all of you, out of the gene pool.

[rivendellrose]

Want proof of how unbelievably stupid people are?

Here you go: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051009/NEWS01/510090392

Please, someone, tell me the article's a hoax. People cannot possibly really be so stupid as to go along with all this shit.

Also, could somebody count how many times it is reiterated that a given victim of the hoax described in this article was a church-goer? Because seriously, aren't we enlightened enough by now to know that whether or not a person goes to church has nothing to do with whether or not they steal, rape, kill, whatever? That kind of assumption just makes me ill.

Comments

[diea.livejournal.com]

But how stupid??? Oh my God. Oh my freaking God. How the hell?? I mean....just because someone tells you to do something like that....even if it is the police, you DON'T DO IT! Who ARE these people??? You don't make an employee strip in front of you! What the fuck? That is the stupidest...just when I think humanity couldn't get any worse....those poor employees. I agree, whoever the caller was AND all of the idiots who talked to him and ordered their employees to do what he said should definitely be forced out of the gene pool. I just can't believe this.

This icon has never been more appropriate.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

It's madness, pure and simple. And yes, that icon is exceedingly appropriate to this situation. I still... blargh, I just can't even begin to wrap my brain around the sheer idiocy of everyone involved in this whole thing. Morons, beyond even my usual cynical impressions of humanity.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Actually, that's one of the more common phone-molestation techniques. And something close to it has been going on for *years*.

*sob*

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I'd never run across it before... yeesh. You'd think people would have a bit more brains than that, but noooo, of course not. *Headdesk*

[zhapper.livejournal.com]

That's why it's important to know the law. It would be more than a gross violation of someone's constitutional rights for a police officer to force or ask a citizen to aid in a strip search. Police officers don't even have the right to a strip search unless there is extreme probable cause or an individual has been arrested and mirandized. Even search warrants often don't go as far as a suspect's person. If officer scott was indeed a real officer, he would be guilty of a number of violations to the fourth and fifth amendments and gross misconduct. I would also be talking to lawyers, if I was a McDonald's employee that happened to, about a civil suit against the perp.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

That's it exactly - and not even common sense was making these people wonder "hmm, maybe I shouldn't!" Idiots! It's just totally mind-boggling.

[miss-arel.livejournal.com]

Bleah. I've heard about these cases, and they're just awful. On the one hand, it's hard to believe people would just go along with what the 'police officer' tells them... it's just so unbelievable that these peope don't know their rights in these situations.

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Bleah. I've heard about these cases, and they're just awful. On the one hand, it's hard to believe people would just go along with what the 'police officer' tells them... it's just so unbelievable that these peope don't know their rights in these situations.

<i.,Also, could somebody count how many times it is reiterated that a given victim of the hoax described in this article was a church-goer?</i>

Well, you <i>can</i> draw the conclusion that this means people who go to church are always innocecnt and harmless. BUT, you can also draw the conclusion that church-going people are stupid. After all, they're the ones falling for this ridiculous scam.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

That's the thing - it's unbelievable on so many levels, the mind can barely comprehend.

BUT, you can also draw the conclusion that church-going people are stupid. After all, they're the ones falling for this ridiculous scam.

That was also kind of where my brain was headed, if I was to give the fact any significance whatsoever.

[narsilion.livejournal.com]

I can't believe the victims never asked to have a lawyer or a family member present. Crazy. And what the hell is wrong with these people, (the managers and bosses) there should have been red flag warnings everywhere. And a police officer giving orders to a civilian over the phone instead of showing up?
And telling people to call your fiance to come help? Come on, think about this before you just blindly follow orders.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

If people ever need proof that general citizens really are stupid enough to commit almost any atrocity if they're ordered by someone with even the most tenuous perception of authority, this is it. I expect in ten years or so this will have replaced Milgram's experiment (that psychologist whose work they refer to partway through the article) as the best example of "people are sheep and will do whatever they're told" for a basic Psych 101 class.

[kleio-the-muse.livejournal.com]

Hee, thanks for the link. It confirms my worst fears:)

And the term 'church-goer' always strikes me as funny, but no funny-ha-ha, more like funny-unbelievably-scary. It's supposed to refer to the good and decent nature of the person, right? There's no such word in Finnish, not in that sense anyway. The good and decent people are simply good and decent people:)

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

That's exactly what bothers me about it, too. I'm not Christian, either are the vast majority of my friends... so every time I see that word, I start thinking about what people would say if one of us ended up in that situation. Or how they'd probably not mention it at all (unless in the sense of "who could have expected it?" if a church-going Christian did something bad. The idea that decency is defined by religion drives me nuts.

The equivalent in older English is just plain "Christian" - you run into that a lot in 19th century novels as an expression of how good the person is. I guess Finland was a relatively late conversion, compared to England, so maybe that's why there's no equivalent?