#at my last manufacturing job a guy got crushed by six thousand pounds of steel

[rmhashauthor]

Safety regulations exist because someone died that way. Horribly.

My current job is in an industry that uses lots of chemicals. Highly corrosive chemicals that melt skin and burn bone. Chemicals that can make you blind or set you on fire. Chemicals that can make you pass out and asphyxiate and die IN SECONDS. Chemicals that explode, eat through stone and will turn your insides to pink sludge. Most people at my place of employment - including myself - have to attend MULTIPLE seminars and courses throughout the year on chemical spill safety, PPE and rapid evacuation procedure because if one of the buildings has an accident, hundreds of people can die in minutes. I'm just a little office drone, but in the event of a spill, explosion or an airlock breach I'm expected to act quickly to get myself and others to safety because OSHA RULES SAVE LIVES.

FOR EVERY OSHA RULE THERE HAS BEEN AT LEAST ONE VERY HORRIBLE, PREVENTABLE DEATH.

ANYONE who disregards OSHA has a blatant and callous lack of respect for life. OSHA isn't cop behavior, it's basic common sense plus information gleaned from horrifying tragedies. OSHA rules aren't there to spoil your good time, THEY'RE THERE TO KEEP YOU FROM BEING BOILED, BURNED, CRUSHED, EXPLODED, MELTED OR SHREDDED ALIVE.

It's funny to laugh at the sticker on your hairdryer that says "do not use in the shower", but think about the person who died doing that. Think about the reason factory workers have to tie their hair back around spinning machinery. Think about why we don't let children drive combine harvesters - and think about the parents who learned the hard way.

Regulations are written in blood because blood was spilled. It's not a joke, it's life or death. And it can happen in a second.

I’m still thinking about that “is OSHA regulations Cop Behavior” post. Like. You know who thinks regulations are for losers? People who build submersibles out of logitech gamepads and rejected carbon fibre. People who trust starlink as their only surface lifeline.

Do you wanna be like the fine film on the floor of the Atlantic that was once a billionaire? Is that the hill you’re really gonna die on?

We have an expression in my field- “Regulations Are Written In Blood”

People don’t have fucking safety standards as a power trip, we have them because somewhere in the past, NOT having those regulations killed or maimed someone.

A lot of laws out there are bullshit- safety regulations sure as fuck aren’t. I have the literal scars to prove it.