The annoying way in which we're "processed into passivity" these days challenges anyone responsible for preventing injuries on the job. Apathy does not make for alertness.
But this numbing process has become routine, as services we depend on become more technological and systemized.
How did you feel the last time you went to an airport, stood in security lines, kept flashing your identification, waited out delays, and then squeezed into your cramped little seat?
Or the last time you visited your doctor's office and sighed when you saw every seat already taken in the waiting room?
Maybe you called your school about an issue with your child and ended up in a series of meetings with the teacher, the guidance counselor, the school psychologist, the vice principal and the principal.
Or you called to report a problem with your internet connection or insurance bill or medical claim or parking ticket. After 20 minutes on hold, you're transferred from one robo voice to the next. You speak slowly, punch the "pound" key a dozen times, finally are promised the next available live human, then disconnected.
Doesn't exactly make you feel like getting on the phone and trying again, does it?
Or schedule another meeting with the school?
Maybe you'll drive or take the train the next time you have a short trip.
Overloaded systems - everything today from telecommunications and transportation to education, healthcare and government - have a way of doing this. Lines, delays and lack of human contact wear you down. So you turn off and tune out. Processed into passivity.
"Why bother?" "Let's not go there." "Ah, forget about it" - attitudes not exactly conducive to positive safety cultures.