing kids left and right into water and dived in.

Pulled a cousin no one noticed never came up and was struggle just to get him to non-panic and pull me into to muddy bottom.

Fortunately he survived although needed trip to hospital.

My uncle who usually watched the pond after that day said I was mature enough to handle the job now.

[Sweats]

Shameful...............just shameful.

[Benjamin Franklin]

The whole meme of Boyst's post is often repeated but seldom researched. The never-ending access to media and our human bent to alight on the negative (probably being alert to danger kept us alive at one point) feeds the narative that the world is going to hell in a handbasket.

 

It's what every generation ad infinitem says about the successive ones.

 

And yet, violence has declined dramatically over the course of human history. Like...not a little...but a lot. And our reaction to a story like this is a lot different than it would have been 300 years ago when brutalizing our fellow man was common and 500 years ago when we killed each other in huge numbers in the names of gods and 1000 years ago when genocide and mass rape were not condemned but expected.

 

Try out The Better Angels of Our Nature for a look at some cold facts and also historical perspective on how far we've come every time you see one of these "We're doomed" people postulating about how horrible we all are.

 

And if you don't believe me, here's one notable person's take, "If I could give each of you a graduation present, it would be this — the most inspiring book I've ever read," Bill Gates.

Edited July 21, 2017 by Benjamin Franklin

[ExiledInIllinois]

The whole meme of Boyst's post is often repeated but seldom researched. The never-ending access to media and our human bent to alight on the negative (probably being alert to danger kept us alive at one point) feeds the narative that the world is going to hell in a handbasket.

 

It's what every generation ad infinitem says about the successive ones.

 

And yet, violence has declined dramatically over the course of human history. Like...not a little...but a lot. And our reaction to a story like this is a lot different than it would have been 300 years ago when brutalizing our fellow man was common and 500 years ago when we killed each other in huge numbers in the names of gods and 1000 years ago when genocide and mass rape were not condemned but expected.

 

Try out The Better Angels of Our Nature for a look at some cold facts and also historical perspective on how far we've come every time you see one of these "We're doomed" people postulating about how horrible we all are.

 

And if you don't believe me, here's one notable person's take, "If I could give each of you a graduation present, it would be this the most inspiring book I've ever read," Bill Gates.

Gr8! Totally agree

[boyst]

The whole meme of Boyst's post is often repeated but seldom researched. The never-ending access to media and our human bent to alight on the negative (probably being alert to danger kept us alive at one point) feeds the narative that the world is going to hell in a handbasket.

 

It's what every generation ad infinitem says about the successive ones.

 

And yet, violence has declined dramatically over the course of human history. Like...not a little...but a lot. And our reaction to a story like this is a lot different than it would have been 300 years ago when brutalizing our fellow man was common and 500 years ago when we killed each other in huge numbers in the names of gods and 1000 years ago when genocide and mass rape were not condemned but expected.

 

Try out The Better Angels of Our Nature for a look at some cold facts and also historical perspective on how far we've come every time you see one of these "We're doomed" people postulating about how horrible we all are.

 

And if you don't believe me, here's one notable person's take, "If I could give each of you a graduation present, it would be this — the most inspiring book I've ever read," Bill Gates.

youo've said this before on other boards and it rings so falsely.

 

your first world experiences may allow you to believe this. and overall violence may be down across the world but it is still a crisis in much of the world with Islamic terror, domestic terror, hate, ignorance and those who are organizing campaigns of resistance to further political agendas which only lead to disarray and a stronger police state nation.

 

you statement of generic platitudes is a statement of nativity .

[Tiberius]

The whole meme of Boyst's post is often repeated but seldom researched. The never-ending access to media and our human bent to alight on the negative (probably being alert to danger kept us alive at one point) feeds the narative that the world is going to hell in a handbasket.

 

It's what every generation ad infinitem says about the successive ones.

 

And yet, violence has declined dramatically over the course of human history. Like...not a little...but a lot. And our reaction to a story like this is a lot different than it would have been 300 years ago when brutalizing our fellow man was common and 500 years ago when we killed each other in huge numbers in the names of gods and 1000 years ago when genocide and mass rape were not condemned but expected.

 

Try out The Better Angels of Our Nature for a look at some cold facts and also historical perspective on how far we've come every time you see one of these "We're doomed" people postulating about how horrible we all are.

 

And if you don't believe me, here's one notable person's take, "If I could give each of you a graduation present, it would be this — the most inspiring book I've ever read," Bill Gates.

Nice post, looks like an interesting book. If I had to guess what the factors were that led to less violence I'd say it was growing prosperity so less conflict over resources on personal level, more living space to spread out, greater education and the growth of state police powers so laws against wife beating, child abuse and general crimes could be stopped/solved. People complain about there being too many lawyers, but now we settle more conflicts in court than with violence

yes, nativity

[DC Tom]

Clearly, the responsibility lies with Ryan Reynolds, for making Deadpool.

[Benjamin Franklin]

Pinker's tome speaks for itself, many people's confirmation bias notwithstanding. He has a TedTalk but it's incomplete.

 

And if you want other charts that show many other aspects of our world improving, this is a good link.

 

"The sky is falling" makes for good headlines and water-cooler talk. It's a lot less sexy to appreciate how amazing it is what we've accomplished.

 

More to work on, no doubt. But it's important to keep our reactions in check when we see bad news and a bad story.

Edited July 23, 2017 by Benjamin Franklin

[Mark80]

uh. I am not sure that this post actually reflects anything of merit to reply to. Insulting those who offer this as an example of how !@#$ed up we are because we were worse in the past is ironic. Because we were but we are also way worse than we are now. Your societal inference that homophobia was rampant is weighed against the pride marches of today that occur on a regular basis across this country with fully nude men and women engaging in sexual acts on the street. I think they cancel each other out.

 

And racism has been a major thing of the past for 30+ yrs. My generation was devoid of the issues that reoccured across this country recently.

 

Sexism is another far cry from reality.

 

The soap box you stand on is that of a bygone era where even this issue would have been judged. In a former era these kids parents would have beat them senseless. Now, kids are raised by grandparents who need a.mulligan on the first kid to mess up the grand kids more.

 

Our society has become an extreme example of idiocracy. And going back to our past to say "hey, it's not so bad compared to 50 yrs ago" is a cop out to responsibility and ethics today.

 

These kids have every opportunity of life at their feet. They !@#$ed up here and it's tragic. But, they're a product of their raising in a generation of selfies, instant gratification, me first, mt dew taco bell give me something for nothing and a trophy now

I had to earn a life saving merit badge once. I can attest to this. The instructor beat our was and showed us how to save someone.

 

This is clearly the only ironic thing in either of our posts. When someone says "a step lower" it infers that we were at some point on a higher level. I was simply pointing out that I believe we are at our highest level we have ever been at this time, even though a lot of messed up stuff still happens and there is a long way to go. I was in no way shape or form saying those things do not still exist in society, I was saying that you don't have to go too far in the past to see each of them at a much worse off position than they are today. However, if you can teach me about a time in civilized history when things were not more messed up than they are now, please do. I enjoy learning new things.

Edited July 23, 2017 by Mark80

[boyst]

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-woman-livestreamed-dying-teen-sister-instagram-after-car-crash-n785846

 

 

 

Part of the livestream shows Sanchez outside the car with what appears to be her sister Jacquelines body. The other teen can be seen attempting to wave down help.

 

I f-----g killed my sister, OK? I know Im going to jail for life, Sanchez says in the video. This is the last thing I wanted to happen, OK? I dont f-----g care though, Im going to hold it down. Rest in peace, sweetie. If you dont survive, I am so f-----g sorry.

[WhoTom]

But what about the Good Samaritan law? It has to be real because I saw it on Seinfeld once.

 

The Good Samaritan Law doesn't compel someone to help, it just absolves you from liability if you try to help in good faith. For example, I'm CPR certified. If I see someone who needs CPR, I can help them without worrying about them winning a lawsuit against me if, for example, a rib cracks during the process. As long as I'm acting with good intentions and I follow standard CPR guidelines and procedures, I'm protected under the Good Samaritan Law.

[Figster]

Pinker's tome speaks for itself, many people's confirmation bias notwithstanding. He has a TedTalk but it's incomplete.

 

And if you want other charts that show many other aspects of our world improving, this is a good link.

 

"The sky is falling" makes for good headlines and water-cooler talk. It's a lot less sexy to appreciate how amazing it is what we've accomplished.

 

More to work on, no doubt. But it's important to keep our reactions in check when we see bad news and a bad story.

We see it in our favorite video games. We entertain ourselves with crime shows, horror, war and sci fi movies. We see it making news headlines, and If you live in Chicago you might get a first hand glimpse. We even pretended at an early age with little plastic army men.

 

Times have changed and along with it the ability to fantasize at greater lengths to feed our hunger.

 

We can believe civilization as a whole has become more civilized, but lurking just bellow the surface there is an ugly attraction that still haunts us.

 

I'm having a Big mac attack...