Thursday, January 13, 2011

more stupid rules - HRM skating helmet law

I was driving to work the other day past the new BMO Centre arena. I was in there before and it is a nice place.

So the outside electronic message board is up and I drove past an announcement that helmets are now mandatory in public skates.

Sheesh! what a joke, a disgrace, an embarrassment. We've had public skates in Canada for about 100 years and we didn't need helmets. Why is a new rule being imposed now? This and all the other stupid new rules like 12 year olds in booster seats, new restrictions on smoking and drinking.

The wussification and feminization of our society has gone too far. This has to be stopped and rolled back. If some unreasonable, overprotective female wants to put ridiculous rules on her spouse and family then that's their burden. But today these same idiot rules are being imposed on all of formerly free society.

Freedom is a right and a responsibility. At some point in a functioning society adults have to be required to make their own decisions and own the consequences of those decisions. It cannot be the government's responsibility to live people's lives for them. We cannot and should not regulate every action of every person 24/7/365. Common sense and good judgment cannot be imposed.

If an adult chooses not to wear a helmet skating then he is aware of the risk and has to be free to live with the consequences good or bad. He's only hurt himself if something happens. This responsibility cannot be transferred onto the police, criminalized, regulated, or taken over by the government.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

He not only hurts himself but his family, those who care about him and those who end up looking after him. The government has to pay all the health care costs associated with his decision. That's a very selfish and self centred way you are looking at this. To save all that money and pain but wearing a $30 helmet, it's it worth it?

delsquared said...

Anon, it is incorrect to state that the government has to pay the health care costs. Under the constitution the provinces are free to manage health care as they see fit.

If the government of a province chooses to provide free health care then that is a choice the government makes every year. That can be reversed at any time and was not the case for the bulk of Canada's history.

Thus your assertion that there is some obligation on individuals to limit their potential health care costs is bogus.

It is the responsibility of the individual to decide if it is worth the costs and hassle of wearing a helmet at a public skate in order to avoid potential consequences on himself and others. The private individual has to make that choice, not the government.

Anonymous said...

The individual also has the right to skate somewhere else too, such as a frozen lake!

The individual is perhaps incapable of making an informed decision if he doesn't think of anyone but himself.
What makes you think anyone wants to clean up your mess?
You're a joke!