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“Do not ingest.”
I'm not making this up – take a look at your detergent back home and check it out for yourself. I mean, FFS – I know I was hungry, but what the hell is the world coming to when companies feel compelled to inform you not to dine on washing powder???
It gets worse though. After the disappointment of missing out on a non-biological meal, my attention turned to my fabric softener from the same manufacturer. Perfectly safe to drink apparently – it must be, no ingestion warnings! Although you're buggered if it gets in your eyes.
Ridiculous isn't it – if anyone is stupid enough to require a warning on one of those products, won't they need it on both!?!
Sadly, risk-aversion in business and establishments is becoming increasingly common in UK society, and this latest episode shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Practically anything that has the slightest potential to cause so much as a warm cuddle has to be plastered with disclaimers and safety information.
My beer tells me to “drink responsibly”. My iPod cheerfully tells me “don't steal music”. My packets of nuts informs me it “may contain nuts”... People are simply becoming sh*t-scared of getting sued these days, and it's getting plain daft.
In contrast I spent last Christmas in Thailand, and the place was like a breath of fresh air. OK, perhaps not literally – I felt like I'd smoked 40 B&H the moment I took my first gulp of Bangkok 'oxygen', but the place teaches you to take care of yourself.
Electric power cables dangle perilously above your head. Stalls with questionable hygiene (but incredible food) line the street. If you're feeling crazy, you can walk into a tiger sanctuary without cages. All things with varying degrees of risk in terms of Western society, but it makes you feel so much more alive. More importantly, you take responsibility for yourself.
It's always somebody else's fault for so many people these days. "Didn't get a warning - not my fault". No room for common sense in this place, no Siree. We're becoming a nation clinically insulated to risk, being led a merry jig by a motley crew of consumer-law killjoys all too busy suffocating us in cotton wool.
What people seem to be forgetting is the impact of common sense and learned behaviour. It's often said that “the man who makes the most mistakes learns the fastest”, but we're not even getting the chance these days.
Isn't this what evolution and progress is all about? Losing the ability to make a mistake robs a person of their ability to question, and to discover things for themselves. If this progresses further, the natural conclusion is to devoid yourself of making any kind of decision and live life on a perpetually dull auto-pilot.
Could this be reverse-evolution? With less mistakes and discoveries through choice, it's arguable that the basis for progress as we know it could be blighted.
I suppose at least we might see some honesty on our season tickets in future though...
“Ticket may provide only limited entertainment” - it could happen yet... ;)
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