I herein pit the Nanny State!

[LucyInDisguise]

Ya know, I’m 53 years old. It’s been something like, oh, I dunno, maybe five or ten years since I actually needed a Nanny.

The past couple of years, the Nevada Dept. of Transportation (NDOT) has started invoking the chain law on Interstate 80 every time 2 snowflakes hit the road for a short coffee break on their way over to Utah.

Seriously, the new conditions required to invoke the chain law (Snow Tires or Ehains Required Beyond This Point) appear to be “moisture on the pavement with ambient air temperature of 34 degrees or less expected”.

For those of us who drive big trucks (semis) for a living, this means that (since NDOT does not recognize the existence of snow tires for big trucks (or our ability, as Professional Drivers, to use our experience and judgement), we must stop and install tire chains on “every axle upon which brakes are mounted” - even if the roads are just wet. NOT icy. Not covered with 6" of snow. WET!

You know, as in, similar to road conditions after a summer rain storm!

Why? Somebody might slip off the road and sue the state because they weren’t officially warned that the road might be slippery.

That’s one example. You could probably provide a few more. I could probably come up with 23 dozen more examples myself if I thought about it for 30 more seconds, but the following just catalyzed this whole subject and really set me off this morning:

From this article:

Clearly we have taken ourselves entirely too seriously if we have given a pillow fight this much attention," Lindsay said Thursday. “The reaction we’re getting from the fans is that people can’t even believe this is an issue. Everybody is entitled to their opinion and the Bureau’s role is they feel that somehow a child is being put in harm’s way and they need to step in and make sure it’s clarified. That’s their prerogative.”

IF that isn’t ‘over-top-enough’ for you, I enter the next line from the article into evidence:

The new commercial also features a disclaimer reading “Dramatization. Do not try this at home.”

Really.

Don’t try this at home.

A pillow fight.

Do you mean to tell me that, without that warning, Children (or Og help us, adults?) might try having a pillow fight at home?

Pillow fight.

Wow.

Are you, at all, in any way, manner, shape or form, living in the real world?

Are you, at all, in any way, manner, shape or form, fucking serious?

Why don’t we just duct tape our children’s arms and legs to each other and put them in a padded room so they can’t hurt their little helpless selves.

NO, wait.

The duct tape might hurt. And … And … And … And … oh, yeah …

Putting them in a padded room might hurt their self esteem.

Make 'em wear a helmet.

No - wait, it might hurt their self esteem. Or the strap may chaff their sensitive skin. And … And … And … And …
or …

Og help us. Though I be not a prayin’ man, I still offer this prayer, for whatever purpose it may serve:

Yea tho I walk through the valley in the shadow of Nannies, I shall fear no harm, and you need not fear for me, for there is yet another Nanny to protect me just an arm’s length away …

And, Save us from ourselves, for we are mortal, and one of us could actually fuck up and kill ourselves accidently 'cause we did not heed the warning of the Nannies.

Save us from personal responsibility, for we are human and make mistakes from which we may actually learn something that the Nannies could have prevented.

Save us from attempting to think for ourselves, for we are as dumb as the cattle in the field or the turkey in the oven, and the Nannies know better anyway.

What ever you do, Dear Og, praise be to your infinite wisdom, please don’t save us from the Nanny State, for somebody might not be able to justify their paycheck and lose their job.

Lucy

[Cat_Whisperer]

I’m reading an interesting fantasy series right now, set in the 1300’s. It was assumed that people, adults, children, and babies, would die ALL THE TIME. Women went to childbirth having made their peace with their gods; children weren’t all expected to make it out of childhood. There has to be a happy medium between this and the no person must ever be hurt, ever, mentality that we are currently developing.

[OtakuLoki]

Folly Wango Toxtrot?!

Child Protective Services are getting involved with a fucking pillow fight in a fucking commercial?

If I squint hard enough I might be able to see a rationale, in that the commercial could be argued to be promoting behavior that would lead to abusive behavior on the part of some people.

If I squint really, really hard.

For the love of little green apples, I’m stuck watching the family court system, here in NY, increasing visitation for a parent who’d just been arrested and arraigned on a parole violation for threatening behavior and verbal assault.

And in Canada they’re going after pillow fights in commercials?

Oy.

[Quiddity_Glomfuster]

They’ll change their minds once their road maintenace bills go through the roof because of the damage done by chains on wet pavement.

[jjimm]

I actually think this is not necessarily a case of nanny stateism, but of litigation paranoia. And if I’m correct, then it is the greedy compensation whores that are the problem.

I speak as someone who works in an office that had some unlit candles removed because they constituted “a fire hazard”.

[Muffin]

The Canadian nanny state has no problem with the pillow fight comercial, which is playing on the state public television network CBC.

It is the private corporation Television Bureau of Canada and it’s private broadcaster members that have the problem with it.

[Muffin]

I just lost a day of the long weekend due to the highway being closed. Such is life. I would rather have the highway closed and re-opened when conditions merit, than have it closed after trucks have slid backward and crashed, for that just lengthens the time that the highway is closed. Fortunately, the decision to close or to open is left to the police on the scene, who are well experienced in what conditions are safe and what conditions are not safe.

I suggest that the problem with the chain regulation in the OP is not one of there being a nanny state, but rather that the formula used in the regulation is just plain dumb. I expect that better results would be had if the regulation were re-worded to set out “as conditions warrant” to ensure that human judgment is used, rather than arbitrary and not necessarily relevant numbers.

[elucidator]

Is it a hot sorority chick pillow fight, with making out, and stuff? I’d have to examine it more closely before I could form an objective opinion.

[Zebra]

Won’t someone think of the grandchildren?
Every generation, when they reach adulthood, they refelect on their childhood and they think “This fucked me up”. Then they work on banning that. Sometimes, it is completly sensible, like lead based paint. Sometimes it can be a judgement call. Maybe dodgeball did get out of hand at your school because your gym teacher was an ass.

But someday in the future, a generation will look back and realize that they are fucked up because they had absoultly nothing bad or harsh happen to them. The children of those people are doomed.

[Freddy_the_Pig]

@elucidator

Is it a hot sorority chick pillow fight, with making out, and stuff? I’d have to examine it more closely before I could form an objective opinion.

:eek: Frank Thomas is about as far from being a hot sorority chick as it’s possible for a human being to be!

[Thudlow_Boink]

@featherlou

I’m reading an interesting fantasy series right now, set in the 1300’s.

Don’t tease us like this—what’s the series?

[OtakuLoki]

@Muffin

The Canadian nanny state has no problem with the pillow fight comercial, which is playing on the state public television network CBC.

It is the private corporation Television Bureau of Canada and it’s private broadcaster members that have the problem with it.

Ah… Sorry. I figured with a name like Television Bureau of Canada it was part of the gov’t. My apologies.

[enigm4tic]

This is silly. Just like kindergarten and 1st grade children being suspended for water guns and pointing fingers like a gun and saying bang (if ya really want I might be able to dig up cites for those in particular). What the hell is wrong with people these days. Man, when I’m a parent, I don’t want to have to get a helicopter license too. My kids (at a reasonable age) want to go out and play, maybe climb a tree or two :eek: , Daddy will give 'em a warning about dangerous activities, maybe some boundaries they can’t go past…even check outside to make sure they aren’t playing chicken with cars or getting eaten by large dogs and such. And that’s just my complaints about parents who Nanny their kids to an inane degree. Don’t even get me started on the Nannying society itself does.

What I can or can not do with respect to my own abilities and my own willingness to judge and accept the consequences of my actions is my own deal, not some litigacious bullshit the Nanny State decides to come up with.

Man, it all started when they banned duels, I mean, if two people want to fight to the death and mutually agree to do so, what right does the state have to interfere, honestly, it’ll start a slippery slope to requiring chains on wet winter roads I tell ya! ;

[LucyInDisguise]

@Muffin

I just lost a day of the long weekend due to the highway being closed. Such is life. I would rather have the highway closed and re-opened when conditions merit, than have it closed after trucks have slid backward and crashed, for that just lengthens the time that the highway is closed. Fortunately, the decision to close or to open is left to the police on the scene, who are well experienced in what conditions are safe and what conditions are not safe.

I suggest that the problem with the chain regulation in the OP is not one of there being a nanny state, but rather that the formula used in the regulation is just plain dumb. I expect that better results would be had if the regulation were re-worded to set out “as conditions warrant” to ensure that human judgment is used, rather than arbitrary and not necessarily relevant numbers.

Agreed. Insofar as conditions warrant the use of tire chains they should be required.

And I must admit that there are commercial drivers out there that have been on the road for less than a year and have no experience with poor road conditions. I, too, have been stuck at road closures where commercial drivers have lost control of their trucks due to poor decisions and/or a lack of training or experience. They are an embarrassment to all of us Professional Drivers who have the training, knowledge, skill and experience to make go or no-go decisions with regard to poor weather and road conditions.

I don’t have any good solutions to that situation.

However, to require chains to be installed when conditions do not warrant it only exacerbates the problem. You then have heavy trucks traveling at 25 mph or less mixed with other vehicles that are still traveling at 75 mph and, believe me 'cause I’ve seen it way too often, that is just a disaster in the making.

@Quiddity Glomfuster

They’ll change their minds once their road maintenace bills go through the roof because of the damage done by chains on wet pavement.

No, actually, they won’t. They’d prefer to fix the road. On reflection, perhaps the tire chain thingy is not the worst example of Nanny Stateism out there, just one that’s been bugging me lately.

The pillow fight thing - well, it just provided a catalyst and set me off …

@jjimm

I actually think this is not necessarily a case of nanny stateism, but of litigation paranoia. And if I’m correct, then it is the greedy compensation whores that are the problem.

I speak as someone who works in an office that had some unlit candles removed because they constituted “a fire hazard”.

True. However since the Nanny State is as much a product of Litigation Paranoia as it is an effort to protect from ourselves, I failed to make that distinction as well.

But even at that, it’s not “the greedy compensation whores that are the problem.” It’s the attorneys that represent them. Unless that is who you are talking about, in which case I agree with you wholeheartedly.

Lucy

[Cat_Whisperer]

@Thudlow Boink

Don’t tease us like this—what’s the series?

Sorry - let’s see - “The Crucible Series” by Sara Douglass. Not my usual cup of tea, but I really like her writing style.

[BobLibDem]

@Quiddity Glomfuster

They’ll change their minds once their road maintenace bills go through the roof because of the damage done by chains on wet pavement.

Bah. Nevada is a recipient state of FHWA funds. They may be spending more because of their policy, but that money is coming from the donor states.

[Steve_MB]

I, for one, am sick of jumping through hoops to get actual decongestant instead of jacksquatocil in a (futile, anyway) effort to prevent idiots from killing themselves with crystal meth.

[OtakuLoki]

Think of the children!

[MsRobyn]

@Steve MB

I, for one, am sick of jumping through hoops to get actual decongestant instead of jacksquatocil in a (futile, anyway) effort to prevent idiots from killing themselves with crystal meth.

See, you need to do what I do. Every so often, jump through the hoops anyway and get a box when you go to the drugstore or supermarket or wherever. Then, when you’re sick, you’ve got the real thing on hand. No muss, lots of fuss, but at least you’ve got it.

Robin, who spends a lot of time bitching about the damn tweakers who ruined it for everyone else.

[enipla]

@LucyInDisguise

we must stop and install tire chains on “every axle upon which brakes are mounted” - even if the roads are just wet. NOT icy. Not covered with 6" of snow. WET!

Every axle? Around here it’s just one of the drive axles. And I’m talking about the continental divide, over 11,000 feet.