Clever labor worker chastises modern tradesmen who reject safety protocol to seem cool: 'I don't care what your grandpappy used to do... I'm trying to not destroy my lungs'

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
May 15, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

Technology progresses as humanity moves forward. Buildings get taller, tools get stronger, safety equipment gets better, and construction workers get more stupid? …Wait, what happened there? While the world of construction moves forward, somehow there is a growing trend that laborers look much cooler if they don't factor their safety into the job site. Sure, many labor guys are strapping young chaps, but after a lifetime of inhaling cement dust, getting harsh chemicals on their skin, and dangling from a high-rise with no safety harness, they will be worse for wear. 

A clever laborer recently lamented over the foolishness of modern tradesmen, chastising the growing trend of seeming cool by rejecting safety. Just because your grandpa never wore gloves when handling hazardous materials doesn't mean that we have to do it that way too! We have technology! Scroll for the entire commentary between the cleverest guy on the job site and a few sympathizers who put up with bullying and peer pressure all because their coworkers think it's cool to skip out on safety. 

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  • 01
    "It's unmanly?!"
    via canva
  • 02
    What is an old trend that is still doing a lot damage and that people don't realize?
    via Soren-J
  • 03
    CossaKl95 1 day ago • More of a job specific thing, but literally any tradesman that will argue that modern PPE is unnecessary. I don't care if your grandpappy used to use a paint sprayer without a respirator, I'm trying to not destroy my lungs. Work smarter, putting yourself into an early grave to make shareholders/your boss happy is moronic.
    via CossaKl95
  • 04
    Derpimus J. 21 hr. ago One job site I went had a roofer with a fake harness so he could move freely about without being anchored. That subcontractor got into trouble when the client's inspector showed up.
    via Derpimus
  • 05
    Kink3 14 hr. ago The ol Bluetooth safety harness! 249 Reply Share ThundercatTrainer 11 hr. ago Wish I could give you an award but I'm cheap just like the contractors but I haven't heard that one in a minute and you made a grown man giggle.
    via Kink3
  • 06
    ILILILILIII 15 hr. ago Used to work for a major automaker doing equipment upgrades and we fired multiple contractors for safety violations.
    via ILILILILIII
  • 07
    mackleicht2000 13 hr. ago My uncle was an iron worker for a long time. Got complacent without wearing his harness and fell to his death. The site manager wiggled a harness on his body after he died so it wouldn't be on him for the accident.
    via mackleicht2000
  • 08
    lonepotatochip - 10 hr. ago My brothers worked in roofing and a guy they worked with that had several years of experience died because he wasn't anchored.
    via lonepotatochip
  • 09
    svoppy 18 hr. ago The worst. They sign a contract stating they will follow all safety regulations, and once you call them out for violations, they about how it's . My brother, you signed a legally binding document saying you would follow our safety policies
    via svoppy
  • 10
    nyliram87 19 hr. ago My father is having his house remodeled. It's a huge project, it started off as a leak, but then more and more things were discovered, the project grew... so it's basically a work zone and they're dealing with dust, they are drilling through marble... no masks. No protection.
    via nyliram87
  • 11
    The reasoning that these workers have is "we like to sing along to our music while we work" and wearing protection gets in the way of that. I don't actually know all the health
    via nyliram87
  • 12
    issues these people put themselves at risk for, but I cannot imagine it's good. I can barely be in that house more than a few minutes because of all the dust, these people are actively working in there for hours at a time.
    via nyliram87
  • 13
    Known AsMouse 17 hr. ago I've done a lot of pool renovations that involve taking a grinder to the tile line to smooth down the plaster and remove old mortar. Within a few minutes, you're absolutely covered with the dust. I remember
    via Known AsMouse
  • 14
    seeing the plaster guys doing it with either no mask or one of the cheap paper masks. I've never done it without a full face respirator, crazy what people won't do.
    via Known AsMouse
  • 15
    Masarkie 1 hr. ago I was just having this conversation with my dad yesterday about a guy he grew up with. I believe he said he worked as some kind of mechanic, but either way he was working with a ton of chemicals and refused to wear a mask. All that
    via Masarkie
  • 16
    damage finally caught up to him later in life and his entire nervous system was destroyed in a couple of months. He's in a wheelchair now and needs 24 hour care because he can't use his hands anymore.
    via Masarkie
  • 17
    xinorez1 10 hr. ago What the is wrong with these people? It's not simply that they can't comprehend the danger, they are wilfully acting against their own self preservation.
    via xinorez1
  • 18
    Jukajobs 17 hr. ago A lot of people don't seem to understand how statistics related to risks (and probably just in general) work. "Well, my dad grew up doing this thing and he ended up fine", okay, and? Certain kinds of contact with certain dangerous substances don't
    via Jukajobs
  • 19
    typically kill or obviously harm every single person who ever experienced it. Also, things build up over time, the connection between a substance/behavior/whatever and disease/death isn't always obvious. I see so much of that when it comes to lead, it's ridiculous.
    via Jukajobs
  • 20
    philter451 15 hr. ago I blew my bosses mind once when asked to do a super dangerous thing when I just said "no I am not doing that." He wanted me to reach over the ledge of a building to grab a radio without any safety equipment on. "The other guys I've asked before have done it!" "Cool give em a call I'm not doing that."
    via philter451
  • 21
    13 Direwolf13 - 14 hr. ago I work in surface mining with graphite. Some of the older guys make fun of the newer ones for wearing their respirators, gloves, or even safety glasses. Stuff like how it's unmanly and somehow makes them a lesser person
    via 13Direwolf13
  • 22
    or weak. As they cough out the dust and have permanent "graphite tattoos" on their arms or pulled muscles every year. Usually, we all respond in the same way "I want to be able to move and breathe when I'm 50, Tom. I'll wear my mask, thanks"
    via 13Direwolf13
  • 23
    Aetra 11 hr. ago I don't get this mentality. My husband and I are both sheet metal workers and we'd rather hit retirement age and still be able to enjoy our life unlike the guys who are retiring now and can barely stand, see, or breathe.
    via Aetra

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