I would like to shift the topic a little. Before I start, I want to emphasize that I am speaking generically and not necessarily about this specific incident or the young man involved, whom I of course did not know.
I was a public school teacher for many years, and in that role I was frequently called upon to help deliver "public service" messages to students. We were continually required to participate in programs to prevent smoking, prevent drug use, prevent sexual activity, etc. Most of us were really upset about our participation, not because we did not want to prevent those activities, but because we felt that the way we were required to do it was not only ineffective, it was often counterproductive.
The methods usually focused on warning teens of the dangers of the activities. For most teenagers, that is exactly the wrong path to take. I am old enough to remember being in college when the surgeon general issued the first study linking smoking to lung cancer. I asked a friend how he could continue to smoke after that report was issued, and he said, "It takes a man to fight lung cancer." That is the attitude I saw all the time in that age group--they are lured to warnings of danger, not repelled by them.
As we grow older, most of us change, but some of us do not. Some people will always find the thrill of being on the edge of great danger a real attraction. Adrenaline junkies thrive on this sort of activity, and the more foolhardy the activity seems to the general public, the more they enjoy it.
I think of that when I see the grim reaper signs in caves. I think they provide a strong warning and a powerful deterrent to most people, but I think there are some untrained divers for whom such a sign is a powerful temptation instead.
I was a public school teacher for many years, and in that role I was frequently called upon to help deliver "public service" messages to students. We were continually required to participate in programs to prevent smoking, prevent drug use, prevent sexual activity, etc. Most of us were really upset about our participation, not because we did not want to prevent those activities, but because we felt that the way we were required to do it was not only ineffective, it was often counterproductive.
The methods usually focused on warning teens of the dangers of the activities. For most teenagers, that is exactly the wrong path to take. I am old enough to remember being in college when the surgeon general issued the first study linking smoking to lung cancer. I asked a friend how he could continue to smoke after that report was issued, and he said, "It takes a man to fight lung cancer." That is the attitude I saw all the time in that age group--they are lured to warnings of danger, not repelled by them.
As we grow older, most of us change, but some of us do not. Some people will always find the thrill of being on the edge of great danger a real attraction. Adrenaline junkies thrive on this sort of activity, and the more foolhardy the activity seems to the general public, the more they enjoy it.
I think of that when I see the grim reaper signs in caves. I think they provide a strong warning and a powerful deterrent to most people, but I think there are some untrained divers for whom such a sign is a powerful temptation instead.
