You may have seen someone wearing one of those T-shirts that proclaims, “I’m with Stupid.”
There’s usually an arrow pointing left or right. An internet search reveals they also make one with the arrow aimed at 12 o’clock — at the noggin of the person wearing the sign.
It’s not nice to refer to another person as stupid. It’s a rather harsh and insensitive way of referring to an individual who, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is either slow of mind or given to unintelligent decisions or acts.
Anyone can make a fool of themselves with a rash decision.
It’s hard to resist the temptation, however, to apply the stupid label to other drivers. Especially the repeat offenders of common sense.
You know who I’m talking about. The roundabout passers on Route 222.
They MUST pass the vehicle in front of them as they go through and/or come out of the traffic circle, using the outer lane as a passing lane. It doesn’t seem to matter to them that all they accomplish is getting further along in traffic by no more than the length of one vehicle.
Another common-sense-resistant cohort is the baseball spectator who snatch in-play balls from the field of play. It feels like I saw this occur at half of the home games while the Phillies played at Veterans Stadium (and less often at the “new” stadium).
Someone seated along the low field-level fence, where the outfield widened and foul territory narrowed, grabs a ball smacked down the line just over the first-base bag.
Mind you, the PA announcer gives a stern warning prior to the first pitch that interfering with a ball in the field of play will result in ejection.
After the umpire signals a ground-rule double due to fan interference, stadium security personnel escort the offender from the field-level seats.
Sometimes, in their exuberance, a spectator will reach over the fence for a ball and fall onto the field at the feet of a fielder in pursuit of the sphere.
Fan interference isn’t just a Philly phenomenon. Spectators reaching over the railing to snatch fly balls from fielders has occurred on baseball’s biggest stage — the World Series — potentially affecting a game’s outcome.
Even if the PA announcer’s pre-game warning is drowned out by noise and distractions in the stadium, it would be a rare fan who hasn’t witnessed on TV or in person a spectator being escorted by the people in yellow shirts on the walk of shame from the field level.
One of my colleagues offered a reasonable explanation for the phenomena: fans simply get lost in the moment and react to a souvenir soaring or bouncing within their reach and react without thinking of the consequences.
I have an alternative explanation:
Through some kind of algorithm, the seating sections closest to the outfield are disproportionately occupied by those given to unintelligent decisions or acts.
Source: Berkshire mont
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