Stupid People, Stupid Rules Fascinate Me

Every once in awhile in this blog thingy, I like to highlight stupid people or stupid things, or stupid people following stupid rules.

I've got a couple more. Both are about how technology makes us jump through the dumbest hoops.

In Florida, a woman named Marci Robin was buying a Fiat 500X at a West Palm Beach, Florida dealership.

As we all know, when you buy a car, you have to sign a bunch of papers, and Robin was furiously signing away as she drew closer to driving away in her Fiat.

Then she came upon a weird one, to say the least. You know that one you see on line, where you have to check a box to demonstrate that "I Am Not A Robot."

She had to check the box as she was signing the papers. Yes, the real life, Marci Robin. Who by all accounts is not a robot. Who was sitting in that West Palm Beach Florida dealership. Right across from the sales associate who was feeding her the papers to sign, says Jalopnik.

Says Robin: "The sales guy was handing me paper after paper with a brief explanation of what each one was for, and he handed me that page - with literally nothing on it - and just matter-of-factly said, 'And this one is to ensure you're not a robot.'" 

Jason Torchinsky of Jalopnik called the dealership and asked if this was all real. Yep. The dealership has to print out the papers to sign from a website, one that has the "I Am Not A Robot" reCAPTCHA security thingy to somehow prove the website visitor is not a robot.

When they print out the paperwork, the salesperson said. "It's not about us. In order to print the next one, you have to check that. So we print it out, and the customer checks that when we do."

It still sounds really strange. Torchinsky asked the salesperson if a robot came into the dealership with a Social Security number and a valid ID, would they sell that robot a car?

Yes. As the salesperson sort of explained. "You never know. They have that girl Alexa, and she can talk and make phone calls and stuff."

Meanwhile, a South Carolina teenager graduated from high school and his mom threw a party for him.  

Why not? Jacob Koscinski is a really smart kid. He graduated summa cum laude, so that means his grades were awesome. The mom, Cara Kosinski, ordered a cake from the local Publix Supermarket with the words "summa cum laude" on it.

When they got the cake back, it read, "Congrats Jacob! Summa  ---- Laude Class of 2018."

Yep, Publix censored that word, thinking of its "dirty", sexual connotation. Cara Kosinski shared a photo of the censored cake on Facebook. "I seriously couldn't make this crap up!!!!! Funny - not funny."

Jacob said he was humiliated because people were laughing at the censorship and he had to explain to  elderly relatives why other people were laughing.

When she ordered the cake, Koscinski took the time to write in the special instructions box of the online order that Summa Cum Laude was a Latin term for high academic honor and was not profane. It means "with the highest distinction," according to the Huffington Post, via the Washington Post. 

Publix explained that the online box where customers enter cake inscriptions is very temperamental.

The Washington Post said Public offered to make another cake, but Koscinski declined because Jacob only graduated once. The store refunded the $70 she spent on the cake and gave her a store gift card.

A Publix spokeswoman said the situation has been addressed, so the computer won't censor things that ought not to be censored or if it is, will be checked to make sure nothing stupid happens.

Love This Video Of People Tricked Into Giving Speech At Fake Graduation

This impromptu graduation speaker broke
into his song during his address in this
Improv Everywhere scene.  

I love a New York group called Improv Everywhere.

They prank people and put the videos up on YouTube.

I know, a lot of people do that, but unlike most of these videos, the Improv Everywhere stuff is not insulting to the people who they prank.

There's no meanness.  Which makes their videos fun instead of aggravating.

Plus, Improv Everywhere, whose motto is "We Cause Scenes" have more elaborate setups than most videos.

Their latest prank, video of which is at the bottom of this post,  involves a college graduation ceremony in Bryant Park, New York. The graduates of some college are there, ready to get their diplomas. College administrators are there.

But where's the commencement speaker? He missed his flight, so the "college dean," one of the Improv Everywhere actors, wades into the people enjoying the park on a nice day and asks them to step in and be the substitute commencement speaker.

Some people seem to know this is a joke but cooperate anyway, so why not? Others have no idea this is fake, but give really good speeches.  

Improv Everywhere created a fake college
graduation ceremony that was desperate for
a speaker. The results were tons of fun. 

One New Yawker with a thick Brooklyn accent tells the "college graduates," "You're are all going to kick ass in real life, just go for whatever you want."

Loved her.

And this delightful non sequitor from a young woman who addressed the crowd thusly. "Just last year I was standing in your seats."

One guy breaks into song. Another person gives the speech in Spanish but in reality speaks fluent English ("You tricked me, so I tricked you," she later told the Impro Everywhere people.

Here's Improv Everywhere's delightful college graduation video:

A Beard, A Graduation And Stubborness Make A Big Mess in Amite, Louisiana

Amite, Louisiana High School valedictorian was
not allowed to participate in graduation ceremony or give his
speech because he refused the principal's
demands to shave his goatee. 

Andrew Jones was the valedictorian of Amite High School in Louisiana, having earned straight A's and academic and athletic scholarships to college.

Yet, he wasn't allowed to march in his graduation or give his valedictorian speech.

Why?

Because he has a bit of a beard. More of a goatee, really.

I'm not sure how a little facial hair could possibly get in the way of academic success and a graduation ceremony, but people are weird, as we all know.

School administrators said no facial hair is allowed on students at the school. Jones, and a few others were told by the Amite High School principal just before the graduation that they could not have beards. They must shave.

Jones refused to do so. Yeah, I know, stubborn kid.

But really. His faint beard doesn't seem to be the most important issue in the world.

And the school's position was undermined because, although the no beard policy is supposedly always in effect, lots of photos show students at Amite High School all year with facial hair, as television station WVUE reports. 

There was never any enforcement of the no facial hair rule all year. Why the sudden demand for freshly shaved faces at graduation, after a full academic year of bearded male students? The Amite High School principal isn't talking.

But he did force Jones out of the graduation ceremony, so no speech, not proud moment of getting a diploma as beaming relatives watched.

Because a beard - and the high school principals' inflated sense of authority - squashed that idea.   No facial hair at this school, no siree. Facial hair is MUCH more important an issue than academics, let me tell ya.

I'm sure the principal of the high school is proud that he is leading the charge to make all men clean shaven.

Jones is black and most of the Amite High School administration is white, so people are raising the idea of racism.

It's possible. An uppity black kid in a rural Southern town being valedictorian instead of a "more deserving" white kid?  I can see how people with bigoted minds might think that way.

I really hope I'm wrong about that. We can't know for sure. I do know the NAACP is getting involved with this. 

Meanwhile, the whole thing has caused a national uproar and is a big trending topic on Facebook.

All because of a bit of stubborness from a smart kid. And a lot of juvenile pettiness from one stupid high school principal.

I hope the principal is enjoying all this sudden negative publicity.