# I'm not sure who to pit, but someone is getting pitted (Building collapse) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 7, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393 "2013-06-07T16:24:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/21 "2013-08-06T18:55:53Z")
…and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky, Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/22 "2013-08-06T20:14:30Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Someone screwed up. The careful text-books measure (Let all who build beware!) The load, the shock, the pressure Material can bear. So, when the buckled girder Lets down the grinding span, 'The blame of loss, or murder, Is laid upon the man. Not on the Stuff - the Man! But in our daily dealing With stone and steel, we find The Gods have no such feeling Of justice toward mankind. To no set gauge they make us- For no laid course prepare- And presently o’ertake us With loads we cannot bear: Too merciless to bear. – “Hymn of Breaking Strain,” Rudyard Kipling ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/23 "2013-08-06T20:19:57Z")
Very appropriate, **BrainGlutton**. My choice was what came to mind as I watched the bus head calmly past the site, undoubtedly with a schedule to keep, but I was curious to see if anyone would get the reference. You give the whole damn poem and the author citation, so it’s impossible NOT to get the reference. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/24 "2013-08-06T21:01:27Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > You give the whole damn poem . . . Nah, [there’s four more stanzas](http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_strain.htm) I omitted. (Not that copyright is a problem with Kipling.) BTW, [Leslie Fish does a great musical setting.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEwxguHUi_U) ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/25 "2013-08-07T22:04:52Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > …and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen > Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky, > Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on. One of my favorite poems, and one of the few I actually memorized involuntarily through reread & worship. I refer to it nearly every day to keep my ego in check. But Pink Floyd was even more concise: _Out of the way, it’s a busy day, I’ve got things on my mind._ ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/26 "2013-08-07T23:24:08Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > One of my favorite poems, and one of the few I actually memorized involuntarily through reread & worship. I refer to it nearly every day to keep my ego in check. Before I die, I hope to be able to visit Brussels and see the painting that inspired the poem. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/27 "2013-08-08T13:50:59Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > …and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen > Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky, > Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on. OK, I have to admit I don’t get this. Are you saying it would have been better for the bus to stop and let out a bunch of wide eyed lookie loos to get in the way of the trained, professional, emergency personnel? If a disaster happens in the middle of nowhere, and you’re the only person around, absolutely you should stop and render aid. If a disaster happens in the middle of a major city, and emergency personnel are already on the scene, ISTM that _getting out of their way_ is the best action you could take. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/28 "2013-08-08T14:25:53Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > OK, I have to admit I don’t get this. Are you saying it would have been better for the bus to stop and let out a bunch of wide eyed lookie loos to get in the way of the trained, professional, emergency personnel? If a disaster happens in the middle of nowhere, and you’re the only person around, absolutely you should stop and render aid. If a disaster happens in the middle of a major city, and emergency personnel are already on the scene, ISTM that _getting out of their way_ is the best action you could take. No, no, I get it. It’s just the contrast of the bus, keeping its schedule, sort of trivializes the disaster. Six people died. And the bus just rolls on. I don’t mean to say that it shouldn’t have done so; I merely mean the contrast between the mundane and the tragic is sharp. And because W. H. Auden said it better than I did… I quoted him. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/29 "2013-08-08T15:39:38Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > It’s just the contrast of the bus, keeping its schedule, sort of trivializes the disaster. Be brave! _Beaux Arts_ specifically acknowledges the triviality, to the rest of the world, of personal Big Deals. 6 people died. The perceptible ripples of their deaths affect the construction folks, the families, inevitably some lawyers, and maybe a few other people. Meanwhile, the people on the bus go up and down just a few feet away. It’s the perfect affirmation that Auden nailed it. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/30 "2013-08-08T16:28:04Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Be brave! _Beaux Arts_ specifically acknowledges the triviality, to the rest of the world, of personal Big Deals. > > 6 people died. The perceptible ripples of their deaths affect the construction folks, the families, inevitably some lawyers, and maybe a few other people. Meanwhile, the people on the bus go up and down just a few feet away. It’s the perfect affirmation that Auden nailed it. And the torturer’s horse still scratches it’s butt. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/31 "2013-08-09T16:15:56Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > OK, I have to admit I don’t get this. Are you saying it would have been better for the bus to stop and let out a bunch of wide eyed lookie loos to get in the way of the trained, professional, emergency personnel? If a disaster happens in the middle of nowhere, and you’re the only person around, absolutely you should stop and render aid. If a disaster happens in the middle of a major city, and emergency personnel are already on the scene, ISTM that _getting out of their way_ is the best action you could take. The impression I got from the video – the bus gets a green light a few seconds after the collapse but waits through all of that cycle and most of the next green light, then moves on just after the first fire truck arrives – is that the bus driver radioed in a report of the collapse. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/32 "2013-08-09T17:20:47Z")
He did doubtless radio it in. Once he was assured help was on the way he kept on going. What else could he do? Keep his bus in place and in the way of what doubtless will be some heavy rescue equipment that needs to be in that area? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/33 "2013-08-12T14:31:09Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > He did doubtless radio it in. Once he was assured help was on the way he kept on going. What else could he do? Keep his bus in place and in the way of what doubtless will be some heavy rescue equipment that needs to be in that area? Apparently some poets & artists think so. Stupid art. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/34 "2013-08-12T14:32:16Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Apparently some poets & artists think so. Stupid art. Philistine. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/35 "2017-02-10T18:54:03Z")
Well here is a bump. Note that this is zombied but there is a followup: [$227 million awarded to survivors and family members of the collapse.](http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Settlement-reach-in-Center-Ciuty.html) Its not certain who is paying what, but it turns out that Salvation Army had some liability as they poo-pooed concerns about the structure. The destruction crew is in jail, having been sentenced a couple of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393/36 "2017-02-11T22:50:56Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Well here is a bump. Note that this is zombied but there is a followup: > > [$227 million awarded to survivors and family members of the collapse.](http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Settlement-reach-in-Center-Ciuty.html) > > Its not certain who is paying what, but it turns out that Salvation Army had some liability as they poo-pooed concerns about the structure. > > The destruction crew is in jail, having been sentenced a couple of years ago. I will be happy to never read about ‘guillotine amputation’ again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-sure-who-to-pit-but-someone-is-getting-pitted-building-collapse/660393.md?page=1)