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<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>and?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 9/28/2007 3:04:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
jeffyboz@gmail.com writes:</DIV>
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<DIV>Greetings fellow listservees,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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 ( <FONT
face=Verdana size=2>Ladri di Biciclette, <FONT face=Verdana size=2>Vittorio de
Sica, 1948</FONT></FONT>) <A
title=http://www.filmnotes.com/articles/bicycle.html
href="http://www.filmnotes.com/articles/bicycle.html">http://www.filmnotes.com/articles/bicycle.html
</A>. ( That our perps were wearing uniforms and had burglar tools
makes me suspicious--quite the organized operation for a couple of crank
heads.) </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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... </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I have no idea whatsoever how to resolve this conflict...</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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.!!!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thanks,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Jeff</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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!!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
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