Well, there’s also:
(1) Moron [%-)]
(2) Mental MIdget [D)][D)]
(3) Brain Dead Dweeb, [D)][D)][D)]
(4) Norm Mineta [D)][D)][D)][D)][D)]
Well, there’s also:
(1) Moron [%-)]
(2) Mental MIdget [D)][D)]
(3) Brain Dead Dweeb, [D)][D)][D)]
(4) Norm Mineta [D)][D)][D)][D)][D)]
Brant…
Not so much political correctness, but just plain compassion.
I hope that you have a chance to interact on a personel basis with someone who is challenged…
It will alter the way you think, not only about their lot in life, but yours too.
Humbleing isnt descriptive enough, but it will do.
You realize just how lucky you are, no matter how bad a day you are having, when you have to watch a 15 year old girl, beautiful by anyones standard,
struggle with a task most 5 year olds can do with out thinking about it.
You take tying your shoe for granted, but imagine it being a task that required your complete concetration…
How about having such a hard time speaking clearly, and trying to ask your instructor for permission to go to the restroom, and being unable too…finally getting so frustrated with your inability to speak and express yourself like others, that all you can do in the end is cry and point?
Trust me, your value system changes after a while…things you find insignificant become big achivements for retarded kids…things you find impressive dont even exsist in their world.
I used the word retarded on purpose…its meaning is quite clear…the word means “held back”…and often, these kids have that done to them…society and ignorance of their problems do just that, holds them back.
They didnt ask to be born this way, and in many cases, they have no choice in what happens to them, or how their life will be lived…they exsist in a world where the only reason they are not dumped into institutions is because of the compassion of those around them.
They have no choice in the matter.
The fools who drive around gates…and the ones who chose to insult the handicapped, do.
I dont use the word retarded in conversation…not out of correctness…but out of compassion.
I have watched the faces of parents whos child has never accomplished any of the thi
The term “politically correct” isn’t appropriate here. It’s social awareness. Years ago the mentally challenged were regarded with derision - social outcasts. We, as a society, have discovered that was the wrong way to look at them. “Retards” is an outdated term that reflects an outdated way of thinking of them. It needs to be retired.
In the official terms of the medical past, there were three levels of mental retardation, each signifying the level of disability. They were idiot, moron and imbecile. I don’t think anyone is aware of these terms or cares for their history. Idiot is so frequently used.
I personally think “LOSER” is an appropiate term for any idiot who crosses tries to beat a train. I use to be a paramedic and I’ve seen the body damage such an event can cause.
to: bbrant. Freedom comes with responsibility. Freedom of speech does exist and you can say what you when you want. But don’t expect not to get corrected for being unkind.
How we refer to others often reflects how we treat others. For example, railfans are being called “suspicious” thus they are being treated as such. If I never called you anything but good things, then I would be naturally treat you as I called you.
I don’t mean to take time on this forum to rant, but I always get concerned when anyone throws around our right to Freedom of Speech to justify bad behavior.
Ahem. Hello? We seem to be involved in a PC argument here. In general, I am in the same camp as Edblysyard – but then, I usually am!
The folks we see driving around crossing gates, or displaying other behaviours of that sort (ignoring stop signs, running red lights, whatever…) are, in general, no different from most of us in regards basic intelligence or education or … and I could go on. Where the difference arises is in attitude. Our initial poster put it correctly: the fellow didn’t want to wait the three minutes. This type of behaviour – and the resulting accidents – usually comes from one of two places: inattentiveness (often from paying attention to or focussing on something else, occasionaly from fatigue) or a particular form of selfishness: whatever I am doing is the most important thing in the world, and nothing else should interfere. And for these folks, that ‘should’ is an imperative: they will allow nothing else to interfere, and assume that their will will prevail. In dealing with other people, it usually does – and we see these folks in many walks of life, happily trampling on whoever to get to their personal goal. Unfortunately, their will will NOT prevail in other situations – like railroad crossings, or building houses on flood plains and beaches, or… fill in the blanks.
It’s the ‘me first and the Devil take the rest’ attitude that is truly the problem, not mental capacity!
Points well taken.
Some of the risk-taking folks (the “chicken” types) have what is sometimes called the ‘thrillseeker gene’, and they enjoy the adrenaline rush. Others are just impatient, or just have poor judgment.
Neither of these kinds of drivers are likely to listen to reason, even if they are involved in a close call. Maybe, with the passage of time, they will slow down…but there are always new drivers to “take their place” on the roads.
If the photo is clear and crisp enough , you might send it to the local newspaper. They could find it interesting enough to print as a good example of a bad example.
As far as “political correctness:” I believe it is a term generally used derisively by those who belittle respect for other groups yet demand it for their own. It has nothing to do with free speech. Any careless individual, bigot or tiresome bore is free to speak his mind in this country. He shouldn’t be surprised to get a negative reaction though.
Titles of threads can be edited if the poster desires, I believe.
Wayne
“LOSER” works quite well. If ‘you’ mess with a train,that’s exactly
what you will get. You’ll LOSE!!!
I’m a former FF/EMT and have seen several cases like that.
It ain’t pretty!!!
Never underestimate the power of the obvious or its reality - Well said - PL
QUOTE: Originally posted by mbkcs
In the official terms of the medical past, there were three levels of mental retardation, each signifying the level of disability. They were idiot, moron and imbecile. I don’t think anyone is aware of these terms or cares for their history. Idiot is so frequently used.
I personally think “LOSER” is an appropiate term for any idiot who crosses tries to beat a train. I use to be a paramedic and I’ve seen the body damage such an event can cause.
to: bbrant. Freedom comes with responsibility. Freedom of speech does exist and you can say what you when you want. But don’t expect not to get corrected for being unkind.
How we refer to others often reflects how we treat others. For example, railfans are being called “suspicious” thus they are being treated as such. If I never called you anything but good things, then I would be naturally treat you as I called you.
I don’t mean to take time on this forum to rant, but I always get concerned when anyone throws around our right to Freedom of Speech to justify bad behavior.
If the term were directed to someone who is mentally handicapped then I would agree 100% that it was offensive. But the context the word retard was used in is no different than the context of calling this guy a moron, idiot or otherwise. I have to ask why the PC warning gates didn’t go down on either “moron” or “idiot”?
Moron - A person of mild mental retardation having a mental age of from 7 to 12 years and generally having communication and social skills enabling some degree of academic or vocational education.
Idiot - A person of profound mental retardation having a mental age below three years and generally being unable to learn connected speech or guard against common dangers.
Look, the bottom line is the guy who cut in front of the train did something incredibly dumb and dangerous. But the context to describe the
Before I say this I want to say I do not approve of what the motorist did. But on the other hand you can persume he had stopped to see how far away the train was. For sure he knew a train was coming (gates were down bells probably ding, dinging). Then in his humble opinion he decided to go around the gates. Maybe his spacial conceptions were such that he could see he would not get squashed like a bug. It is in a way no difference then driving @ 80MPH look thru your mirror & see it is OK to change lanes & then change lanes. Certainly most people do not have a death wish so you can say in HIS judgement it is was no problem to beat the train. Here in Florida while I never measured I would say the gates come down & the lites go on & the bells ding, ding at least 1/2 mile before the train actually reaches the crossing which would give anybody the opportunity to beat the train. Just playing devils advocate as I say again I would think very few of us have a death wish. Who knows maybe he was rushing to the hospital as his wife was in labor or there was a mediacl emergency in his family that require getting to the hspital quickly. [:o)][:p]
[quote]
QUOTE: Originally posted by emd_SD_60
Earlier today, I was at one of my hotspots waiting on a train to move through. The gates had already came down and the train was slowly approaching. Well this hothead in a pickup truck decides he cant wait the 3 minutes and goes around, with the train only 20 feet from hitting him![:(!] I was wishing it (train)had gone just a little faster and him (motorist idiot) a little slower, then he would have learned “pain” the hard way. Fortunately I had my camera rolling and it caught the dumba** in the act![:D] I wonder if it’ll do any good to show it to the railroad (CN), but probably since I didn’t catch his plate # it will probably do no good. Hopefully the brakeman got it, as he was still waiting for traffic to clear before turning on to the highway![:o)] Serves you right, you clown!
Of course I am
It is a law here in our village that you will not go around crossing gates. You break the law, you do it knowingly. You suffer the consequences. End of story.
Personally, I’d like to see stepped up efforts to cut down instances like this. Have police monitor crossings more often, install more carmeas at crossings etc…
I like the law in Mookie’s village. You do it. You brake the law. You suffer the consequences. It’s that simple.
QUOTE: Originally posted by Hugh Jampton
Surely it’s the fault of the railroad / FRA / whoever for mandating that the gates go down so long before the train gets to the crossing.
Generally,it’s 20-30 seconds before train,and that’s not a long
time to wait,especially if you want to live.
A couple months ago I saw a guy cut around a gate in order to beat a light helper set. Guess he must have been in an awful hurry and didn’t mind risking his life or any mental anquish on the crew that he couldn’t wait the 15-20 seconds it took them to pass.
Maybe he was unaware that it was only a helper set (not a railfan) & assumed it was a 200 car train? Just playing devil’s advocate. [:o)][:D][:p]
[quote]
Originally posted by bbrant
Here’s one fur ya…
For those of you not familiar with the South Shore Line, the railroad has about 2 1/2 miles of street running through Michigan City, Indiana. The railroad operates passenger and freight trains down the street. I used to be an engineer on passenger and work trains there. In the middle of town there are three intersections governed by standard traffic lights timed to the presence of a train when necessary. On more than 3 occasions I had a car full of _________ drive directly towards the train, on the street only to swerve away at the last moment as I went to plug the train. On several occasions I had a _______ drive along side the train, even with the cab, then speed up, signal for a left hand turn, and stop at one of the traffic light controlled intersections waiting to turn left. After the first incident of this nature I learned to reach for the air as soon as I had someone next to me on the street .
It’s not stupdidity that drives these folks. It’s just plain selfishness.
Mitch
QUOTE: Originally posted by bbrant
What about freedom of speech.
Your neighbors, private industry, public servants and, yes, even internet forums can restrict your speech and mine all they want. As with virtually any other place in the world, you can say what you want here but you might have to deal with some repercussions.
Among other things, the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights guarantees that Congress can not restrict your speech by passing a law.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
I only drove around lowered (B&OCT) crossing gates once, and that was only after I was able to flag myself across the 10MPH line. I was still nervous, as I recall.
QUOTE: Originally posted by artmark
Here’s one fur ya…
For those of you not familiar with the South Shore Line, the railroad has about 2 1/2 miles of street running through Michigan City, Indiana. The railroad operates passenger and freight trains down the street. I used to be an engineer on passenger and work trains there. In the middle of town there are three intersections governed by standard traffic lights timed to the presence of a train when necessary. On more than 3 occasions I had a car full of _________ drive directly towards the train, on the street only to swerve away at the last moment as I went to plug the train. On several occasions I had a _______ drive along side the train, even with the cab, then speed up, signal for a left hand turn, and stop at one of the traffic light controlled intersections waiting to turn left. After the first incident of this nature I learned to reach for the air as soon as I had someone next to me on the street .
It’s not stupdidity that drives these folks. It’s just plain selfishness.Mitch
They’re out there aren’t they? Old Engineer told me he would watch them come clear across country to get on those tracks with the train. He told all his firemen that he wouldn’t go to emergency until he hit them, since he wasn’t going to put his train into emergency and have to explain his actions, only to have them swerve away. Pretty severe, but I couldn’t argue with him!
I do not believe there has been any disrespect aimed the those unfortunate people who are incapable of thinking beyond the level of a three or twelve-year old. The derision is aimed at those people who think and act at these levels when they possess (allegedly) a brain capable of functioning at a full adult level.