Andalusite
Posts: 2492
Joined: 1/25/2009 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: thishereboi That's because while they know there is a much bigger chance that they will be in an accident while driving, they also understand that there is a much better chance of surviving a car crash. That's true to some extent, but a lot of people just have a panicky reaction to flying that is much stronger than their fear of a lot of more dangerous things. For that matter, thanks to Jaws and similar movies, there are plenty of people who live hours away from a beach who are terrified of sharks, and a lot of people are frightened of non-venomous small snakes. Yes, a shark can kill someone, but not if they are in Utah or Colorado at the time. Gopher snakes and rat snakes are pretty harmless. A bite would hurt, and there's an outside chance it could get infected, but it's vanishingly rare that anyone is going to be seriously injured by one. Rats and spiders are more common, and can be dangerous or deadly on occasion, but most people aren't scared of being killed by them, they're just scared of being in the same room with them. Heck, lots of people find their hearts pounding and palms sweating from public speaking, even if nobody in the audience has rotten tomatoes or anything else to throw. The movie industry (especially horror and suspense flicks), haunted houses, amusement parks, and such take advantage of the milder fear and adrenaline rush associated with them. Some people like getting scared, when they know they are relatively safe. Nothing in life is perfectly safe, you just manage risks to the best of your ability, and decide what you're comfortable with. You can't stab someone or bludgeon someone with a pillow, but far more people are killed by them than by sharks, rats, spiders, public speaking, snakes, and BDSM combined. jb, I'd say you're right, but that for most people, the dangers tend to be more emotional than physical. I've usually only played with people who I had an emotional connection and friendship with, but I've stunt-bottomed for a couple of classes with instructors who I didn't personally know very well. I did get scared by one of them, but she meant to, and once I'd stopped myself from running across the room, I didn't feel I was in much objective danger. It didn't stop my heart from pounding, though! I do feel that going off to play privately with someone who they've just met is unwise and can be dangerous. Death isn't as likely, but it's quite easy for things to get out of hand and boundaries to be crossed in that situation.
< Message edited by Andalusite -- 5/14/2010 6:27:40 PM >
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