# Scary Pumpkin

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/scary-pumpkin/128530>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Created:** [November 10, 2018, 1:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/scary-pumpkin/128530 "2018-11-10T01:23:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![keith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/keith/32/5518_2.png) [@keith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/keith)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2018, 1:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/scary-pumpkin/128530/1 "2018-11-10T01:23:06Z")

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![45780699_1988362421221484_251407173391745024_n](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/2X/c/c8b32eb4cf6d7f7a32ed9046ddab22981882512b.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/scary-pumpkin/128530/2 "2018-11-10T02:23:27Z")

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Considering how many people’s car I can see into driving my truck with that CEL light glowing brightly, it isn’t scaring nearly enough!! 🙄

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**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2018, 2:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/scary-pumpkin/128530/3 "2018-11-10T14:18:49Z")

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> [@Mustangman](#):
>
> Considering how many people’s car I can see into driving my truck with that CEL light glowing brightly, it isn’t scaring nearly enough!!

+1  
There seems to be a fairly substantial portion of the driving public that is under the delusion that this is a normal situation. My take on it is simply _a state of denial_.

As a HS counselor, when I attempted to discuss a student’s recent arrest record with parents, more often than not, they would tell me, “Oh, EVERY kid has an arrest record by the time that he gets to high school”. 🙄  
Because I had a very good relationship with the local P.D., I received all relevant arrest reports, and–in reality–only about 2% of my counselees had a run-in with the law.

Similarly, parents whose kids had tested positive for illicit drugs would frequently say something along the lines of… _ALL of the kids are using drugs_ … despite the fact that this was very far from the truth.

I think that, for many people, rationalizing that something is “normal” is much easier than actually dealing with their problems. Of course, their problems only become magnified because of their willful ignorance, but ignoring problems when they can still be readily addressed seems to be easier for them at the outset.  
🤔

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**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2018, 2:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/scary-pumpkin/128530/4 "2018-11-10T14:25:18Z")

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Ignored problems with an automobile never go away. Ignored problems with a child _may_ go away, and that is what the parents probably hope for. More serious problems, like the ones you mention, need to be addressed. Immediately before they become too difficult to deal with.