I was referring to the curt generalisation of "that of someone drinking a cup of tea, safe in their tower a few 100 metres away". That's just disrespectful to the majority of highly professional and efficient ATCOs
I'm sorry that you reached an erroneous conclusion from my comment. It was not meant as a criticism of professionalism; merely a reflection of the physical risk facing each party when issuing and accepting clearances to cross runways.
I look at it a different way: When the green man flashes at the traffic lights, I still look left and right before walking across the road. To me that is common sense, even more so I were responsible for leading a group of children across the road!
Of course pilots never screw up. Oh, wait a minute, I believe the ARG A340 was instructed to cross behind the landing B767 and they even acknowledged it!
We all make mistakes, which is why using all available safety aids is essential - the Mk I eyeball is an important part of this, especially for pilots.