Sailing Close to the Wind

[JohnH]

Note that roofing and being a highway construction worker are far more dangerous, yet people (including myself) engage in such activity quite regularly. Lots of plain people do too, many of whom are neither poverty-stricken nor thrill seekers.

Wife: yeah, you are probably right, although we’re also talking about people who don’t wear seatbelts because they don’t feel like it. Probably depends on the roofing crew, but I don’t think a lot of Mennonites worry too much about safe practice.

There’s no such thing as “safe practice” in roofing. If you want to have a roof, someone has to go to a dangerous job to get you one.

[Soloist]

Note that roofing and being a highway construction worker are far more dangerous, yet people (including myself) engage in such activity quite regularly. Lots of plain people do too, many of whom are neither poverty-stricken nor thrill seekers.

Wife: yeah, you are probably right, although we’re also talking about people who don’t wear seatbelts because they don’t feel like it. Probably depends on the roofing crew, but I don’t think a lot of Mennonites worry too much about safe practice.

There’s no such thing as “safe practice” in roofing. If you want to have a roof, someone has to go to a dangerous job to get you one.

Wife: there are regulations to at least make it slightly more safe, such as wearing harnesses.

[JohnH]

Wife: there are regulations to at least make it slightly more safe, such as wearing harnesses.

"Regulations" do not make something inherently dangerous safer.

If you want to have a roof, someone is going to have to do a dangerous job. If you want to have a roof you can actually afford, someone is going to have to do a more-dangerous job.

[Bootstrap]

The phrase "sailing close to the wind" is kind of interesting. In a modern sailboat, it's fun and not really risky.

Ah but in naval battles in the days of yore ...

I really like language and idioms, so let me follow up on this. A sailboat cannot sail straight into the wind, but it can sail at a 45 degree angle to the wind, and some can do better than others. The "no go zone", in red, is the zone where your boat will get stuck.

In a small modern sailboat like the little catamaran I sail, that's not serious. You slow down, the sails flap, you bear off and start moving again.

But in naval battles during the age of sailing warships, it could be dangerous. Large square-rigged ships could not sail nearly as close to the wind as modern boats, and if they steered too close to the wind they could lose all forward motion and end up “in irons,” stuck pointing straight into the wind, unable to move, unable to get their cannons into position.

That made it an easy target for an enemy ship that could still move freely and fire its cannons where it wanted to.

So the idiom "sailing close to the wind" means steering in a direction close to the no-go zone, right at the edge of what is safe or allowed, in ways that are risky.

[Ernie]

Wife: there are regulations to at least make it slightly more safe, such as wearing harnesses.

"Regulations" do not make something inherently dangerous safer.

If you want to have a roof, someone is going to have to do a dangerous job. If you want to have a roof you can actually afford, someone is going to have to do a more-dangerous job.

Regulations or not, there are unsafe ways to do it and safer ways. Doing what OSHA thinks is best is very costly. But there some basic safety practices for roofing jobs that are not costly that greatly diminish the number of accidents.

[JohnH]

Regulations or not, there are unsafe ways to do it and safer ways. Doing what OSHA thinks is best is very costly. But there some basic safety practices for roofing jobs that are not costly that greatly diminish the number of accidents.

One of the sillier things in the modern world is the attempt to make everything "safe".

One of the better things about the Anabaptist world is that they somewhat reject this. This can be best seen amongst peoples like the Swartzentrubers who accept that following their convictions may not always be the "safest", but they prefer to "trust God".

[Bootstrap]

Regulations or not, there are unsafe ways to do it and safer ways. Doing what OSHA thinks is best is very costly. But there some basic safety practices for roofing jobs that are not costly that greatly diminish the number of accidents.

One of the sillier things in the modern world is the attempt to make everything "safe".

One of the better things about the Anabaptist world is that they somewhat reject this. This can be best seen amongst peoples like the Swartzentrubers who accept that following their convictions may not always be the "safest", but they prefer to "trust God".

OTOH, how willing am I to risk my life for money?

I could imagine risking my life to help save war victims. I cannot imagine risking my life to move oil through a shorter channel so that I can make a profit.

[JohnH]

I could imagine risking my life to help save war victims. I cannot imagine risking my life to move oil through a shorter channel so that I can make a profit.

People risk their lives every single day driving to and from their jobs.

[Bootstrap]

I could imagine risking my life to help save war victims. I cannot imagine risking my life to move oil through a shorter channel so that I can make a profit.

People risk their lives every single day driving to and from their jobs.

And therefore ... they should risk their lives trying to make a buck in active war zones?

[JohnH]

I could imagine risking my life to help save war victims. I cannot imagine risking my life to move oil through a shorter channel so that I can make a profit.

People risk their lives every single day driving to and from their jobs.

And therefore ... they should risk their lives trying to make a buck in active war zones?

Did anyone say that?