(OT) Teenager dies of Acute Stupidity Disorder

[Ridley's Cohort]

Natural beauty is often dangerous.

Every year we get several deaths and serious injuries on the California coast from people who are careless near cliffs and water. Hawaiian water spouts have little to do with the incident. It was a reckless attitude that killed him. He didn't have to leave his home state meet the same fate; there are a hundred beautiful places in California he could have been swept off a cliff and mangled on the rocks, too. I guess this one happened to catch his eye.

It is a tragic incident, nevertheless. The mother is just trying cope by finding fault, an understandable reaction but a misplaced use of her energy.

I agree that putting up more signs will not help. If you want a safe enviroment, go to Disneyland, keep your hands in your pockets, and stay behind the ropes. Or mind the signs already there.

 

[Jack Haggerty]

Points to consider:

1. The officials quoted in the story don't seem overly enthusiastic about doing anything about it, and presumably they know more about it than I, the Mother and family, and apparently the reporter.

2. The Islands that make up Hawaii seem to have existed for a long time, yet nothing ever has needed to be done about this?

5. The guy, an adult (18 years old), stretched himself out over an open hole in the ground without, apparently, considering the consequences while in unfamiliar surroundings.

Three, sir.

...on vacation in Hawai'i...

And since when did anyone start spelling Hawaii with an apostrophe?

 

[SemperJase]

What about the father??

What gets me is that the father has filed a law suit against the city and the state. He feels it is their fault that the site isn't safe.

Come on! The world is not a safe place. That is just unreasonable. You notice this is dodging the responsibility. Being a divorced father, he was not there for his family's annual vacatoin (isn't there some responsibility there?). His son made a very bad choice, but the father still looks past this to blame the state!

At least the mother isn't trying to profit from her son's death.

 

[Tiefling]

I may be wrong, but I think it is, technically, the correct spelling.

 

[Mark]

Three, sir.

Three!

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Re: What about the father??

What gets me is that the father has filed a law suit against the city and the state. He feels it is their fault that the site isn't safe.

At least the mother isn't trying to profit from her son's death.

The father apparently left the mom and kids years ago and only realized he had a deep, emotional bond with his son at the same time he realized he could sue somebody.

Which qualifies him as a despicable human being in my book. Apparently, hundreds of folks showed up at the kid's funeral. He must have taken after his mom.

 

[Ranger REG]

And since when did anyone start spelling Hawaii with an apostrophe?

It's not an apostrophe. It's an okina. While the Hawaiian language do not have written characters (unless you want to count petroglyphs), the English Alphabet is used.

The okina (') represent a glottal stop. Like an interruption and the next letter after the okina must be pronounced with force (like trying to dislodge something from your throat).

But it can't be helped. Mainlanders never take the take time to learn so they slur the Hawaiian words. And sometimes I fall victim to that too.

Also, a blowhole is not necessarily a geyser, even though they produce the same apparent effect (water spouting from the surface). Blowhole is not generated by heat as geysers are (heat which in turns boils the water and shoot out) but rather by the water channeling into a tunnel and then shoots up through a hole by the action of the ocean's waves.

While I have sympathy for the family, I do not see what a grate can do to prevent future accidents. His mistake was to stand over the blowhole and when the waterspout hit him with so much force he was propelled upward. Had there been a grate, he would have fallen onto it headfirst.

In summary, if you want to enjoy our beaches and shorelines safely, ask the local lifeguard about any natural hazards or off-limit areas. Because not just blowholes can be a danger but swells, sharks, and box jellyfishes too.

 

[Tiefling]

Re: Re: What about the father??

The father apparently left the mom and kids years ago and only realized he had a deep, emotional bond with his son at the same time he realized he could sue somebody.

I'm curious, can the judge throw out a case and fine the plaintiff for contempt of court for something like that?

 

[TiQuinn]

If the lawsuit is determined to be frivolous, it's a possibility. In this case, however, that's going to be pretty unlikely.

 

[Jack Haggerty]

I may be wrong, but I think it is, technically, the correct spelling.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Hawaii didn't have a written language until American missionaries gave them one around 1820.

I dunno... I've never seen it spelled with an apostrophe until now. Though, I'll admit a quick web search seems to indicate that anyone living on the islands has a tendency to insert apostrophes, while everyone else leaves them out.

[EDIT...]

It's not an apostrophe. It's an okina. While the Hawaiian language do not have written characters (unless you want to count petroglyphs), the English Alphabet is used.

The okina (') represent a glottal stop. Like an interruption and the next letter after the okina must be pronounced with force (like trying to dislodge something from your throat).

But it can't be helped. Mainlanders never take the take time to learn so they slur the Hawaiian words. And sometimes I fall victim to that too.

Thanks... That's makes complete sense, and explains why you don't often see them spelled way outside the islands. It's not so much a matter of spelling, as a clarification of pronunciation.