7 February 2005
Over-emphasis of non-news
So, a couple of teenagers baked cookies and delivered packages of them to their neighbors as a gift. One neighbor became terrified by the unanticipated and unknown visitors and had an anxiety attack. She eventually sued the teens and won a $900 settlement. Chaos ensues on the Internets.
I suspect the same people that are overgeneralizing this event into a touchstone of the selfish corruption of our society are those that also complain about the worthlessness of most major news sources. Cats in trees and water-skiing squirrels. Why is one $900 settlement by an obviously unstable and too-much-time-on-her-hands person held up as a representation of the whole of society or our justice system? This is more justifiably News of the Weird and little else: an oddball occurrance that in a world of 6-billion-plus would be weird if it didn't happen in the sub .00001% range.
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