- Cape Rolling Out Bloomfield Road Art Trail (8/21/19)1
- Donors Pledge Almost Two Grand To Replace SEMO's Possibly Sentient ‘Gum Tree' (8/16/18)
- SEMO and The Will To (Become A Consultant) – Part 2 (6/14/18)
- SEMO and The Will To Do (You Really Want To See That Legal Notice?) – Part 1 (6/4/18)
- Judge, Jury... Trashman (6/1/18)
- Diary of Cape Girardeau Road Deconstruction (5/11/18)
- Trying To Save A Tree From City “Improvements” (4/30/18)2
Is 'Stupid' a Pre-Existing Condition?
I was waiting at a stoplight a couple weeks ago and noticed a fellow on a Harley. I neither "ride" nor usually pay any attention to bikers unless they've tinkered with their exhaust and go roaring by sounding like a Boeing 737 on take-off.
However, this guy's bike did not sound especially loud. No, what I noticed about him was his choice of footwear.
He was wearing flip-flops.
While I am a big proponent of personal freedom, and believe that poor decisions by some of my fellow human beings are not meant to be legislated away and are actually God's way of thinning the Homo sapien herd, I felt compelled to pull this guy over and ask him what his plans were if he happened to wipe out his bike and lived. His choice of flip-flops pretty much guaranteed he would wind up with severely mangled feet if he did have an accident, requiring significant medical care.
Basically, I wanted to know if he had health insurance and if he did, did his policy consider "stupid" a pre-existing condition?
And more importantly, would he sign a waiver guaranteeing that the cost of my own medical care would not increase because of my fellow citizen's choice at exercising his personal freedom.
I look at it this way. Why should I pay for someone else being stupid?
I think the same thing about all these people riding scooters around town, zipping along at 20 plus miles per hour without any head protection. I know a helmet doesn't necessarily look cool and could really muss their hair, but what happens if they wipe out and suffer a brain injury? Who is going to pay for the care they will need for the rest of their life?
I don't think it should be me. Why should I pay for them being stupid?
Unfortunately, stupidity is such a rampant disease in this country that I think the CDC should get involved.
For instance, I saw on TV the other evening a clip of what looked like a teenager attempting a stunt with his skateboard. If you've ever been videotaped on a skateboard and the footage gets aired on a TV show, it is never a good sign.
In this case, the wannabe stunt boy wiped out going down a hill and the only thing that stopped him was his privates and an electric-pole guy wire.
I'll give you a second to reflect on that and all the men to recover...
While I don't know what exactly became of this particular junior stuntman -- or the legions of other Johnny Knoxville impersonators you see on caught-on-video clip shows trying incredibly stupid feats of derring-do -- one can only assume that a hospital emergency room had to be somewhere in his immediate plans following this wipeout.
Perhaps, he had insurance, but just as likely not. And who pays for his medical needs resulting from this idiocy? It's likely that we all do. That's the reason that a Tylenol costs $40 when given to us by a nurse during a hospital stay. The pill and the paper cup it comes in costs a nickel and the other $39.95 goes towards paying off "charitable" hospital expenses incurred by risk-takers like this fellow who bet and lost with no way to pay the medical bills they've racked up.
Again, why should I pay for them being stupid?
Besides the day or two after I was born, I've never been hospitalized and I've only had to go to an emergency room four times in my life. I credit my track record to basically being a cautious individual. I buckle my seat belt. I wear a helmet when I ride a bicycle. And I make sure never to start a sentence with the phrase "Hey guys, watch this."
That's how I've managed to survive essentially unscathed to the old age of 42.
However, I don't believe that anyone should use me as a role model. You should be your own person. Do your own thing. If you want to ride your Harley wearing flip-flops or your scooter with no helmet, you go right ahead. If you fancy yourself a skateboard-stud and wish to mimic tricks you've seen on TV, that is your prerogative.
But if you wipe out and turn yourself into a vegetable because you exercised you're right to do whatever you damn well please and it turned out badly, then I don't believe that myself or any other citizen should have to foot the bill for your medical care.
After all, why should we pay for stupid?
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