[*BCM*] This is the coolest thread I've ever been a member of

[Jeff Young]

Greetings fellow listservees,

First of, congrats Peter!! You've really got everybody talking...  For me,
when you characterize the event as a 'Property Crime,' I can immediately
identify with the perpetrator (setting aside the assault portion, anyway.)
Add to that the fact that it was not my property, makes it all the easier.
In fact, for those of you who haven't already seen it, there's a remarkable
film about this very subject: The Bicycle Thief (Ladri di Biciclette, Vittorio
de Sica, 1948) http://www.filmnotes.com/articles/bicycle.html. ( That our
perps were wearing uniforms and had burglar tools makes me suspicious--quite
the organized operation for a couple of crank heads.)

My high-mindedness, however, breaks down with traffic violations; i.e.,
something that affects me directly.  With your logic, I should take another
look at the guy driving the garbage truck, who happens to be talking on his
cell phone, and making a left turn in front of me...  I should think
about how he was raised, perhaps in a law-of-the-jungle type Southie
neighborhood, without ever having considered what it was like to be a
cyclist on the streets of Boston, never having access to higher education,
etc.

And to be honest with you, I know in my mind that you are right: I should be
be the bigger person.  After all, I am educated, I have a great job, two
beautiful daughters, great legs (thanks to biking--no offense to you scooter
malingerers) etc.  But, and I'm sure anybody who's ridden a bike in this
city for five minutes knows what I'm taking about, I feel fear, tremendous
fear, then anger, followed by rage, and finally hatred when that truck turns
towards me.  I hate that guy.  I hate everyone who's ridden before me in
this city that's braked because of a$$holes like him.  The legacy of 'bigger
people,'  who have been letting that MF get away with it for years, has
forced me to yield when it's my right to ride, free from fear...

I have no idea whatsoever how to resolve this conflict...

Regarding the criminalization of drugs--I don't think it's so much an issue
about who's the victim of this 'crime,' but its limiting influence on
industrial output.  Now, I'm absolutely not qualified to talk about this
stuff, but as one working stiff talking to another, maybe we can flesh this
out.  Think about it, you're a dandy--a trust funder who has inherited
wealth from daddy, and like your father you run a business and have friends
that are politicians.  Your political friends need money to get elected to
office, lots of money, so that puts you in a nice spot: Explicit, or
otherwise, you have a say in how policies (laws) are written.  Now, of
course, you're also proud--you don't want to be the one who wastes the
family fortune--you want to expand it!!  You're a capitalist!!  And, having
workers that are drugged-out just won't do.  But, at the same time, you
don't want them to be too frisky (starting rebellions, unions, and
crap)--thank God for t.v.  Not only does this keep folks occupied when
they're not at work, but it also gives them a reason to come back to work
tomorrow--THEY NEED MORE MONEY TO BUY CRAP THEY SAW ADVERTISED ON T.V.!!!

Thanks,

Jeff

P.S. I'm going to my first CM tonight.  So, if you notice a guy with a trek
520 touring bike, who looks like a Richie Cunningham dork--be nice, I'm a
punk on the inside!!
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