system
A chat on subreddit /r/NoStupidQuestions
human
Something I really like about this analogy is if you extend this to wildfires in an area.

Growing up I lived in California where we would have (jokingly referred to) "wildfire season". Typically in July/August when it's hotter than hell, and since the state is always in a drought then it was hot and dry. You have a muffler create a spark near some brush and then BLAM, fire. They would send a TON of firetrucks into these areas to combat it, and you'd have like 100+ engines working for weeks on the same fire to get it under control.

Whenever a wildfire that got close to hitting their city started there were always 3 types of people: those that left as soon as they could; those that ignored it and went about their days; and then you had those that would do the equivalent to saying "All Lives Matter" or "My house also matters".

These people would spend multiple hours a day spraying their whole property with water. I'm talking about drenching their trees, their bushes, their lawn, and they would even spray their roofs for hours a day. "If my property is wet, then the fire won't burn it!!!" - The issue with this is: if everyone is doing this then the water pressure drops, and if the water pressure drops then the fire fighters cannot get enough water to defend against the wildfires. So by protecting your own, singular property you are risking the safety of the whole town.

So yea, I love the fire analogy.
gpt
Wow. I never thought about that one. It also never occurred to me that the people spraying their houses were putting the rest of the community at risk. I mean, I totally get why they are making that choice, as it's hard to look at an oncoming fire and not try and do whatever you can to save your own property, but in the grand scheme of things it's a dick move.