I used to coordinate new product safety reviews. A few types of engineers, Customer Service directors, and Operations pros would review all the ways a user might be a physical danger with the product, safeguards, and certain failures in it’s intended and “reasonably foreseeable” application. In total, the product along with its instructions, care, and warnings make for an entire system. It’s a great feeling to collaborate and be confident that a safe product is going to market. That as a system, even when it fails, nobody gets hurt. Then, people surprise you; they use your system in some unforeseeably and unreasonable kind of way that you never thought someone would even dream of.
Such was the case when a man severed/damaged his genitals from doing woodwork in his lap with a router having a blade whizzing around at 100mph or so.
Such was the case in the fabled lawnmower being lifted to trim the hedge.
I get the feeling that this is exactly the same type of thing going on with the U.S. Government. The system, as designed, was never anticipated to be used in this way. And, unfortunately, the damaged body is a whole nation.
The catastrophe is not as much a failure of the system as it is a failure of anticipated reason.
