Volcanic Dumbth

I'm generally an optimistic person who tries to see the best in others. Even when they don't deserve the benefit of the doubt, I always seem to find some modicum of good in everyone I encounter. I'm not sure why, but it helps me sleep better at night.

Still, you've got to admit there's a huge amount of stupidity in the world today. In a small way, it became evident as I was watching the news earlier tonight.

As you know, Mount St. Helens has reawakened with its strongest level of volcanic activity since the May 18, 1980 eruption that blew the top of the mountain off, killed 57 people and decimated the surrounding landscape.

The United States Geological Survey is now warning of an imminent eruption. The risk increased so much on Saturday that they expanded the danger zone around the volcano and asked the snap-happy tourists who have flocked to the site in recent days to move well outside the zone.

So there was a USGS geologist, fresh from telling the news folks that we're looking down the barrel of an imminent reuption. As soon as he finished the interview, he turned to begin the process of shooing the still-oblivious tourists back to wherever they came from.

They ignored him.

He raised his voice and followed them as they walked away from him.

Still, they ignored him.

Finally, one of the fat-butted touristas approached the camera and complained that "there are nice ways to ask us to leave, and there are rude ways to ask. He chose to be rude."

Let's step back and observe the situation from an objective perspective now, shall we? Here's the deal:

An expert who has spent his life studying these things has just told you to move way the heck away because you could become a modern-day incarnation of Lot's Wife (in ashen form, of course) if you stick around Dodge any longer. And instead of thanking him and naming your first- and second-born children after him, you first ignore him, then crudely criticize him on national television.

Moronic doesn't even begin to describe what this dork deserves to be called. This isn't a restaurant where a haughty hostess needs to be put in her place. The stakes are just a wee bit higher here, yet brain-dead tourist seems to have missed the message.

I sure hope the pictures she gets are worth it. They may yet be her last.

BTW, if you originated from the top half of the human gene pool and you'd like to monitor the proceedings from a safer distance - like your living room or home office - the USGS has set up a real-time monitoring web site here. The USGS has also built some historical data sites here as well as here. Finally, Google's constantly-updated MSH newsfeed is here.