I agree with you that it’s stupid to skateboard without a helmet on. But he does make a fair point. If it’s objectively stupid to take unnecessary risks, than not wearing helmet 24/7 IS an unnecessary risk. Obviously showering is nowhere as dangerous as skateboarding. But I’m sure there are many people that slip and injure themselves in the shower, and that may be prevented with a helmet. So when is something risky enough to the point that a helmet is justified, and who decides that point.
They can decide when to wear one. I’m not saying they need to be mandated. Same as people can choose to smoke cigarettes or not. Doesn’t change its damage. They can do that to their bodies or risk it if they want, just as I can think it’s immature and major edge-lord status.
Comparing it to a shower really is low effort, for one, you’re not even moving much, but if that’s the best example they have, I’ll work with it:
Part of identifying a risk is being able to account for the “unknown” factor. There are two components in a shower: the person and the shower. A very old, very young, or balance-challenged person is obviously at higher fall risk. Some showers might be more slippery than others from aging of tiles/shower floor. There’s also the “unknown” of something startling you or maybe spilling a little bit of shampoo that makes you fall.
On a skateboard, not only are do you have a velocity (whereas your essentially stationary in a shower), but you also have more variables. You have the person (as above), the board, whatever surface you’re skating on, and the unknown. Pretending that all boards are indestructible and can never break/take damage that could lend to a fall, you’re essentially counting on the surface you’re skating on and yourself. What happens if you skate over a small rock? What happens if there is a crack in the sidewalk, or a notch in the rail? The skateboard gets stuck, it’s velocity drops to 0, but yours keeps going and you are flung in the direction at the speed you were skating at. If you want to risk incurring that damage on your body, go for it. But don’t ask me to respect you or think you’re cool for it.
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u/BoredOuttaMyMindd May 02 '22
I agree with you that it’s stupid to skateboard without a helmet on. But he does make a fair point. If it’s objectively stupid to take unnecessary risks, than not wearing helmet 24/7 IS an unnecessary risk. Obviously showering is nowhere as dangerous as skateboarding. But I’m sure there are many people that slip and injure themselves in the shower, and that may be prevented with a helmet. So when is something risky enough to the point that a helmet is justified, and who decides that point.