Jackass stupidity results in fatality

    We live in very dangerous times. Terrorists are threatening attacks against us again. The economy is in bad shape. Our rights are being shredded in the name of security.

   But worst of all, the movie Jackass was the number one movie in the country for a few weeks.

   For those who have not been privileged enough to watch this catchy little show that was on MTV, Jackass features people (usually males) doing ridiculous stunts and filming them.

   Some television stunts included a male stapling his testicles to his leg, a male putting a toy car in a condom and “hiding” it in his rectum for a doctor to see on an X-ray and males shooting bottle rockets out of their buttocks.

   Quality viewing indeed.

   What is more disturbing is that large numbers of people flocked to the theaters to see this humiltainment. People truly have no sense of taste anymore.

   The people who perform these stunts for their 15 minutes of fame are obviously on the lower end of the evolutionary ladder, but at least they are probably not going to reproduce after stapling their testicles or scorching their reproductive organs with fireworks.

   The show had many issues with people imitating these stunts and received criticism for it. It was inevitable that the movie would spawn more copycat self-mutilators.

   Adam Ports of Ohio recently died while trying what police think was a Jackass-style stunt.

   Ports, an 18-year-old college student, fell from the back of a pick-up truck. Apparently, he and some friends were filming a chair being set on fire and thrown from a moving vehicle.

   This action does not seem to be really good endorsement of the intelligence of college students.

   We all know that television does not make people commit acts.

   But in a country so obsessed with fame and money, when we see people getting paid large sums of money for doing something any of us could do, why wouldn’t we try it, too?

   That is where the real fault lies—with the audience.

   If we did not take such great pleasure in other people’s suffering, then these shows would not have a chance of surviving.

   Do we really want to encourage stupid people to act stupidly in public?

   Should we help people with no discernible skills or talent become millionaires or famous because they have no self-respect?

   A long time ago, people who deliberately hurt themselves were locked up. Now we put them on screen and worship them.

   Is this the message we wish to leave for future generations?

   Is Jackass the best our generation has to offer?

   The only way the situation will worsen is if Eminem makes a movie.

   Oops, too late.