Back in the 1960s when hurricanes got ready to make landfall, TV news would show “Hurricane Parties,” where dozens of people would stupidly stay behind when their neighbors were evacuating and drink themselves insensible while the hurricane roared outside their building.
Surely, some of those people paid for their idiocy with their lives. But what excuse is there in this day and age, when we know so much more about hurricanes and their amazing destructive power, that some people still act as if a killer storm is a reason to act like a moron?
Here are some of the dumbest people in Florida — who apparently don’t know well enough to get out of Irma’s way.
Take, for example, the Miami man who said to an NBC news anchor on live television that he was going to tie himself to a post when Irma hits.
“Excuse me, sir, why are you out here,” the anchor asks the unnamed man, who is shirtless.
“I’m testing this out. I’m actually doing a stunt. It sounds crazy, but there’s a meaning behind it. I’m tying myself to a post down on Meridian for the duration of the hurricane. It’s all planned out with safety precautions and everything.”
Don't do this pic.twitter.com/fnMrAKcJxB
— Billy Gil (@billygil) September 9, 2017
The poor reporter was at a loss, which isn’t surprising considering he’s probably wishing he was somewhere — anywhere — else.
He’s not the only Floridian staring the dangerous Category 4 hurricane right in the face — and then responding with something a bit crazy.
In another live-television interview on CBS4, a kid said that he and his family aren’t evacuating Florida because “we are savages.”
"why aren't u evacuating?"
"we're savages" 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/ifFUH2wCAM
— iffy (@somalijawn) September 9, 2017
I think even “savages” usually have the good sense to flee.
On Friday morning, a man, identified only as Greg, was caught on video kitesurfing in Delray Beach in Palm Beach County Friday morning.
Greg told CBS 12 that he wanted to take advantage of the high waves and fast wind brought on by Hurricane Irma.
And here he is, doing just that.
Watch as Greg, a kite surfer, takes on some choppy water in Delray Beach. Watch until the end! pic.twitter.com/bPTFt8MrUp
— WPEC CBS12 News (@CBS12) September 9, 2017
Prediction: They will find this fool’s kite in some pile of wreckage a few days after Irma is gone.
If you think these are isolated cases of insanity, think again:
Oh, and there’s still more — the Pasco Sheriff’s office warned residents on Twitter Saturday night that residents should “NOT shoot weapons @ #Irma.” The tweet was in response to a Facebook event titled “Shoot at Hurricane Irma” that over 80,000 people expressed interest in.
To clarify, DO NOT shoot weapons @ #Irma. You won't make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effectshttps://t.co/CV4Y9OJknv
— Pasco Sheriff (@PascoSheriff) September 10, 2017
It remains to be seen if anyone will actually fire their guns into the storm — but here’s hoping that anyone who does, along with everyone else in Florida with some seemingly unsafe plan, comes out safe on the other side of the storm.
Reminds me of that scene from Independence Day where Los Angeles officials were pleading with residents:
Once again, the L.A.P.D. is asking Los Angelenos not to fire their guns at the visitor spacecraft. You may inadvertently trigger an interstellar war.
There’s nothing “inadvertent” about these people’s stupidity.
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