> Running a shop to repair something that weighs north of forty tons implies you're a fairly ethical person
Wait, so the weight of the machines someone repairs is somehow directly related to how ethical one it? Would a heavy industrial crane mechanic be even more ethical then? What about someone who works on a boat? A large cargo ship, maybe? And does it work the other way - someone who repairs cars is less ethical? And a wrist-watch repair man would have no ethics at all, I assume?
You're taking that phrase too literally. He's saying that someone in charge of operating or maintaining something as potentially deadly as a semi truck should hold themselves to higher standards of ethics, not that there's some sort of direct correlation between weight and ethics.
I'd hardly call it hyper-literalism, since he's the one not using the English language properly - that is, he failed to communicate his ideas accurately.
Wait, so the weight of the machines someone repairs is somehow directly related to how ethical one it? Would a heavy industrial crane mechanic be even more ethical then? What about someone who works on a boat? A large cargo ship, maybe? And does it work the other way - someone who repairs cars is less ethical? And a wrist-watch repair man would have no ethics at all, I assume?