America’s National Parks Are Safer Under The Government Shutdown

This does sound a little bizarre it’s true, but it seems that America’s National Parks are actually safer with the government shut down than they are when it’s all running. Not quite what we’d expect, all those rangers and the like we’d think would reduce risk to people.

It is actually possible that this is true too. Could be that rangers themselves are actively dangerous although that might not be the way to bet. But it’s possible that the presence of rangers leads to people thinking they are safer and thus they take more – and overcompensate – risks. As with people wearing seatbelts driving more aggressively and so on.

Actually, what is really true here is that varied journalists want to find something to shout at Trump about and deaths in national parks during the shutdown is a good enough excuse:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Calls to close the country’s national parks are increasing amid reports that three people have died since the start of the government shutdown, reports the Washington Post. Among the dead is a 14-year-old girl who fell 700 feet down a canyon in Arizona. A man also died at Yosemite National Park on Christmas, and two days later a woman was killed by a falling tree at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Although deaths and national parks are hardly uncommon—an average of six die each week in the park system, according to a spokesman—the series of deaths does shine a spotlight on the decision by the Trump administration to keep them open even as staffing has been kept to a bare minimum, if there is any at all.[/perfectpullquote]

So, 15 fewer people than normal have died in the parks during the government shutdown but we get to shout at Trump anyway because….

Would it surprise you to hear that the journalistic corps votes overwhelmingly Democratic?