Of These 25 'Most Dangerous' Jobs, Only 8 Are Morally Defensible in the 21st Century

http://instagram.com/p/yNS8BEi7qe/

So as the number of comments and some of my twitter replies revealed, it seems that even when I warn right up front that I’m trolling, some people will still take me seriously. (See my Super Bowl piece yesterday, which some had a hard time grasping.) I suppose a significant chunk of people just can’t understand how to read something other than in an earnest, straight-forward, literalist way. So from now on, when I’m trolling, I’ll be sure to have an overt picture indicating as such. How about the one above as a default? Or do you like the one below more, a Wario variation of the infamous meme?

http://instagram.com/p/yAcmEUmSa0/

But somebody who did take me a little too literally did share an interesting article in response:

@DaveSwindle @PJTatler Here are 25 most dangerous jobs. NFL player is12th, behind Logger & Urban Street Prostitute. http://t.co/M2rMqUNjXn

— Shakespeareana (@Macbeth870) February 2, 2015

It’s an entertaining list. By my count, only 8 of the jobs are defensible as worth dedicating one’s life to in the 21st century. Some of the deadly jobs may have been respectable as careers in 19th century America (making steel, chopping down trees, mining coal, etc.) but they really aren’t at all anymore, unless you plan on doing it with a robot instead of risking your own body. (And I’m skeptical of a few of the list’s claims — the microchip manufacturer entry seems to rely on facts from the 1980s.)

But these jobs from the list where one risks life and limb for a higher purpose are still worthy of respect in my estimation:

25. Smokejumper [firefighter who leaps out of planes in forests]

21. Bounty Hunter

20. War Correspondent

18. Maximum Security Prison Guard

16. U. S. President

14. Urban Cop

10. Urban Firefighter

5. Soldier In Battle

There are a number of other occupations more honorable and moral than a professional athlete sacrificing their body for sport. Which others do you think were neglected from the list?

(And have I made my point obvious enough yet for all the slow people? That “real men” don’t dedicate their lives to playing and obsessing over sports. They put their lives on the line to fight evil barbarians, bring down slave states, and crush criminal death cults.)