Posted on 05/18/2005 4:30:04 AM PDT by Libloather
Not good enough. I'd think reparations would be in order as well. With interest.
I'm sorry, people. The State of Washington did not set off that volcano. The State of Washington did not know how large the eruption would be.
The state is not responsible to keep the individual safe. That is simply not the state's job. Now if the state creates a hazard, then we can talk. But the state did not create the volcano.
To my knowledge, nobody was in the vicinity of this Volcano who did not know pretty much what the state knew. When these people advanced closer to the volcano than the geologists who knew the situation best, that should have told them something.
People assume that the state is always going to be over protective, and they can stray across the line a little bit, and still be OK. After all, "they" always build in a safety factor, don't they?
Well, sometimes "they" don't. This tragic family was out for adventure. Adventure includes risk. Sometimes the risk wins out. Parents put their kids in hazardous situations all the time, on the soccer field, or canoing, or at the beach, because they think the experience is worth the risk. Sometimes they are wrong.
Personally, I wouldn't take myself within 25 miles of an expected tsunami or any volcano that had signs of activity. Little kids? Make that 100 miles.
There's a certain Darwinian cosmic joke in expecting the "state", or someone else, to decide for you what is safe. Demanding an apology is so... so... muslim.
What, you mean that you are both between the ages 41 and 46?
I believe it was all three. I seem to recall there were a half dozen or less Weyerhaeuser loggers, several people who'd bought permits to hunt or fish, and a number of trespassers. I used to have a bit of a fascination with the Mount St Helens eruption but I haven't read much about it since the mid eighties.
Absurd! Do I get an apology when hurricane Charley took a turn right over my house last year? "You said it was heading towards Tampa, whaaaaaaa". Excuse me, when a mountain is about to explode, red zone or blue zone, I heading hundreds of miles in the OPPOSITE direction!
I do recall people were pissed at Jeb Bush because they claim the "line" on the maps was headed towards Tampa.
LOL. You know what they say, though. It's not the years, it's the mileage :)
Considering the idiots I've seen at Yellowstone, I'd say they're in more danger from their antagonizing the wildlife than they are from a big boom.
But blaming the Gov for not knowing exactly what areas would be affected by an eruption of indeterminate size and duration is just plain silly.
But this is what you get when you no longer have "acts of God". Have to blame somebody.
after reading the comments here i'll have to say that i think they do have a slight point.
i've always "heard" (news, school, etc.) that the people who died were reckless in not staying in safe zones. i've never heard that only 6 of the 57 who died were in the cordoned off area.
yes it is tragic, no it isn't the governments "fault" that they died, but i see why they want an apology for all the governments statements making it sound like they brought it on themselves.
Some liberal group actually put up billboards in Florida (not sure if they did any radio/TV advertising ) linking increased hurricane activity with global warming, and taking Bush to task for not signing Kyoto.
We apologize that you were to stupid to heed the danger of an exploding volcano. There, feel better now?
Carolyn
Actually, Carter wanted to put a King-sized cardigan sweater over the mountain and turn the thermostats down several degrees...
Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus were complaining the names were too "white."
No Shanequa, Teneka, LaFawnduh...
Hilarious! A "too white" hurricane. Where else can they go at this point?
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