4 ms·
This is a social problem not a technical one. If elderly dies from cold weather in a blackout, the community and neighbours do not care for them. I guess most
by rightbyte 3y ago
This is a social problem not a technical one.
If elderly dies from cold weather in a blackout, the community and neighbours do not care for them. I guess most do however, but knowing many elderly, that stubbornly refuse to ask for help, it is probably hard to know if some neighbours are freezing to death.
The power company is way too far up the chain to check in on weak elderly.
- pests 3y agoWhy tho? I also find it odd we don't utilize the postal service more. They already visit every house 6 times a week.
- mcny 3y agoIn most new construction, the postal worker no longer comes to the home or apartment. They use something called a clusterbox. This is only applicable to the US but my understanding is that the postal service has strict limits when it comes to hiring full time workers. Something about having to account for full benefits or some act of Congress that I don't understand. But the net effect is your postman/post woman likely doesn't know you besides your name. https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-a-Cluster-Box https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-a-Cluster-Box
- mcny 3y agoThis is really what I thought "defund the police" was all about. You don't send people with guns drawn to someone if you suspect they might kill themselves by hanging themselves in their own home. We can't rely on informal / social structures though. Maybe the old person is like that old man from the Disney Pixar movie up who refused to sell his house. If your neighbors resent you, it doesn't mean you must die.
- rightbyte 3y agoA "social" solution could be the county checking in on elderly when there is a blackout. Or the police, fire department or whatever. Which I guess many counties did. I didn't mean it necessarily has to be a citizen run initiative.
- Hikikomori 3y agoThe elderly should clearly have been ready and had a generator installed, have provisions stored and been ready to fight to protect their property. They shouldn't need any handouts. Being old, poor, disabled, etc, is no excuse for not being able to pull yourself up by your bootstraps.
- andyjohnson0 3y agoIs this sarcasm?
- Hikikomori 3y agoYes.
- rightbyte 3y agoMy point was not for elderly to team up with Sam Altman and Steve Hoffman. But that in a functioning community elderly do not freeze to death (unless ordinary people start to too).
- Hikikomori 3y agoMy point was you don't seem to believe that government is part of a functioning society.
- rightbyte 3y agoI am sorry if it seemed like that, because I very much do. E.g. I make no claim on whether it is any or all of the local Red Cross, county or state gov., neighbours etc that should handle caring for local elderlies in a blackout.
- rainsford 3y agoCreating laws and regulations that tell power companies they need to design their systems do they don't fall over when it's cold out is a way for the community to handle this particular problem. Arguably a more effective and scalable solution than individually checking on elderly neighbors. We're not a nomadic hunter gatherer society any more, we have better tools to make sure everyone is taken care of. In the 21st century, having to check on your neighbors when it's cold out so they don't die is a societal failure that we should be doing everything possible to fix.
- maxlin 3y agoThis is a piece of trolling parodying that old video about the electric company big-wig defending his right to profits right?