What the hell is wrong with people?

[Chef]

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3976074&page=1

Didn't see this anywhere.

This makes me sick.

 

[Starman]

But today, one of the students, who reportedly wore one of the controversial outfits, said he will not apologize. "Never ever ever," Nathan Jones told The Daily Collegian, the student paper at Penn State.

Jones, a senior biochemistry major, told the paper that he never thought the images would cause an uproar. "A lot of people do crazy, insensitive things," he said. "I knew what I was doing was sad. I did it for that reason. It was never meant to get out."

Undoubtedly, a major-league ass-kicking might adjust your attitude, Mr. Jones.

 

[Rosie]

I think it goes without saying that if that were my kid...

Some people are just stupid. Very, very stupid.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

How the hell do people like this ever get accepted to a college. Shouldn't they be sweeping streets with brooms or something?

On second thought, that's an insult to street sweepers.

 

[HC]

"A lot of people do crazy, insensitive things," he said. "I knew what I was doing was sad. I did it for that reason. It was never meant to get out."

This is the line that stops me dead. His parents must be soooo proud.

 

[Rosie]

Unflippin believable.

They showed a clip of this guy on Fox News and he compared what he did to if he had made a private sex tape.

They're interviewing a kid from VT right now.

 

[outofplace]

I think there was a thread about this a while ago, but it got buried. Not that they don't deserve to get ripped all over again.

 

[BBJones]

How is this any different from Bill Mahar showing up dressed as Steve Irwin, complete with stingray attached to him, shortly after Irwin died? Other than these were stupid kids trying to be funny and failing?

The made an error in taste and judgement. They didn't kill anyone. Or dogs.

 

[Rosie]

BBJ, I don't know much about the incident you cited, but trying to be funny at the expense of immense pain and suffering is not funny.

It's sick. It shows an incredible lack of compassion.

What disturbs me about this idiot is his complete absence of remorse, of shame. His attitude seems to be, "Yes I did it and I don't give a g-d if it hurts anyone. It's all about me, so FU."

This goes way beyond an error in taste and judgment. An error in taste and judgment is wearing jeans to a black tie dinner. It's wearing a Vikings jersey to a Packer party. It's shouting "I love the Yankees!" in a Red Sox bar.

This is not an error in taste and judgment. This is selfishness, callousness and narcissism at its worst.

 

[Flash]

We really should have a 'What the hell is wrong with people' running thread ... it could be one of the longest, because people are that stupid.

 

[BBJones]

Rosie, I agree with everything you say. But it's also the way some people deal with pain and suffering. They crack wise or, in extreme cases, wear very poorly chosen halloween costumes.

Because the world has been shrunken so by the Internet, we all get to see the kids' stupidity. Not just these kids, but almost all of them. Do something stupid, someone 1,500 miles away will likely see it tomorrow. This excuses no one, of course, but it does change things quite a bit. Ten years ago people probably did stuff every bit as short-sighted, but nobody outside of their line of sight found out.

And what of that? Someone else took that picture and posted it on a Web site. Are they not somehow complicit? And is what a kid wore to a Halloween party actually news? When Mahar dressed up as Steve Irwin, it was news. He's a public figure and a comedian whose job it is to be funny (and he failed that time, like he does most of the time).

But these were college kids, whose job it seemingly is to be stupid (evidenced by the lack of apparent remorse). It was probably not the best choice, but if college kids stopped making poor choices, what else would they do with their time?

 

[bigpern23]

BFD.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

We really should have a 'What the hell is wrong with people' running thread ... it could be one of the longest, because people are that stupid.

Move over, Random Thoughts, the Sequel.

Not one of the longest. The longest.

 

[outofplace]

BBJ, I thought Maher was out of line in that instance, too. Each case is reprehensible and goes beyond bad taste.

I do see some differences in the circumstances.

Steve Irwin made his living by putting himself in dangerous situations. He chose to take those types of risks and it finally got him killed. It was sad and nobody deserves what happened to him, but he chose to put himself in that situation.

The victims at Virginia Tech made no such choice. They were murdered by a lowlife, murdering piece of garbage. The exact same thing could have happened at Penn State, or on just about any campus. In fact, I was on the Penn State campus during a sniper scare in the early '90s, though if I remember correctly the gunman was the only one who ended up being shot. That alone should be enough to help a reasonable person find some compassion.

 

[BBJones]

outofplace, I'm not disagreeing. But how many kids today know of something in the early 90s? They were, what, 3?

This was a sick joke. Clearly not funny. But also clearly not national news. Mahar was national news. And I don't see how that was any less sick. Regardless of what Irwin did for a living, he had family and loved ones too who probably could have done without the reminder of the horrific way he died.

 

[outofplace]

outofplace, I'm not disagreeing. But how many kids today know of something in the early 90s? They were, what, 3?

This was a sick joke. Clearly not funny. But also clearly not national news. Mahar was national news. And I don't see how that was any less sick. Regardless of what Irwin did for a living, he had family and loved ones too who probably could have done without the reminder of the horrific way he died.

I just meant the thing in the '90s as an example. I doubt any kid would know about it. But anyone with half a brain would realize it could have happened just as easily on another campus.

I understand the point about Irwin. People in this country don't realize how hard that hit in Australia. My mother was there right after it happened and it was a very big deal.

But Irwin does bear at least some of the responsibility for his own fate. He put himself in danger time and again, including the moment when he was killed. That is very different from being gunned down going to class.

 

[SixToe]

But also clearly not national news.

I agree.

But it becomes national news when the 24/7/365 news cycles, Internet bloggers, radio talkshow dickheads, message boards (like this one) and emailers all turn it into a national happening.

That may be good, though, because it will expose these sick little ****sticks to others outside of their group of friends who may approve of the costumes. In that case, the exposure may help turn them around and realize what they did was grossly inconsiderate, uncompassionate and distasteful.

 

[hondo]

I think there was a thread about this a while ago, but it got buried. Not that they don't deserve to get ripped all over again.

Two threads, both last week. Chef needs to keep up.

 

[Birdscribe]

outofplace, I'm not disagreeing. But how many kids today know of something in the early 90s? They were, what, 3?

And this, in itself, is disturbing -- excusing ignorance.

Why shouldn't they know of stuff that happened in the early 90s? I was a week past my third birthday when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. My wife had just turned 2 when JFK was assassinated in Dallas.

Jesus, my son is 13 and HE knows stuff that happened before he was born.

You want to talk about what the hell is wrong with people? Not knowing what the hell is going on... and not caring that you don't know.

 

[outofplace]

outofplace, I'm not disagreeing. But how many kids today know of something in the early 90s? They were, what, 3?

And this, in itself, is disturbing -- excusing ignorance.

Why shouldn't they know of stuff that happened in the early 90s? I was a week past my third birthday when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. My wife had just turned 2 when JFK was assassinated in Dallas.

Jesus, my son is 13 and HE knows stuff that happened before he was born.

You want to talk about what the hell is wrong with people? Not knowing what the hell is going on... and not caring that you don't know.

Birdscribe, while I agree with your overall point, the incident I wrote about is fairly obscure. To be fair, I only know about it because I happened to be on campus that day.