# Single wide trailer destroyed, 12 left homeless, fault? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 22, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963 "2008-11-22T04:28:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/21 "2008-11-23T16:19:23Z")
There’s no rehab for stupid! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/22 "2008-11-23T16:41:37Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > There’s no rehab for stupid! 🆒 So that means it’s okay to rub salt into their inadvertently self-inflicted wounds, right? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/23 "2008-11-23T16:51:20Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > It sounds sad to me. This is obviously a poor family–one headed by someone who isn’t very sophisticated or wise. It’s sad to me too. People who’ve never been stupid can’t relate. That’s what warning labels are for. Some folks might say “It’s just common sense.” There’s no such thing as common sense. If there were, we wouldn’t have Darwin Awards. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/24 "2008-11-23T16:54:21Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > So that means it’s okay to rub salt into their inadvertently self-inflicted wounds, right? Who’s rubbing salt into their wounds? ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/25 "2008-11-23T17:03:15Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Sorry for her? That implies this situation was not of her own making. I can feel bad for the situation she’s in, but she’s the one who put herself in the situation. > > If she’d lost the trailer because of a tornado, _then_ I would feel sorry for her. I think the difference is I don’t think feeling sorry for her implies that the situation is not ofher own making. I feel sorry that she did that to herself and her family. Do I think it was wise or made sense in any way? No, but I can still feel sorry for her while mentally wanting to pop her on the back of the head and call her a dumbass. I am always hesitant to judge anyone lest I find myself in a sorry situation one day. I hate to think her poor (very poor, oh so damn poor) judgement results in her being left homeless. The penalty for being a dumbass shouldn’t be to be turned out on the street. But I’m a bleeding heart like that… ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/26 "2008-11-23T17:08:22Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > What the hell were animals and people doing inside the damn thing anyhow? > [@RickJay](#): > > The woman is clearly very stupid and careless; leaving aside her life skills, because there’s a story there, and just concentrating on this decision, the judgment and intelligence of a person who would move her home and all her belongings by having them pulled by a farm tractor owned by a guy named “Pancake” WITH PEOPLE INSIDE IT ON A GODDAMNED HIGHWAY must be so low that she is, in all likelihood, borderline retarded. Where in the linked story does it say anything about people being inside the trailer while it was being moved? Pets, yes, but the only mention I can find about people inside is after the rig was stalled and people were trying to remove stuff before the sheriff demolished the thing. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/27 "2008-11-23T17:12:46Z")
Just a joke, **QtM** , probably in pretty poor taste. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/28 "2008-11-23T19:09:07Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Sorry for her? That implies this situation was not of her own making. I can feel bad for the situation she’s in, but she’s the one who put herself in the situation. > > If she’d lost the trailer because of a tornado, _then_ I would feel sorry for her. I guess you’ve never made a stupid, ill-informed decision, then. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/29 "2008-11-23T19:36:39Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Sorry for her? That implies this situation was not of her own making. I can feel bad for the situation she’s in, but she’s the one who put herself in the situation. > > If she’d lost the trailer because of a tornado, _then_ I would feel sorry for her. How does she really have any more control over how dumb she is than she does over a tornado? Sure she was too trusting when it came to Pancake’s word, but she really didn’t deserve to have this happen to her already shitty situation, and I have a hard time feeling any contempt for her. Pancake the lying asshole on the other hand… And maybe its just me, but does anyone else get kind of a gut feeling the sheriff is a total asshole? ---
**Author:** ![sugar\_and\_spice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@sugar\_and\_spice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugar_and_spice)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/30 "2008-11-23T19:42:37Z")
I think pointing out who is ‘at fault’ is useful in that it tells others what _not_ to do next time. After all, someone, somewhere, had to be the first little boy to put their tongue on the flagpole. IMHO the lesson here is what \*\*SSG Schwartz \*\* said, if you can’t afford to haul your new Big Thing safely then you can’t afford to make the purchase in the first place. And if you must cut corners then at least pick an hour other than Friday afternoon when everyone else is trying to use the road too. City-dwellers can take note as well. I once saw a mattress fly off the top of a van going down 11th Avenue in Manhattan. At least it was Saturday a.m. and not Friday rush hour … but still, any hardware store will sell you as much rope and duck tape as you want, there’s no reason to have crap fly off your car into the street. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/31 "2008-11-23T19:44:43Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > If this appeared on Judge Judy, they’d throw both the owner and the mover out without a penny. Being poor doesn’t excuse being stupid. That’s exactly what Judge Judy would do. And why she is such a douche. Poor and stupid are not legal reasons to deprive people of justice. ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/32 "2008-11-23T19:46:39Z")
> [@Mojo\_Pin](#): > > … > And maybe its just me, but does anyone else get kind of a gut feeling the sheriff is a total asshole? Not in the least bit. I think the Sheriff bent over backwards to help her by standing in the rain with his entire department diverting traffic around the scene for over 9 hours. He must have had better things he could have been doing. He also gave the residents a couple of hours to clear the trailer of all important items. Had he really been an asshole, he could have called for the tractor to tip the trailer a lot sooner. Besides, I have a hard time not following a Sheriff who offers his constituents, “More Dick.” SSG Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/33 "2008-11-23T22:06:24Z")
> [@Mojo\_Pin](#): > > And maybe its just me, but does anyone else get kind of a gut feeling the sheriff is a total asshole? I got that feeling too, but I put it down to the obvious bias in that somewhat shoddy piece of journalism. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/34 "2008-11-24T01:16:49Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > I guess you’ve never made a stupid, ill-informed decision, then. :dubious: Plenty of times. But I never asked for anyone’s pity. ---
**Author:** ![Dripping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dripping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dripping)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/35 "2008-11-24T03:40:48Z")
> [@sugar\_and\_spice](#): > > any hardware store will sell you as much rope and duck tape as you want DucT ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/36 "2008-11-24T06:32:08Z")
Sounds like there was a lot of stupid going around that day…“one truck tried to pull while another tried to push” a mobile home that HAD NO DAMN WHEELS, and they are even a littile surprised that it caused damage? WTF was the bright spark who thought that idea up thinking. From the article it seems a lot that we are not told, but I wouldn’t have thought it would be too hard to get a heavy lift mobile crane and drop the damn trailer onto a lowbed heavy equipment transporter? Or get some form of heavy lift jacks and put back the wheels that “popped off”? ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/37 "2008-11-24T08:57:00Z")
Here’s a video in case anyone wants a more personal look at this story–[Video News - CNN](http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2008/11/20/harvey.home.destroyed.wave) ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/38 "2008-11-24T09:08:38Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > DucT [Duck](http://www.duckproducts.com/) is a brand of duct tape, so that is as correct a usage as Kleenex instead of tissue. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/39 "2008-11-24T09:50:43Z")
> [@Mojo\_Pin](#): > > Here’s a video in case anyone wants a more personal look at this story–[http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2008/11/20/harvey.home.destroyed.wave](http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2008/11/20/harvey.home.destroyed.wave) oh wow…you have got to watch this link. “try to scoot it over” "if they would have got…knew what they was a doin’ " The Sherrif is like some sort of a caracature from the Beverley Hill Billies - if somebody like this can be a sheriff then I would shudder to think about the general populace. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963/40 "2008-11-24T14:22:54Z")
> [@ShelliBean](#): > > I think the difference is I don’t think feeling sorry for her implies that the situation is not ofher own making. I feel sorry that she did that to herself and her family. Do I think it was wise or made sense in any way? No, but I can still feel sorry for her while mentally wanting to pop her on the back of the head and call her a dumbass. > > I am always hesitant to judge anyone lest I find myself in a sorry situation one day. I hate to think her poor (very poor, oh so damn poor) judgement results in her being left homeless. The penalty for being a dumbass shouldn’t be to be turned out on the street. But I’m a bleeding heart like that… I feel sorry for her, and her “extended web of family and friends”. However, the traditional penalty for being a dumbass has been death. She got off easy, I think, because she only lost possessions, rather than her own life or health or that of anyone else. I can appreciate and sympathize that these are all her worldly possessions. However, she made some appallingly bad choices. The adults who lived with her made some really bad choices. The kids who lived with her were really unlucky, and I think that they are the only innocent ones in that family. This woman, and probably all of the adults in that network, probably shouldn’t go through life without a keeper. Yeah, I’ve made some dumb decisions myself. However, I was never so dumb as to think that I could pay as little as $200 to get a fully loaded trailer moved. There is dumb, and then there’s DUMB. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-wide-trailer-destroyed-12-left-homeless-fault/473963.md?page=3)