If the rules were gone tomorrow

POSTED BY: Fremdfirma
UPDATED: Thursday, July 23, 2009 06:14
VIEWED: 5649
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LEADB

Thursday, July 23, 2009 1:50 AM

The last time I called the police, there were a couple young men scuffling with a crowd of about twenty 'friends' hanging 'watching the action'. 2 police cars rolled in about 5 minutes later; with 2 more showing up about 10 minutes after. No arrests made, but everyone was 'sent home'. Average age was probably about 20.

I was fairly pleased with how it was handled, all things considered.

KWICKO

Thursday, July 23, 2009 2:00 AM

Honestly, I can't really think of what I'd do that differently. I'm not a big rules-follower by nature as it is. I'd definitely speed- as in, I'd drive at a reasonable and prudent speed for my abilities, those of my vehicle, and with respect to the prevailing weather and light conditions. On a clear day with little to no traffic and a nice, flat, clear road, I've been known to cruise for miles on end at 130mph or so. Nobody died as a result. Nobody was endangered, and I got where I was going much faster than I would have otherwise.

Would I speed *more* if there were "no rules"? I dunno. I tend to drive more by what's reasonable than by what's posted on the signs anyway, so speed limits have never really had much meaning to me. I knew they were a scam way back when Nixon proposed a 55mph national speed limit "to save fuel", which then of course became "to save the children". At night, I tend to drive UNDER the limit, because my night vision is going to shit as I age. On the highway in daylight, I tend to be looking well over a mile ahead. Some cars I'm comfortable driving at well over 100mph, and some I'm not comfortable driving over 70mph.

Mike

Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day...
Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

If it wasn't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college...

KWICKO

Thursday, July 23, 2009 2:04 AM

Quote:

Well, one could start with the automatic and completely justified assumption that anything said by Me, Kwicko, Chrisisall or SixStringJack says is just dripping with sarcasm and snark, cause we're like that, yanno...

Too bloody true, that!

If you EVER see a post by me that you think is completely serious, you've definitely misread it. I actively search for the mirth in any situation.

AGENTROUKA

Thursday, July 23, 2009 6:14 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
Quote:

The changes in systematic self-defense that people would have to make in their lives are more than minor, to account for the things we DO take advantage of now (law, law enforcement, judicial system) and that this is what people focus on is also not paranoid but normal.

I have to question this. I in no way expect the police to act as any kind of "defense" for me. At best, they're there for clean-up after the fact; at worst, they're in my way. As for "taking advantage of law enforcement", I'd call that a laughable concept to anyone who's every lived in a bad neighborhood. The one time I *did* call the cops, it was a "shots fired" call, because there was a drive-by outside my house. I told them on the phone how many shots (11, 9mm semi-auto), who they were fired at, and what I saw of the shooter. FOUR AND A HALF HOURS LATER a lone police cruiser actually drove by. Didn't bother to stop, but did slow down a bit.

Wow, did I ever feel safe knowing they were on the case...

Mike

Well, it's not handled so badly everywhere, though. That's it's own kind of problem, but for many people it DOES work. Not as self-defense, per se, though not all cases where police come in handy are pure self-defense. If there are drunk male prostitutes setting fires next to cars outside my apartment building, the police are there in five minutes. If someone attacks me, I have to option of having it investigated without charge and sentences being dole dout on them. If someone steals from me, and I have no idea where they are, police generally have the infrastructure tu track that person down. No, it doesn't deter everyone, but many.

I dd think about this before posting, and weighed how I would handle cases. In many ways it's the people around me and my own choices that protect me, but I STLL count on the current infrastructure of law and law enforcement in many ways, and removing that WOULD mean having to replace their function.

As for the speeding, when I brought that up, I was mainly thinking of the assholes who speed within city limits, in residential areas. People already do that and I can see the numbers going up.

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