On CNN’s homepage there’s a story about the woman who was caught on tape beating her child. The caption to the story reads as follows:
The woman caught on videotape repeatedly striking her 4-year-old daughter in the rear of a sport utility vehicle is due in court this afternoon. Despite admitting the beating and saying there was "no excuse" for it, she’s expected to plead not guilty to felony child battery charges.
Perhaps I’m being a bit off here, but since when does the type of vehicle involve have any relevance to the story? You wouldn’t say that she was caught beating her child in a Lincoln Town Car or the back of Yugo. It’s just not relevant… which makes me curious as to why the writer of the caption thought to include it.
It would have been no different if they had said “van”, “minivan”, “truck”, or “car”. It’s just another classification of vehicle- not a brand. Now, had the columnist said that a child was being beaten in the back of a gas-guzzling oversized peice of overpriced sheet metal on wheels that presents a danger to other motorists- well, then you might have something to complain about. 🙂
I agree with MacDonald. The pettyness of our society is sickening sometimes as it is in most cases unsubstanciated
at best. Every society has the criminals that it tolerates and by logical consecuence has the criminals that it deserves. This is a sue happy nation and we are taught to make mountains out of moe hills and sue if we feel offended. If I sued for everytime I was offended like some people, I would be rich by now.
But then again the real world is also a hard network to make money in so I guess those that sue are playing the lottery to some extent. If we analize the fact that the talentfull are in most cases starving on street corners and the talentless are feasting in their mansions, it gets a bit frustrating. There is obviously rich talent and some people deserve their fortune, but sometimes I get the feeling that most do not. Everybody tries to beat us down and tell us that we are the ones that can’t do the math. But in reality something is messed up with the formula.
“Don’t waste your time arguing with someone who cannot make a difference and don’t miss your time by argueing with someone who can.”