I have to say, some things really annoy me. Actually, many things really annoy me, but today, we're just going to focus on one: really stupid people. I don't mean people who do stupid things and then go, "Whoops! That was dumb!" I have been known to do this on more than a few occasions myself. No, I am talking about the stupid people who do stupid things and then BLAME SOMEONE ELSE FOR IT. I hate that.
What do I mean? Well, I'm sure my sister, the lawyer, runs into them all the time. They're the people who sue companies for not warning them not to do incredibly stupid things, like eat paint, or wash your hands with bleach, or the ever-popular put-scalding-cup-of-coffee-on-lap-while-driving-lady. They're the people who blame their parents, or their upbringing, or something else in their past for every dumb thing they've ever done in their life. They're the people who commit crimes and have the gall to suggest that it was society's bias against them that forced them to do it. People who seem to lack any sense of guilt or shame for choices they themselves made that led to bad consequences. Those people really annoy me.
For example, my other sister (who I do not blame for this. She was only trying to prevent me, another potential idiot, from making the same mistake) forwarded me an e-mail that is circulating around warning us all about the incredibly dangerous product known as Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. Apparently, this mother felt the need to sound the alarm about the terrible chemical burns her son got on his arms and face after rubbing the magic eraser all over himself. This occurred, mind you, after she handed her FIVE YEAR OLD son the eraser and told him he could go around cleaning the house with it. Ok, hello, but this is a household cleaning product. This is not a toy. These babies can take any stain off of practically any surface. They are amazingly good at what they do. Which is cleaning. Gee, I wonder why they work so well? Could it be because of the many chemicals and cleaning agents in them? I wonder if it might be a bit dangerous to hand such a thing to a five year old?
Now, if I was the stupid mother who did this, I would be completely appalled at the results, run my child to the ER as quickly as possible, and hang my head in shame over my own total lack of common sense. I would probably then never ever admit to anyone that I had done such a thing. But not this mom. No, she blames the company. She talks about suing them for not properly warning her that this could happen. I have an old box of these under my kitchen sink, and clearly printed on the back of the box, in red letters, is "Warning: Keep out of reach of children." Well, that seems fairly straight-forward to me. Perhaps she needed a definition of "children"? Or of "reach?"
But I have to say, even if the warning were not printed in red letters on the back, would it matter? Do you need someone to spell out a warning not to let your child play on a steep roof? Or with sharp knives? Or with chemical-infused household cleaners? I would hope not, but apparently...
So, if you are a stupid person who does stupid things, like me, please please just acknowledge your own stupidity and try to learn from it. Don't blame the rest of the world for your own bad choices. Sometimes it really is just your own silly fault!
And that concludes this addition of "Things That Annoy Me." The way this world is today, I am quite certain it won't be the last.
