# More stupid people die. Why are we supposed to care? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556 "2022-10-01T19:55:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/21 "2022-10-01T22:14:47Z")
Yes. Dinsdale is a different asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/22 "2022-10-01T22:22:23Z")
That’s it; I’m buying a scorecard. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/23 "2022-10-01T22:23:41Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Anyone remember when empathy was a thing? I used to feel sorry for people without any empathy. Now I just think fuck them. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/24 "2022-10-01T22:24:05Z")
Mid-terms are coming up soon. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/25 "2022-10-01T22:30:39Z")
It’s hard to track which old cranky white dude is which. They all use the same virtue signals. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/26 "2022-10-01T22:51:46Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I can’t imagine anyone ever having empathy. Perhaps you need to widen your circle of acquaintances. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/27 "2022-10-01T22:58:12Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > It’s hard to track which old cranky white dude is which. Yeah - especially tough when you are striving for instances to jam your agenda down other peoples’ throats! 😉 Amusingly (to me), my thoughts about stupid people dying in FLA were strengthened after we were sent an email at work about a fellow employee who had died in Ian. Another old white guy, making near $200k/yr. But he chose not to get out of Dodge? Fucking idiot. Of all the things I’d prefer NOT to be in my obit, “Too stupid to drive inland” ranks pretty high. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/28 "2022-10-01T23:00:48Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Perhaps you need to widen your circle of acquaintances. I think this is a whoosh. (being unable to imagine someone having empathy itself demonstrates a lack of empathy) Anyway, no one has real empathy outside of their 150-person monkeysphere. People can claim it all they want, but unless they have a reasonable mental model of that other person (as we do with our close friends and family), it’s at best a crude approximation of empathy. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/29 "2022-10-01T23:01:48Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I think this is a whoosh. If it is, then I retract my snark. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/30 "2022-10-01T23:05:51Z")
> [@Tride](#): > > I don’t disagree, but are men held to the same standards? We know they aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/31 "2022-10-01T23:18:34Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Re: empathy - what specific feelings of whom am I supposed to understand and share? > > Someone chooses to do something extremely risky - and they die. So? ⁢ In general you empathize with those who mourn a death. Occasionally someone is so evil that you’re more relieved they are gone than you care about that, but it’s considered rather heartless to do it for anyone else. I honestly have gotten a vibe from you that you are somewhat emotionally distant with the rest of humanity, and have a high level of animosity towards those who do risky things, even when those things don’t affect you or society in general. And, FFS. The people who stayed behind in Florida nearly all were **unable** to leave, for the same reason poor people can’t just move states. The ones who were ridiculously stupid do tend to be treated as stupid. There will be some level of basic politeness and acknowledgement of grief, but they are presented as cautionary tales. Finally, I don’t get why news you don’t care about would bother you, let alone make you mad enough to make a Pit thread. There’s tons of news out there I don’t care about. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/32 "2022-10-01T23:20:54Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Someone chooses to live there, in a home in a vulnerable area, and doesn’t evacuate in time, why should anyone else care about that? Some people have a small monkeysphere, which means they don’t feel much empathy for strangers who experience tragedies. That’s perfectly normal and there’s nothing wrong with that. But that’s not you. You are expressing **active contempt** for people in tragic circumstances, and that’s, uh, that’s not a great look. Presumably you feel this way about everybody who dies in any natural disaster? Tsunami? Don’t live on the coast. Forest fire? Don’t live near a forest. Earthquake? We know where all the fault lines are. Tornado? Try not living on flat ground. And so on? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/33 "2022-10-01T23:38:40Z")
**I honestly have gotten a vibe from you that you are somewhat emotionally distant with the rest of humanity, and have a high level of animosity towards those who do risky things, even when those things don’t affect you or society in general.** The first is probably fair. I regularly do not understand things that a great many people seem to (or claim to.) Not necessarily to my credit. But I ask questions to understand. The second, not to my awareness. No animosity. If someone wants to kill themself, or do something terribly risky and then die, they are welcome to. I really don’t care. **And, FFS. The people who stayed behind in Florida nearly all were unable to leave, for the same reason poor people can’t just move states.** For days I heard about shelters, and efforts to assist people getting to them. That was all fake news? And the “survivors” I see who chose to stay in their condos - nearly all I saw described their “choice” to stay. Please direct me to the evidence that I am wrong and I will gladly change my mind. **Finally, I don’t get why news you don’t care about would bother you, let alone make you mad enough to make a Pit thread.** Again, presuming anger. The only reason I put this is the Pit is because mods previously directed me to post threads here, instead of other forums I felt more appropriate. Why I care, is that I feel these should be pointed out as examples of really undesirable behavior, which imposes a cost on society in general, as well as the persons’ family/friends. Instead, they are presented as sympathetic figures. I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/34 "2022-10-01T23:49:39Z")
> [@Ziberian](#): > > There is always risk Is there anywhere on the planet that is not subject to natural disasters? IIRC, the largest earthquake ever occurred in an area not really known for earthquakes. Any coast is subject to the ocean’s quirks, and weather is something that affects every place on Earth. > [@digs](#): > > But did her husband and kids really understand that mom had a hobby that would quite possibly kill her and leave them bereft? The article clearly stated that her partner was skiing with her. ISTM that someone involved in that sport to the extent he is understands the risks. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/35 "2022-10-02T01:41:46Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > For days I heard about shelters, and efforts to assist people getting to them. That was all fake news? And the “survivors” I see who chose to stay in their condos - nearly all I saw described their “choice” to stay. Please direct me to the evidence that I am wrong and I will gladly change my mind. I was in Florida during Ian. Personally I was fine; when it hit us it was down to a Cat 1, and was mostly an inconvenience. We didn’t even lose power. But we watched a lot of local news. They were fishing old people and kids out of houses that were underwater. These weren’t people who chose to stay and got in trouble. Yes, there were people who didn’t have the means to pack up and flee with only a day or two of notice. Take note that this was an unprecedented storm. Florida hasn’t had that much flooding in recorded history. Read this story about a guy that tried to take shelter but it wasn’t enough. He was disabled and vulnerable. His friends tried to help him but couldn’t. > **[He was vulnerable and sheltered with friends. He was no match for Ian.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/30/hurricane-ian-victim/)** > > Scotty Lumley of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., was disabled and in need, but he had friends who tried mightily to shelter him from the storm. These things happen and did happen, and you started a Pit thread to declare how much you don’t care. You’re pretty special, aren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/36 "2022-10-02T01:50:08Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Read this story about a guy that tried to take shelter but it wasn’t enough. He was disabled and vulnerable. His friends tried to help him but couldn’t. He loved the beach town life. The house _seemed_ safe. Yeah - [NOTHING he coulda done otherwise.](https://www.leegov.com/publicsafety/emergencymanagement/shelters/specialneedsprogram) And after these knuckleheads put themselves in a dangerous situation, they think they should just be able to call 911 and have someone risk THEIR life to rescue them? Boo fucking hoo. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/37 "2022-10-02T01:59:27Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Boo fucking hoo. There’s something seriously wrong with you. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/38 "2022-10-02T02:13:40Z")
Dinsdale’s job, as he’s described it, is dealing with people who are applying for disability. He hears people who are seemingly trying to scam the system, on a regular basis. I believe it’s jaded him to normal empathy for people who don’t meet his standards. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/39 "2022-10-02T02:21:57Z")
Let’s see- some people don’t have transportation, can’t afford to pay for a hotel even if they could get to the nearest one with room, some are afraid to leave their pets/possessions or whatever. These people deserve our help and our sympathy. Maybe a few could have and should have left, but for the most part these victims had little or no choice. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2022, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556/40 "2022-10-02T02:33:02Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > **I honestly have gotten a vibe from you that you are somewhat emotionally distant with the rest of humanity, and have a high level of animosity towards those who do risky things, even when those things don’t affect you or society in general.** > > The first is probably fair. I regularly do not understand things that a great many people seem to (or claim to.) Not necessarily to my credit. But I ask questions to understand. I have a theory that we’re all somewhere on The Spectrum. I’m a relatively mentally healthy guy (thank god my family isn’t posting here to refute that). But I have a few autistic behaviors. Which does make a lack of empathy easy to fall into. I (and probably “we”) applaud your “asking questions to understand”. As with any personality trait, you’ve got to compensate for it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-stupid-people-die-why-are-we-supposed-to-care/972556.md?page=3)