...in order to prevent evil, you have to take a risk-not of death, but of embarrassment.
Words to die by:
"But we'll look like idiots/racists/paranoid/uncool!"
For an earlier illustration of this, see the widespread scorn heaped upon the people and the city of Boston for "being scared" by a stupid ad campaign. I was reassured rather than embarrassed by the fact that there are people even in the super-blue state of Massachusetts who aren't willing to laugh off the sudden appearance of devices of unknown import and provenance about their city when we're in the middle of a war waged by the sort of people whose way of waging war often uses methods like leaving explosive devices around places they want to attack. But the "guerrilla advertisers" were cool and scared people who just wanted to live their lives are not. Thanks to the attitudes of the Cool Kids, someone who is young and impressionable might ignore the next "not right" thing because he's afraid of being mocked. Well, you can't hear anyone make fun of you when you're in the grave.
(Via Kathy Shaidle.)
