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Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous

nytimes.com

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Re: Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous

#251

Post by bargl »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #92
bargl wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not understand the attack on "thoughts and prayers." There are plenty of people sending "thoughts and prayers" who also support gun control. I get that it calls out the hypocrisy of Christians who don't support gun control, but it also seems like an overly broad attack. What does someone who both believes gun control is necessary and wants to send "thoughts and prayers" do? I think the idea of gun control is a t…

It isn't the "thoughts and prayers" part by itself, it is the "thoughts and prayers" offered by politicians and then absolutely nothing else. Even Christians can find it hypocritical: > "Prayer that doesn't lead to concrete action toward our brothers is a fruitless and incomplete prayer. [...] Prayer and action must always be profoundly united" - Pope Francis. (grabbed from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoughts_and_…

I want to clarify something, I'm not attacking you or your comment. I'm really asking for clarity. I appreciate what you've stated.

It's funny, we assume everyone uses the same definition of a phrase or slogan as we do and just by reading through the comments on this I see that's not the case.

Re: Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous

#252

Post by TimTheTinker »

unknownkadath wrote: post #237
burfog wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Say what??? A neural tube doesn't instantly transform into a baby at the moment of birth. The unborn that are getting killed can typically move about, feel pain, and respond to injury. They react in agony when being torn apart or injected with brine. They have brainwaves, which is the usual standard (varies by state law) we use to draw the line at the end of life, with the loss of brainwaves meaning death. Obviously…

All those same things apply to house flies. Look, you believe what you believe because a priest or a guy wearing khakis and a sports jacket named "Pastor Skip" told you so. Don't pretend that your opinion came from anywhere else, or that all of the tortured logic in your post is anything other than a post facto justifiction of that religious opinion.

What do you have against unborn babies? I’m interested to hear your side of the argument.

... so far, it’s sounding eerily like reasons people used to use for enslaving Africans in the 18th century.

Re: Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous

#253

Post by bargl »

TimTheTinker wrote: post #94
bargl wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do not understand the attack on "thoughts and prayers." There are plenty of people sending "thoughts and prayers" who also support gun control. I get that it calls out the hypocrisy of Christians who don't support gun control, but it also seems like an overly broad attack. What does someone who both believes gun control is necessary and wants to send "thoughts and prayers" do? I think the idea of gun control is a t…

> hypocrisy of Christians who don't support gun control I don't see how the two equate to hypocrisy. A friend of mine (a Christian) is strongly opposed to gun control. He has a concealed carry license and carries everywhere, because he wants to have the means to protect himself and his loved ones from an active shooter, if necessary. He cites "if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns," and feels personally a…

You are correct, I should have been much more clear on that statement. I've heard very good arguments against gun control that are not hypocritical. My statement was my attempt (a failing one) to ask my question with the least amount of bite possible. I actually wanted counter opinions, not to incite a flame war. It seems to have gotten good responses, and that's what I was looking for.

> hypocrisy of Christians who don't support gun control

That's a gross oversimplification of what it takes to be a hypocrite. I've met people who fall into the hypocrite category on both ends, but I what I didn't understand is how this "thoughts and prayers" thing was being used.

To me it felt like an attack on Christianity, which I didn't fully understand. I feel like I get it a lot better now though.

Re: Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous

#254

Post by Haga »

geggam wrote: post #238
wongarsu wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Driver behaviour on the Autobahn is not some accident. Germany has the most expensive drivers licence in the world due to the number of lessions you have to take to even be allowed to take the exams, with most people opting in to even more lessons to pass the exams. To pass the practical exam you have to drive pretty much perfectly (a small number of people never pass). So everybody knows how to drive correctly and h…

So you are saying people are trained to be personally responsible? I agree with that. The US has been training people to blame others for several decades now. The difference is obvious

It also empowered generations of risk averse people into positions of veto power. Removing them is surely not safe.

Re: Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous

#255

Post by glaurung_ »

alexhutcheson wrote: post #150

There is good evidence that the rubber "safety" matting that's common on new playgrounds causes significantly more long-bone injuries (broken arms and legs) than previous surfaces like wood chips. Kids test the limits and play up to the point of pain, so they'll leap off structures onto rubber matting in a way that they wouldn't do onto wood chips or pea gravel. In the name of "safety", we're using surfaces that prev…

I suspect the bone injuries come from the traction you get on those mats more than perceived safety. In the gravel if you put your arm out to catch a fall, it slips (and you scuff up your palms, learning not to do that next time), whereas on rubber mats it sticks and can end up taking the whole force of your fall.

Re: Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous

#256

Post by gumby »

eadmund wrote: post #230
gumby wrote: post #31

An example from the '00s: We sent our kid to a German school in Menlo Park. He immediately loved it on the first visit because the under-5s' playground was full of old wood with splinters and dangerous tools (hammers, saws etc) and the little kids could cause all sorts of ruckus, like building dams and flooding them. But the reality of a foreign-language school is that you need more than just "nationals" (people who…

Heh, you get the same phenomenon with folks who move from a state because the economic and/or legal conditions are no longer conducive to their desired lifestyle — and then start voting for the sorts of politicians who put in place economic and/or legal policies which are not conducive to their desired lifestyle.

Good example! Also people who move to the bucolic countryside and then complain about the pig farm next door.

We have this in Palo Alto: people move to the Cal Ave district and then complain about the noise from the dive bar Antonio's that's been there for decades. Fortunately the city has so far ignored these complaints.

Re: Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous

#257

Post by gumby »

ip26 wrote: post #241
gumby wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They weren’t 20 lb hammers, no, but nails (safer than brads actually), small hacksaws and the like — a regular rip saw is too heavy for a little kid!. Things like hot glue guns were plugged in indoors - kids went in and used them on their own as needed. But also more was expected: I remember nobody thought it remarkable when the after school teacher just decided one day to take 8 or 10 kids aged 5-11 on foot to downt…

Hacksaws & kids' glue guns are good choices. Kid's glue guns can still burn but not nearly as bad as a commercial gun, and hacksaws can still cut skin but nothing like a sharp ripsaw. If the kid gets a burn or a cut they can learn & aren't losing a limb in the process.

They could remove digits and eyes but I never saw it happen.

Re: Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous

#258

Post by glaurung_ »

Doxin wrote: post #218
Tsagadai wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A 360 on a children's swing can definitely be done. I've done it as a child and as an adult. It usually needs to have a much longer rope/chain on it to get the momentum up.

Wouldn't you be limited to going 180 degrees? any more than that and you'll start falling straight down on the backswing instead of swinging.

You're definitely right. I wonder if he's thinking of jumping off of the swing and doing a 360 in the air.

Apparently it can be done if your swing has rigid bars in stead of ropes: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6KvBn7QvzaI

Re: Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous

#259

Post by dang »

nemo1618 wrote: post #99
wizardforhire wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“The reality is different though. There is nothing in this world quite so soul crushingly painful as having your child die while doing something that the parent and perhaps people in general, consider to be 'safe.'” Actually there is and by several orders of magnitude more painful, and it is this: Watching these same parents scream safety, proclaiming the presciouness of their children while simultaneously condemning…

Ridiculous. The two are not even remotely comparable.

Please do not take HN threads further into flamewar, regardless of what another comment said.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous

#260

Post by dang »

wizardforhire wrote: post #74
ChuckMcM wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reality is different though. There is nothing in this world quite so soul crushingly painful as having your child die while doing something that the parent and perhaps people in general, consider to be 'safe.' For me, it took some time to fall madly and deeply in love with my spouse, and to my surprise I developed that attachment instantly to my children. That same sort of passion that you would do anything to ke…

“The reality is different though. There is nothing in this world quite so soul crushingly painful as having your child die while doing something that the parent and perhaps people in general, consider to be 'safe.'” Actually there is and by several orders of magnitude more painful, and it is this: Watching these same parents scream safety, proclaiming the presciouness of their children while simultaneously condemning…

Please do not take HN threads into political or ideological flamewar. This is egregious, regardless of our opinions about the politics of war.

"Eschew flamebait. Don't introduce flamewar topics unless you have something genuinely new to say. Avoid unrelated controversies and generic tangents."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

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