6,000 Signs in Georgia...Won't Make a Difference
A 17-Year-Old got decapitated at Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park.
That's a news story no one wants to read. Tragic.
"Six Flags officials are uncertain why the unidentified 17-year-old from Columbia, S.C. scaled two six-foot fences and passed signs that said the restricted area was both off-limits and dangerous to visitors..." - SC Teen struck, killed by Six Flags coaster in Ga., by Mike Strobbe, The State.
Now it's still tragic, but also stupid. What was that kid thinking?
Early reports said that he was going to retrieve a hat. Later "authorities said the rising senior at Columbia’s Keenan High School was taking a shortcut back into Six Flags Over Georgia after leaving for lunch with other children during a church outing." - Teen was taking shortcut back to park, by Clif LeBlanc, The State
LeBlanc's article again mentions the warning signs. I am very sorry for this child's death and I feel for his family's loss. Here's where the twiginess comes in...
"State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said the park must make signs bigger, post more of them and add the words 'extreme danger' within 10 days. " - Six Flags ordered to increase safety signs, The State
Why is that twigi? Well, we know the boy scaled two fences...having to get somewhere by scaling fences is usually a sign in and of itself that you are going somewhere you shouldn't be going. It's been repeated over and over that he scaled fences that had signs on them. I'm not so sure more, larger signs that quantify how much danger is beyond them would have prevented anything. And it sounds like Six Flags did something wrong. In the same article, it says "Thurmond says the park met all other safety standards." Thurmond is the State Labor Commissioner. "All other" makes it seem like Six Flags did not meet the safety standard of warning signs. But in the FoxNews article Georgia Six Flags Batman Ride That Decapitated Teen Reopens, With Changes states, "State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says the park met all safety standards but the state has issued new requirements."
So, it's not the park, it's the state. The state of Georgia's safety requirements weren't adequate. But weren't they? Again, I posit that 6,000 bigger signs saying "Certain Death Awaits You" would not have prevented this. The only thing to prevent this sort of thing is common sense, because common sense tells you that scaling two fences to an area underneath a rollercoaster is a bad idea.
The twigiest part of this is the line in both The State's and FoxNews's articles, "scaled two fences and wandered into a restricted area, where he was struck by the roller coaster in Austell" and "scaled two fences and wandered into a restricted area where he was decapitated by the roller coaster." Nearly identical sentences with the same oxymoron. How do you "scale two fences" and "wander" at the same time? Wandering means "to move about without a fixed course, aim, or goal" according to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary. He had a course, an aim, and a goal...Without those, the fences would have been deterrant enough. His goal was to scale the fences and get to the other side. "Wander" makes it sound like he really didn't know where he was. He did. Two fences and some signs told him.
This reminds me of Denis Leary's bit about the guy who wanted to make the warning on cigarette packs bigger. I couldn't find a vid of Leary doing the routine, but someone did an animation to Leary's words. Not very good, to be honest, but it allows me to play it for you. It goes into "I'm an Asshole" afterwards, so it's up to you if you keep watching.
That's a news story no one wants to read. Tragic.
"Six Flags officials are uncertain why the unidentified 17-year-old from Columbia, S.C. scaled two six-foot fences and passed signs that said the restricted area was both off-limits and dangerous to visitors..." - SC Teen struck, killed by Six Flags coaster in Ga., by Mike Strobbe, The State.
Now it's still tragic, but also stupid. What was that kid thinking?
Early reports said that he was going to retrieve a hat. Later "authorities said the rising senior at Columbia’s Keenan High School was taking a shortcut back into Six Flags Over Georgia after leaving for lunch with other children during a church outing." - Teen was taking shortcut back to park, by Clif LeBlanc, The State
LeBlanc's article again mentions the warning signs. I am very sorry for this child's death and I feel for his family's loss. Here's where the twiginess comes in...
"State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said the park must make signs bigger, post more of them and add the words 'extreme danger' within 10 days. " - Six Flags ordered to increase safety signs, The State
Why is that twigi? Well, we know the boy scaled two fences...having to get somewhere by scaling fences is usually a sign in and of itself that you are going somewhere you shouldn't be going. It's been repeated over and over that he scaled fences that had signs on them. I'm not so sure more, larger signs that quantify how much danger is beyond them would have prevented anything. And it sounds like Six Flags did something wrong. In the same article, it says "Thurmond says the park met all other safety standards." Thurmond is the State Labor Commissioner. "All other" makes it seem like Six Flags did not meet the safety standard of warning signs. But in the FoxNews article Georgia Six Flags Batman Ride That Decapitated Teen Reopens, With Changes states, "State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says the park met all safety standards but the state has issued new requirements."
So, it's not the park, it's the state. The state of Georgia's safety requirements weren't adequate. But weren't they? Again, I posit that 6,000 bigger signs saying "Certain Death Awaits You" would not have prevented this. The only thing to prevent this sort of thing is common sense, because common sense tells you that scaling two fences to an area underneath a rollercoaster is a bad idea.
The twigiest part of this is the line in both The State's and FoxNews's articles, "scaled two fences and wandered into a restricted area, where he was struck by the roller coaster in Austell" and "scaled two fences and wandered into a restricted area where he was decapitated by the roller coaster." Nearly identical sentences with the same oxymoron. How do you "scale two fences" and "wander" at the same time? Wandering means "to move about without a fixed course, aim, or goal" according to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary. He had a course, an aim, and a goal...Without those, the fences would have been deterrant enough. His goal was to scale the fences and get to the other side. "Wander" makes it sound like he really didn't know where he was. He did. Two fences and some signs told him.
This reminds me of Denis Leary's bit about the guy who wanted to make the warning on cigarette packs bigger. I couldn't find a vid of Leary doing the routine, but someone did an animation to Leary's words. Not very good, to be honest, but it allows me to play it for you. It goes into "I'm an Asshole" afterwards, so it's up to you if you keep watching.
posted by Bodog at
10:05 AM
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