^ THIS.
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yep. nicely stated.chris fuller wrote: ↑Nov 09, 2021What's wearing me down is the thousand micro aggression's of a**holes actively engaged in automobile ass-holery. Apart from the general rise in risky, aggressive maneuvering, I'm hearing shiat cars with “performance” exhausts allover and high end sports vehicles racing all over at 2am. Driving into rural areas of the at night means passing tons of lifted pickups that have their high beams on at all times. It doesn’t feel rash, it feels tribal.
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^ ^^ ^^^ Yes. x( I like cars. My first car was a '67 Mustang. My present car is a 1990 Miata. I've driven trucks, busses, vans . . . but this is ridiculous. I don't want to like cars anymore it's gotten so bad. I kinda can't help it, but it's gotten deeply embarrassing. For crying out loud, I understand the adrenaline rush you get when you push your vehicle. But we've got to remember that there's a time and a place. And we absolutely need to reflect on the fact that we are killing and injuring innocent people and that's not an acceptable price for a hobby or even a political statement.
Chris Fuller said it's tribalism. I don't know that I'd thought of this before, but I think he's spot on there. People don't see it as over the top because they don't think it's a hobby, or even a political statement. They see it as a revolution. When you're young and angry, whether you're in a decaying city neighborhood or an abandoned small town, the people you want to stick it to look about the same. (And I don't mean white so much as prosperous and safely bland.) The root cause of the gun trouble and bad driving is, in the end, probably about the same.
Chris Fuller said it's tribalism. I don't know that I'd thought of this before, but I think he's spot on there. People don't see it as over the top because they don't think it's a hobby, or even a political statement. They see it as a revolution. When you're young and angry, whether you're in a decaying city neighborhood or an abandoned small town, the people you want to stick it to look about the same. (And I don't mean white so much as prosperous and safely bland.) The root cause of the gun trouble and bad driving is, in the end, probably about the same.
I feel a little hypocritical criticizing the loud car trend, because when I was young, all of us "cool kids" had loud mufflers on our cars (Thrush, of course). We didn't go blasting through stop signs and red lights, though.
Fast and dangerous driving is cool, don't cha know. Look at every car commercial. Well, almost all. Dodge Caravans may be excluded. All you see is crazy fast driving. Add in video games which also glorify speed and crazy maneuvers and you have the set up for why this is happening. Seriously. I challenge all to watch the next 10 car commercials. Count how many laws are broken within a 30 second time frame.
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^Hey now, leave the video games out of this. I thought we settled that silliness with the gun problem? Lots of places love violent video games with absurd driving and ultra-violence. Most of those places don't have a rash of homicidal violence IRL, as they say. Just us. We're special. Or . . . at least we look more like a "third world" country than a developed one. Honestly, that's true in several ways anymore. (A number that keeps growing.)
StlToday - Police identify man killed in motorcycle accident on Interstate 55
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/cri ... cc6d6.html
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/cri ... cc6d6.html
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like SP said, repeated studies have found zero correlation between video games and violent behavior. it's just not a thing. sorry. same for television and movies, i suspect.STLinCHI wrote: ↑Nov 09, 2021Fast and dangerous driving is cool, don't cha know. Look at every car commercial. Well, almost all. Dodge Caravans may be excluded. All you see is crazy fast driving. Add in video games which also glorify speed and crazy maneuvers and you have the set up for why this is happening. Seriously. I challenge all to watch the next 10 car commercials. Count how many laws are broken within a 30 second time frame.
i also seriously doubt that car commercials—asinine as they may be—are contributing in any significant way to the lawlessness we're seeing on the roads. i think it's more in line with what chris said earlier: anger, tribalism, misplaced rebelliousness, etc.
"I think it's more in line with what chris said earlier: anger, tribalism, misplaced rebelliousness, etc."
Absolutely.
Let's be honest; the US is in (likely terminal) decline, and these (increased crime, random acts of senseless vehicular violence) are the first-order symptoms of it. See the former Soviet Union after the fall of communism for a strikingly prescient example.
I assume that most of us commenting on these boards are similarly situated professionals, and as such are semi-insulated from the institutional corruption and rot that permeated every sector and level of society. Especially those who live in the more remote suburbs. But the plebs are exposed to it directly every day; the poorer, more precarious a life you live, the more direct its effects. IF there's no accountability for those at the top, less capacity for the state to police those at the bottom, and the economic and social rewards for being an upstanding citizen are declining (along with your life expectancy), then why bother obeying something as seemingly trivial as traffic laws?!?
Note, this isn't a partisan statement, nor even necessarily political. Both parties in government and the private ruling class outside of government are complicit. Nor is decline inexorable; there are public policies that could help change course. Hell, maybe the BIF and/or the BBB (should it ever pass) are among them. I doubt it but will remain hopeful until evidence suggests otherwise. In the meantime, expect conditions on the ground to continue deteriorating, at varying rates depending on your locale, and plan accordingly.
Absolutely.
Let's be honest; the US is in (likely terminal) decline, and these (increased crime, random acts of senseless vehicular violence) are the first-order symptoms of it. See the former Soviet Union after the fall of communism for a strikingly prescient example.
I assume that most of us commenting on these boards are similarly situated professionals, and as such are semi-insulated from the institutional corruption and rot that permeated every sector and level of society. Especially those who live in the more remote suburbs. But the plebs are exposed to it directly every day; the poorer, more precarious a life you live, the more direct its effects. IF there's no accountability for those at the top, less capacity for the state to police those at the bottom, and the economic and social rewards for being an upstanding citizen are declining (along with your life expectancy), then why bother obeying something as seemingly trivial as traffic laws?!?
Note, this isn't a partisan statement, nor even necessarily political. Both parties in government and the private ruling class outside of government are complicit. Nor is decline inexorable; there are public policies that could help change course. Hell, maybe the BIF and/or the BBB (should it ever pass) are among them. I doubt it but will remain hopeful until evidence suggests otherwise. In the meantime, expect conditions on the ground to continue deteriorating, at varying rates depending on your locale, and plan accordingly.
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^ but not necessarily untrue.
should add that much of the anger and tribalism is stoked and reinforced on underregulated social media platforms.
should add that much of the anger and tribalism is stoked and reinforced on underregulated social media platforms.
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^^ Pretty accurate though. We're just living in the last few decades of pseudo-democracy in this country before it collapses and implodes upon itself like a star.
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“A civilization flourishes when people plant trees under whose shade they will never sit.”
– Greek Proverb
– Greek Proverb
I was being deliberately vague and hyperbolic. And you need not be "anti-US" to recognize we have some serious systemic issues that seem interminable, appear to be escalating and, in at least one case, are global in nature.flipz wrote: ↑Nov 11, 2021You guys are reading too much anti US propaganda. Terminal decline. wow
I'm old enough to have learned predicting the future of most any macro system with any amount of real success is extremely difficult, yet I find it hard to argue with a lot of the statements above.
I'll tell ya tho, you know what scares me? China. They have got their sh*t together. and seem like ruthless tacticians
I think somebody said it here regarding a different topic, but the ability for a government like that to make sweeping changes in any sector without putting up with all the political arguing and bureaucracy to accomplish a huge goal so quickly and efficiently. That's a tough one to compete with.
I'll tell ya tho, you know what scares me? China. They have got their sh*t together. and seem like ruthless tacticians
I think somebody said it here regarding a different topic, but the ability for a government like that to make sweeping changes in any sector without putting up with all the political arguing and bureaucracy to accomplish a huge goal so quickly and efficiently. That's a tough one to compete with.
Stltoday - Pedestrian killed in hit-and-run crash in north St. Louis County
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/cri ... 5fa98.html
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/cri ... 5fa98.html
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Guy driving car coming out of Smoothie King at Tucker and pine garage going the wrong way on one way Pine St hit me square on. I saw it coming so I was able to put my shoulder down and bounce of the car. I called 911, automated message didn’t help much.
That's awful, and it's awful that there seems to be so little impetus to do anything about the dangers presented by our high percentage of terrible drivers. All these stories about pedestrian deaths seem to be met with shoulder shrugs by anyone who matters.
Pine should become two-way west of Tucker. Ever since the interstate ramps closed, it's a de facto two-way street. Every day I see people going the wrong way.
Pine should become two-way west of Tucker. Ever since the interstate ramps closed, it's a de facto two-way street. Every day I see people going the wrong way.
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hope you're alright. was it Matt Frederick... er, i mean, @NotVirvus?dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑Nov 12, 2021Guy driving car coming out of Smoothie King at Tucker and pine garage going the wrong way on one way Pine St hit me square on. I saw it coming so I was able to put my shoulder down and bounce of the car. I called 911, automated message didn’t help much.
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I’m fine, split second that I had to think I’m like ***** this is going to hurt so I tried to jump/lean in with upper body on the hood on impact to avoid getting legs hit. Fortunately I never went down. Trying to see if any of the Park Pacific cameras caught it
Glad you're ok. were you crossing the street or were you hit on the sidewalk?
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Pine is one way going west, so before I started to cross towards the garage I saw the car and I expected him to make a right and go to correct way (black line) he turned left into me (green line)
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Glad you saw it and you were able to react. Be well, DB. Yikes! And they just drove off? I sincerely hope you can find the driver.