5 ms·

Aren't you surprised how negatively you think of a whole class of people? Isn't this attitude the same human instinct and no less harmful than racism, sexism, e

Aren't you surprised how negatively you think of a whole class of people? Isn't this attitude the same human instinct and no less harmful than racism, sexism, etc? Tourists aren't a socially or legally protected class so you don't have to worry about publicly mocking them, but they're still a class of innocent humans.

KGIII 9y ago
Nope, not even remotely surprised. It is pretty much entirely jest. Most tourists are fantastic, though they often try things they aren't experienced or equipped for. This results in them dying in new and interesting ways. I'm on the volunteer rescue squad and go out fetching bodies, ideally still alive, on a regular basis. They get lost, try kayaking during flood season, snowmobile on thin ice - including trying to do it over open water, get drunk and use an ATV until they are impaled on a pine tree, and try to back their boats into the water - which is expensive but funny as hell to watch. So, some of the complaints are valid. You should see them drive in the snow. Fortunately, there are usually giant snow banks so they don't get too hurt. I drive around and pull people out of the ditches, just for fun. I don't charge them, I just enjoy it. But, yeah, they seem to appreciate the ribbing. If they have issues, we will all stop what we are doing and go out and rescue them. I've rappelled down over the falls to retrieve a kayaker. I even went back to get their kayak. We don't charge them any money, we just give them a ration of crap and tell them to take a few classes before trying that again. Edit to add: If you're from MA, we make fun of you the most. Edit again: I just noticed AutoCorrect hates me.
- averagewall 9y ago
  You're now making fun of people dying. That's pretty horrible. Isn't it the same as laughing at handicapped people trying to get on the bus too? They should do more training before venturing out into the real world. Isn't that the same as making fun of alcoholics and drug addicts who kill themselves with their habits? Suicide and drug overdose deaths are a joke and the people who die deserve it because they didn't bother to learn useful employable skills and ended up feeling worthless? Just because someone isn't good at evaluating risk doesn't mean they deserve ridicule for suffering all kinds of loss from their pride to their car, to their life. Edit: I got derailed from my point. Not all tourists are what your stereotype says. Just like not all women drivers cause traffic jams and not all blacks are criminals. This is the prejudice you're showing that I think is equivalent to racism or sexism. Imagine replacing "tourist" with "black" in your thoughts to see how extreme it is.
  - KGIII 9y ago
    Oh, we take deaths seriously. We take serious injuries seriously. We will laugh when you crush your boat, trailer, and truck because you can't follow directions. Really, backing up a trailer is very easy if you just follow the directions. Basically, aim the truck. Put both hands on the steering wheel, at ten and two. Go backwards slowly. Look in your mirrors. If the boat is bigger in one mirror, turn that direction. Tada! You've obviously never seen many tourists in the wild, or were one. We take good care of them. We want them to come back. But, we live in an area where you will die a horrible and gruesome death if you don't follow directions. Yet, many fail to follow directions. Most of their risk is pretty harmless. Our biggest rescue this year was 28 campers who somehow got completely lost on a nature hike. We had two snowmobiles in the lake, a car in the lake, a kid who drowned under the ice, and a few ATV accidents. Then there are all the smaller mishaps which require a 45 minute drive to an ER. This might help... I live 1h 15m from a fast food joint - if the roads are clear. You will die here - really. They do it all the time. They do it because they don't follow directions. Now, if you read my reply again, you'll note that they aren't the majority. The majority still screw up traffic, scare the animals, feed the bears, and generally get drunk and smash into stuff. Not too long ago, a nice lady tried to pet a bull moose in rutting season. She spent a while in the hospital but she lived. When I risk my life to come save you from a situation you stupidly put yourself into, and then I laugh at you, you can be pissed or grateful. That is up to you. I find they are usually embarrassed and grateful. By the way, is this response you're giving what the trendy kids are calling 'virtue signaling?' If it helps, you're gonna change my mind exactly zero. I'm not even remotely concerned that it is unethical. If you want to avoid it, don't make us have to clean up after you. You're full of nasty bits that are hard to clean off.
    - averagewall 9y ago
      My concern is that most of society seems to have accepted that popular "isms" are bad, but only the officially designated ones. Then they're free to be as offensive as they like to any other groups of people. You're able to publicly say the things you did without causing any outrage. Yet if you do the same about protected classes, it's socially unacceptable. This shows that followers of the culture don't actually have concern for people being insulted, they just pretend to be concerned when they know everyone will agree with them. That's virtue signalling which I see as hypocritical. I understand that you help people when they have problems. I don't think that makes is OK to insult them though. It's easy to be frustrated when people repeatedly don't do what you tell them, and feel smugness when they suffer the consequences. To pull out another analogy, we don't mock victims of industrial accidents for failing to follow the safety rules 100% of the time, despite being told those rules. Instead, we look for ways to make it harder to suffer the accidents. Don't forget that just about every problem that people suffer is somehow due to their own actions. Life's full of rules you're supposed to follow but nobody can reliable follow them all the time, and if you did, you'd surely not get far or have much fun. People everywhere still crash their cars, turn up to work late, get preventable diseases, etc. I think it's offensive to blame them for their suffering.
- abkfenris 9y ago
  Well, look at that. Another Mainer on a SAR team on here. 2 sympathy hikes, a couple of Baxter coverage weekends, and ringleading at the MASAR conference so far this year for business.

KGIII 9y ago

Nope, not even remotely surprised. It is pretty much entirely jest. Most tourists are fantastic, though they often try things they aren't experienced or equipped for. This results in them dying in new and interesting ways. I'm on the volunteer rescue squad and go out fetching bodies, ideally still alive, on a regular basis. They get lost, try kayaking during flood season, snowmobile on thin ice - including trying to do it over open water, get drunk and use an ATV until they are impaled on a pine tree, and try to back their boats into the water - which is expensive but funny as hell to watch. So, some of the complaints are valid. You should see them drive in the snow. Fortunately, there are usually giant snow banks so they don't get too hurt. I drive around and pull people out of the ditches, just for fun. I don't charge them, I just enjoy it. But, yeah, they seem to appreciate the ribbing. If they have issues, we will all stop what we are doing and go out and rescue them. I've rappelled down over the falls to retrieve a kayaker. I even went back to get their kayak. We don't charge them any money, we just give them a ration of crap and tell them to take a few classes before trying that again. Edit to add: If you're from MA, we make fun of you the most. Edit again: I just noticed AutoCorrect hates me.

averagewall 9y ago
You're now making fun of people dying. That's pretty horrible. Isn't it the same as laughing at handicapped people trying to get on the bus too? They should do more training before venturing out into the real world. Isn't that the same as making fun of alcoholics and drug addicts who kill themselves with their habits? Suicide and drug overdose deaths are a joke and the people who die deserve it because they didn't bother to learn useful employable skills and ended up feeling worthless? Just because someone isn't good at evaluating risk doesn't mean they deserve ridicule for suffering all kinds of loss from their pride to their car, to their life. Edit: I got derailed from my point. Not all tourists are what your stereotype says. Just like not all women drivers cause traffic jams and not all blacks are criminals. This is the prejudice you're showing that I think is equivalent to racism or sexism. Imagine replacing "tourist" with "black" in your thoughts to see how extreme it is.
- KGIII 9y ago
  Oh, we take deaths seriously. We take serious injuries seriously. We will laugh when you crush your boat, trailer, and truck because you can't follow directions. Really, backing up a trailer is very easy if you just follow the directions. Basically, aim the truck. Put both hands on the steering wheel, at ten and two. Go backwards slowly. Look in your mirrors. If the boat is bigger in one mirror, turn that direction. Tada! You've obviously never seen many tourists in the wild, or were one. We take good care of them. We want them to come back. But, we live in an area where you will die a horrible and gruesome death if you don't follow directions. Yet, many fail to follow directions. Most of their risk is pretty harmless. Our biggest rescue this year was 28 campers who somehow got completely lost on a nature hike. We had two snowmobiles in the lake, a car in the lake, a kid who drowned under the ice, and a few ATV accidents. Then there are all the smaller mishaps which require a 45 minute drive to an ER. This might help... I live 1h 15m from a fast food joint - if the roads are clear. You will die here - really. They do it all the time. They do it because they don't follow directions. Now, if you read my reply again, you'll note that they aren't the majority. The majority still screw up traffic, scare the animals, feed the bears, and generally get drunk and smash into stuff. Not too long ago, a nice lady tried to pet a bull moose in rutting season. She spent a while in the hospital but she lived. When I risk my life to come save you from a situation you stupidly put yourself into, and then I laugh at you, you can be pissed or grateful. That is up to you. I find they are usually embarrassed and grateful. By the way, is this response you're giving what the trendy kids are calling 'virtue signaling?' If it helps, you're gonna change my mind exactly zero. I'm not even remotely concerned that it is unethical. If you want to avoid it, don't make us have to clean up after you. You're full of nasty bits that are hard to clean off.
  - averagewall 9y ago
    My concern is that most of society seems to have accepted that popular "isms" are bad, but only the officially designated ones. Then they're free to be as offensive as they like to any other groups of people. You're able to publicly say the things you did without causing any outrage. Yet if you do the same about protected classes, it's socially unacceptable. This shows that followers of the culture don't actually have concern for people being insulted, they just pretend to be concerned when they know everyone will agree with them. That's virtue signalling which I see as hypocritical. I understand that you help people when they have problems. I don't think that makes is OK to insult them though. It's easy to be frustrated when people repeatedly don't do what you tell them, and feel smugness when they suffer the consequences. To pull out another analogy, we don't mock victims of industrial accidents for failing to follow the safety rules 100% of the time, despite being told those rules. Instead, we look for ways to make it harder to suffer the accidents. Don't forget that just about every problem that people suffer is somehow due to their own actions. Life's full of rules you're supposed to follow but nobody can reliable follow them all the time, and if you did, you'd surely not get far or have much fun. People everywhere still crash their cars, turn up to work late, get preventable diseases, etc. I think it's offensive to blame them for their suffering.
abkfenris 9y ago
Well, look at that. Another Mainer on a SAR team on here. 2 sympathy hikes, a couple of Baxter coverage weekends, and ringleading at the MASAR conference so far this year for business.