Last Friday, a 13-year-old boy, Jason Lind, severely burnt himself while trying to recreate a stunt from MTV’s hit show “Jackass.” In the “Jackass” episode, host Johnny Knoxville donned a flame-resistant suit, taped beef over it and roasted himself on a barbecue, after which Knoxville smiled at the camera and joked, “Don’t try this at home.” That a kid would set himself on fire because he saw someone do it on the aptly titled “Jackass” is ridiculous, but MTV should’ve seen it coming.In 1993, a 5-year-old burnt his house down — killing his sister — allegedly because of MTV’s “Beavis and Butt-head.” The 14-year-old cartoon characters used to burn things and chant, “Fffffire! Fire!” After the 5-year-old followed “B&B’s” example, MTV deleted all references to fire from the cartoon. MTV was just 12 then, only a kid network. It’s understandable it would make a mistake, and MTV took responsibility for its actions and fixed the problems. But then last fall it created “Jackass.” God only knows what MTV executives were thinking when they greenlighted this show. The network is turning 20 this year; it should’ve known better. According to mtv.com, “For better or worse, MTV is funding a bumbling cast of idiots … to play with poo and dress in a variety of men’s undergarments. Hosted by Johnny Knoxville, Jackass features a startling array of silly pranks, ridiculous stunts and a bunch of other stupid crap.””Jackass” is part of MTV’s night of low-brow programming, “Jackass Sunday.” Other shows that night are “WWF Heat,” “Celebrity Deathmatch” and “Senseless Acts of Video.” It’s a medley of mayhem, featuring everything from professional skydiving to clay-mation gore to choreographed fights. “Jackass” itself includes such brilliant pranks as a skateboarding dwarf, sumo wrestling and a cast member swallowing and then vomiting up a live goldfish. No one could possibly enjoy this show except young boys and drunk college students. MTV warns viewers before each episode of “Jackass” that “The following show features stunts performed by professionals and/or total idiots under very strict control” and not to try to re-enact anything at home. Mtv.com says the show doesn’t take submissions from viewers; however, Knoxville got the show after sending MTV a videotape of him being tazered and sprayed with Mace. Another of “Jackass’s” easily recreateable stunts as a guy being thrown off a ledge in a shopping cart while wearing a hollowed-out pumpkin on his head. The pumpkin gets smashed about the fifth time the guy hits the pavement; after that, he’s thrown off the ledge a few dozen more times minus the pumpkin.Lind, in re-enacting the “Jackass” stunt, wore old clothes and a motorcycle helmet instead of Knoxville’s fire-proof suit. He then had a friend douse him in gasoline and drop a match. The fire grew out of control, and the kid was hospitalized last weekend with second- and third-degree burns. Lind and his friends admit they were trying to copy “Jackass.” It’s hard to fathom why anyone would choose Knoxville as a role model — during one episode he was dumped upside down inside a port-a-potty — but people are dumb. That’s why sleeping pills warn that they cause drowsiness and McDonald’s coffee warns that it’s hot. MTV understands this better than anyone; Pauly Shore, Jenny McCarthy and Jesse Camp are former employees. MTV claims “Jackass’s” target audience is 18- to 24-year-olds. The network is the most-watched cable channel for teens. MTV knows how influential it is to young people; more teens send in audition tapes for “The Real World” than apply to Harvard. “Jackass” reruns are often sandwiched between reruns of kid-friendly shows like “Say What? Karaoke” and boy-band specials. On the mtv.com “Jackass” page, a banner even specifically warns that “neither you or any of your dumb little buddies” re-enact the show’s stunts.Wednesday, MTV issued a statement saying it won’t change the format of the show. It’s one thing to make a mistake, but MTV refuses to own up to it. The network chose to do the adult thing in 1993 and changed “Beavis and Butt-head.” But now that MTV’s an adult network itself, it won’t do the responsible thing and clean up “Jackass.”Jocelyn Marcus is a junior in English from Ames. She is wire editor of the Daily.