MOLLYCODDLING council chiefs have been branded barmy for slapping a warning sign on a tree to warn walkers about falling CONKERS. Town hall bosses ordered the poster be pinned to the trunk of the horse chestnut after TWO people complained they had been hit on the head.It would be easy to ridicule the council for being over cautious about the health and safety of 'tourists' who had never seen a tree or didn't realise that in Autumn things fall out of trees without warning. But no, not today. What gets me is the attitude of the people who reported the 'problem' in the first place. Maybe people are just too fucking stupid to realise that action A may result in effect B and think that others have to be protected from their ignorance. Maybe it's something else .. .. ..
A spokesman for St Edmundsbury Borough Council said the park attracted many tourists who may not have been familiar with the large horse chestnut tree. She added: "A couple of people came into our parks office after being hit by falling conkers and asked if we could warn people at this time of year."
How many times have you heard someone say "I'm not offended/bothered/worried/hurt by it but someone else might be offended/bothered/worried/hurt by it so something must be done"? I've heard it far too often. Concern about the potential ill effects of a situation on the wellbeing of imagined others has been used for far too long as an excuse for influencing, restricting, controlling the actions of others.
The risk averse, offence averse trajectory that we've been propelled along for the last 15 years is making people afraid. Afraid to speak their minds, afraid to make decisions for themselves, afraid to bear the consequences of those decisions. The dominance of the health and safety mindset is sucking the fun out of life. I had hoped that the defeat of the Labour Party at the general election might have sparked a resurgence of the idea of individual responsibility but so far that has failed to materialise.
If I'd been working in that park office the day that either person asked if people could be warned that things fall out of trees in Autumn I think the response may have been a little different .. .. .. ..
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5 comments:
Why is it always East Anglia?
There was a report on BBC Radio 2 News this week of (another?) council "stripping a horse chectnut of conkers" because a girl had been "injured by a falling branch". WTF?
Let's chop all the trees down in case someone falls out of one thus eliminating "climbing tree play hazard".
I used to walk to school along a horse chestnut lined avenue and I was never hit on the head by in five years, so pardon me but I'm a bit suspicious of two people complaining about it. I any event, all the conkers on the ground around them are a bit of a give away.
St Edmunsdbury council have form: Bury St Edmunds made world wide news in 2004 after reports that the town had banned hanging baskets as a H & S risk.
"Oh dear, a falling leaf just scared me, to whom do I complain?"
"I was out walking, and some hailstones hit me on the head. The council put put warning signs up all over the place."
When I saw the post title, I half-expected this one to be about the news that the police have been told to consider arresting anyone who 'harassed' doggers... ;)
Hold on!!! Two people had conkers fall on them and went out their way to complain to the council about this lethal threat??? WTF!!!
This forces the council to do something in case there are claims, as people have notified them of the 'hazard'. They're just taking action to avoid a compo claim but you have to wonder at how fucking pathetic some people are to complain. Maybe they should wrap themselves in cotton wool and just stay at home where its nice and safe. Heaven forbid they actually leave the city and go visit the country or get a job in industry?
I'm off to get some conkers to throw at them!
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