NotiPR :: That's All Folks! :: WARNING: Not Everyone May Have Been Warned

1.7.05

WARNING: Not Everyone May Have Been Warned

By Keith W. Tyras Romanello 2004: 10.22 10.29 11.5 11.12 11.19 11.26 12.3 12.10 12.17 12.24 12.31

2005: 1.14 1.21 1.28 2.4 2.11 2.18 2.25 3.4 3.11 3.18 3.25 4.1 4.8 4.15 4.22 4.29 5.6 5.13 5.20 5.27 6.3 6.10 6.17 6.24 7.1 7.8 7.15 7.22 7.29 8.5 8.12 8.19 8.26 9.2

Last weekend DID define Puerto Rico. While the previous few New Year's Eves brought death, tragedy and grief for too many people -- as they or loved ones were shot by bullets that were meant to be aimed straight into the air -- but ended up falling or finding a horizontal path, this past New Year's Eve was much less harsh. Only 9 or 10 people were shot by stray bullets and no one died as a result of those "pendejos" who didn't get the message over a 12-month period of massive ad campaigns, etc., etc., etc.

I have no idea exactly how many people were killed in car accidents over the holiday season. I have no idea exactly how many car accidents were caused as a result of driving too fast or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs or both speeding and booze.

I have no idea if every serious car accident is reported in the newspapers or if only some are selected for publication. All I know is that immediately after my commentary "Do NOT Become Too POPULAR This Christmas!," there seems to have been a 90% reduction in drunk driving deaths on the roads and highways of Puerto Rico. This observation is based solely on what has been reported online on ENDi.com and PrimeraHora.com.

It's certainly possible that with ALL the political coverage in the past two months, you know, the same amount of political coverage that is year-round, year after year after year, there may not have been time or space to include coverage of these car accidents OR there was in fact a 90% reduction in these drunk driving accidents.

I have a feeling though, that if in fact there was a 90% reduction, there would have definitely been a press release sent out by various government agencies claiming the great success of the various programs and strategies they had in place and which were responsible for this INCREDIBLE reduction in DEATH.

I couldn't find such a press release written into an actual article.

Wouldn't it be great if 90% of the political coverage was based on ACCOMPLISHMENT and not SPECULATION? That would leave time and space to cover the things that can MAKE A DIFFERENCE in bettering Puerto Rico.

Anyway, as far as I can determine, things this past weekend and throughout this Christmas season showed exactly what can be accomplished with a PLAN, with TEAMWORK and EVERYONE on the same page.

Puerto Rico came through with flying colors. Add to that the INCREDIBLE HOPE most of us have with our new governor AND a new way of thinking AND -all the incredible accomplishments that will follow shortly as a result- PUERTO RICO is on track once again for REALLY BIG THINGS!

And to think, all this began with a few "WARNING LABELS" cleverly disguised as a movie, a couple of TV specials and extensive TV news coverage, public debate, public service announcements, front page coverage in the top newspapers in Puerto Rico and through other means.

Guns do not have warning labels, BUT SHOULD. There are actually MANY products designed for the GOOD of mankind that can actually do more BAD than good. Just about every product comes with a WARNING LABEL from the manufacturer as a way of protecting consumers AND PROTECTING THEMSELVES.

But some of the most obvious products and things we all have in our wallets and come in contact with do NOT have these critical WARNINGS available.

There is actually a website by The Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch that lists some of the more ridiculous warnings that can be found on products we all use or know people who use them. Here are some of the funnier ones . . .

- A label on a baby stroller warns: “Remove child before folding"

- A brass fishing lure with a three-pronged hook on the end warns: “Harmful if swallowed"

- A household iron warns users: “Never iron clothes while they are being worn”

- A label on a hair dryer reads, “Never use hair dryer while sleeping”

- A warning on an electric drill made for carpenters cautions: “This product not intended for use as a dental drill”

- The label on a bottle of drain cleaner warns: “If you do not understand, or cannot read, all directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this product”

- A smoke detector warns: “Do not use the Silence Feature in emergency situations. It will not extinguish a fire”

- A massage chair warns: “DO NOT use massage chair without clothing... and, Never force any body part into the backrest area while the rollers are moving”

- A cardboard car sunshield that keeps sun off the dashboard warns, “Do not drive with sunshield in place”

- An “Aim-N-Flame” fireplace lighter cautions, “Do not use near fire, flame or sparks”

- A label on a handheld massager advises consumers not to use “while sleeping or unconscious”

- A 12-inch rack for storing compact disks warns: “Do not use as a ladder”

- A cartridge for a laser printer warns, “Do not eat toner”

- A 13-inch wheel on a wheelbarrow warns: “Not intended for highway use”

- A can of self-defense pepper spray warns users: “May irritate eyes”

- A warning on a pair of shin guards manufactured for bicyclists says: “Shin pads cannot protect any part of the body they do not cover”

- A snow blower warns: “Do not use snow thrower on roof”

- A dishwasher carries this warning: “Do not allow children to play in the dishwasher”

- A popular manufactured fireplace log warns: “Caution - Risk of Fire”

- A box of birthday cake candles says: “DO NOT use soft wax as ear plugs or for any other function that involves insertion into a body cavity”

While the above warnings may seem obvious to most of us, there are actually people who benefit from them.

It would be great if warning labels were printed on EVERY driver's license warning people NOT to drive too fast, drunk or when smoking crack, etc.

I would place the following warning label on the driver's licenses of EVERY new and/or young drivers 16 - 21-years-old, "DO NOT HAVE KIDS YOU CANNOT AFFORD, CANNOT EFFECTIVELY RAISE AND/OR DO NOT WANT."

Believe it or not, what may seem obvious to you and me may be something someone has grown up NEVER HEARING FROM ANYONE.

A couple of weeks ago I read this article on ENDi.com, now available through their archive service, "Alerta de timo con tarjetas." It warned people about credit card scams. The article quoted DACO Secretary Noema Giralt warning people NOT to give out the 3-digit codes from the back of their credit cards which enables people to obtain full use of a credit card without psychically having possession of the card.

Now wouldn't it be USEFUL to have that warning from DACO printed DIRECTLY on the back of EVERY credit card -ENGLISH/SPANISH- so when a SCAMMER calls you by telephone pretending to be from VISA, MASTERCARD, DISCOVER or AMEX and asks for the 3-digit code you first see the WARNING and hang up on them?

Seems simple to me. Why can't Puerto Rico LEAD THE WAY?

There are MANY warnings that MANY of us need to hear on a regular basis. We rarely hear these IMPORTANT warnings from people in the media or the people in power we elect.

I am still waiting for the next GREAT GOVERNOR of Puerto Rico and the next GREAT PRESIDENT of the United States to give the same WARNINGS to everyone, especially everyone's children as they would their own. Rather than it being politically risky to interfere in people's lives with advice, strategies, WARNINGS, it would go A LONG WAY insuring them their place in history as actually being GREAT.

Remember, NOT everyone in every family grows up receiving the proper warnings. That's our ROOT problem.

There is a sign of things to come, happily, as this morning I read the El Nuevo Día article entitled "Fomentado desde La Fortaleza el gusto por la lectura," in which our new governor stressed to parents in Puerto Rico the IMPORTANCE of READING.

This is definitely a GREAT start. Now we just need President Bush to begin talking more about the problems that face Puerto Rico. It would be great if he had taken some time away from his Crawford vacation and attended Governor Acevedo's inauguration. You know, show a little respect to the 3.9 million people who make up one major part of the United States in EVERY way, but size. President Bush has visited all 50 States and MANY countries where there is sometimes a protest or two. Puerto Rico would be no different. The way I see it, no president can be the president of everyone unless he visits everyone where they live. While no U.S. president has visited Puerto Rico while in office in over 25 years, President Bush seems to like being the first to do certain things.

Why then, not be the first U.S. president to visit the place where the SAME soldiers who DEFEND THE UNITED STATES, DIE DEFENDING THE UNITED STATES and where the SAME families and friends grieve just like everywhere else in the United States. A LITTLE RESPECT would go A LONG, LONG WAY.

Here's just one example: The next time the SAME hurricane with the SAME name that hits Florida hits PUERTO RICO FIRST, VISIT PUERTO RICO FIRST.

After all, how can Puerto Rico be part of the UNITED States when for almost three decades presidential UNITY has stopped at the Atlantic Ocean?

Maybe there should be a warning label glued to The White House that warns against the political consequences of NEGLECT.

Well, that's all folks! Until next Friday.

Keith

For motivational speeches, conferences, media requests and other things such as eating disorders, you'll have to contact someone else. My only qualifications for writing a weekly column are based solely upon having a lot of free time, unlimited Internet access and very little else.