By Scott Tibbs, December 8, 2014
Here is a window into the kinds of things that go through my mind when I am watching television or a movie. I was watching an episode of "Superman: The Animated Series" with my toddler, depicting a crane breaking and falling off a roof in Metropolis toward the crowded street below. The crane was weak and simply broke in two. Naturally, Superman flew in to save the day and prevented anyone from getting hurt.
But why was the crane weak? You do not see this happen in Gotham City, just the much more wealthy Metropolis. Has OSHA not been doing the proper workplace safety inspections to ensure that the crane was properly maintained and constructed? If Superman had been off-world, a bunch of people would have died. What about the building inspectors who work for city government in Metropolis?
It seems to me that the first person who would be going to OSHA (or the building inspectors) and telling them to do their job would be Superman, as properly maintained and secured construction equipment that did not break and fall to the ground would make his life easier.
Are there no consequences for not obeying safety procedures? Imagine how a personal injury attorney would do in a class-action lawsuit against the company with the failing crane, and against OSHA for not enforcing workplace safety rules, if this happened while Superman was fighting Darkseid or Mongul in some other part of the galaxy or even in a parallel universe. It would have been a massacre.
So, yes. I nitpick stuff way too much. Maybe I should just shut up and watch the cartoon.
