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I have written Top Comments diaries in the past about ‘viral memes.’ Mostly they have been graphics with an interesting present-day pertinence. The one for tonight wasn’t posted for political impact. It was one posted to celebrate the kind of Schadenfreude that I like least: Of celebrating (and feeling superior to) someone else’s apparent folly.
People do unwise things. It’s the nature of our species. None of us are immune to it. I know I’m not. No, I am not going to burden you with a chronicle of unwise things I have done. They wouldn’t fit in any diary, and I wouldn’t put them there if they would, since they would be out-of-date before I tried.
This one is a photo taken outside of what I feel sure must be a Lowe’s store. My impression is that the person who shared the photo thought that the person standing immediately next to the Prius was the vehicle owner. I don’t think that. I think the person closest to the car is a Lowe’s employee, because I think that is a Lowe’s safety vest he’s wearing. I think the lift truck operator is an employee as well, since the public isn’t permitted to operate their equipment.
I have no special insight into the history of the photo. For all I know, it could be totally bogus, a bunch of guys after hours saying let’s make it look like somebody intends to drive out of there loaded like that, without ever really setting it on the car. Neither do I know if it legal for a company like Lowe’s to load customers’ vehicles in a patently illegal way, nor whether employees might occasionally do it even if it is illegal.
If we accept the photo at face value, it’s like someone is about to do something unwise, and maybe we should hang around to watch the show, as surely something spectacular is going to happen. (As low as the car is to the ground, I am inclined to believe that at least some of the weight is resting on the car. Sheet rock weighs over 50 lbs. per sheet. I count at least 20, so that would be over 1,000 lbs. If it’s 5/8” drywall, maybe over half again as much.)
But, from the moment I looked at this, I had no interest whatsoever in the supposed humor of it. If it IS real however … it breaks my heart that a human being clearly willing to work very hard (drywall isn’t a lazy man’s game) has no other options for doing that work than to try something so desperate and dangerous.
There’s nothing funny about that at all.
What does that say about us? And it’s far from the worst thing we do to our brothers and sisters.
I don’t laugh at the person trying this. I applaud him for his commitment to very hard work, and I hope success provides him the tools to do his work more safely in days and weeks to come. (And that he safely reached his close-by destination.)
Thank you for reading.
On to tonight’s comments!
Top Comments
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down. Please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers, Barack Obama or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig.
From bonniebluesky:
We receive this excellent comment by EastcoastChick about the Heads I Win, Tails You Lose culture facing the black community. (We appreciate the comment’s relay by gchaucer2!)
From Doctor Who:
Comes this comment by Laughing Gravy about a characteristic of Democrats we could afford to see less.
Highlighted by
Trenz Puca:
Is this comment by Tanzik about the trials of Vladimir Putin.
Highlighted by niftywriter:
Is this diary-worthy comment by buglady99, with information and videos!
Highlighted by arhpdx:
Is this comment by niftywriter about the critical distinction between polls and our voting.
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, August 31st, 2020, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
Top Pictures
Top Pictures for August 31, 2020! Thanks so much, jotter!
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Image permissions block inclusion in Top Comments.
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Image removed because it was messed up.
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