There's a story, one of the original Darwin stories. I don't think it was ever confirmed as true, but it's a damned fine story nonetheless
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Re: Ok, gents...royalassassinFebruary 5 2003, 00:09:11 UTC
Excellent analogy; all it requires is a gentle massage to make it a near-perfect reflection of the situation at hand.
Friend goes out, drives drunk, wraps car around tree. Friend calls you for help, and it turns out that he's not seriously injured in any life-threatening way, just shaken and suffering fairly light physical damage. You assist friend, and caution him not to drive drunk again, you yourself being fairly shaken after hearing that friend was in a DUI and still calming down from your initial shock.
Two months later, friend approaches his vehicle, clearly sloshed and equally clearly intending on driving again. You remind friend that this wasn't a good idea the first time, and isn't any better an idea now. Friend tells you that it's all under control, that this time he won't wreck the car, and if "you can't accept that it's his life and his decision" you can basically go fuck yourself. Zero regard for what it's going to do to you when he wraps his car around another tree, because that's not important; what is important is that he really wants to.
How often do you watch your buddy get drunk and wrap himself around trees? How many times is enough? Ten? Five? How much damage are you willing to take in the process? How many calls are you willing to take, wondering every time the phone rings if this time he's actually managed to kill himself? Sure, it's not stress like being fired upon is, but it is stress, and like all stress, it adds up. Fast.
Friend goes out, drives drunk, wraps car around tree. Friend calls you for help, and it turns out that he's not seriously injured in any life-threatening way, just shaken and suffering fairly light physical damage. You assist friend, and caution him not to drive drunk again, you yourself being fairly shaken after hearing that friend was in a DUI and still calming down from your initial shock.
Two months later, friend approaches his vehicle, clearly sloshed and equally clearly intending on driving again. You remind friend that this wasn't a good idea the first time, and isn't any better an idea now. Friend tells you that it's all under control, that this time he won't wreck the car, and if "you can't accept that it's his life and his decision" you can basically go fuck yourself. Zero regard for what it's going to do to you when he wraps his car around another tree, because that's not important; what is important is that he really wants to.
How often do you watch your buddy get drunk and wrap himself around trees? How many times is enough? Ten? Five? How much damage are you willing to take in the process? How many calls are you willing to take, wondering every time the phone rings if this time he's actually managed to kill himself? Sure, it's not stress like being fired upon is, but it is stress, and like all stress, it adds up. Fast.
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