Sunday, April 8, 2012

Open Season on Pedestrians?

The subtext to the spate of shootings in Tulsa, OK, is that once again, fools with guns, driving around in cars, were targeting an easy target, unarmed pedestrians who were just out walking.

Cowards in cars have always been a huge problem in the United States. They think their driver's license is a license to kill.

Anyone out walking appears to be a target for pranksters, criminals, vigilantes, police, make-believe police, and everyone else.

The irony is that walking is supposed to be healthier and better for the environment and the economy.

When I was young, I liked to walk long distances, but I'd have to think twice about that today in the wake of all these shootings of pedestrians and the epidemic of DUI drivers.

In my town, the local police department instituted a policy of setting up roadblocks about once a month somewhere in town to try to net drunk drivers and other yahoos. I have mixed feelings about police roadblocks. My desire for civil liberties conflicts with my desire for safe streets. On the one hand, I don't like the inconvenience and the random nature of the roadblock, where every driver is stopped and questioned. Is that not a violation of one's individual liberty?

On the other hand, I hate DUI drivers, and any illegal weapon seizure is probably a good thing, making our streets safer. To the extent that police roadblocks reduce the incidence of DUI or aggressive drivers, they may be a good thing. Certainly a police roadblock does not inconvenience the walker or bicyclist. Driving is a privilege, but many people abuse the privilege, and I think it is probably a good idea to take measures to detect and apprehend the many abusers. Overall, I don't like police roadblocks, but I can certainly understand the intentions, and the results may be worth the inconvenience. I expect that an accurate cost/benefit analysis must be performed by the local PD.

DUI drivers are perhaps worse than many other common criminals. I'm always sad to hear about someone becoming a victim on our nation's highways. The potential consequences of driving drunk just aren't worth risking, and any moral person would accept that. I am also opposed to public drinking. I think people should be sober when they get together. Sobriety leads to optimal relations with others, because it may be difficult to remain polite when inebriated. For me, inebriation is a seldom and a private activity. When I am around other people, I like to have control over my behavior and never be annoying or offensive, and sobriety is a good insurance of that.

Of course, anymore, I find that drinking any amount of alcohol just makes me feel bad. I don't know why. I think my body is not as good at processing alcohol as it was when I was twenty. At any rate, I avoid drink, although unlike former A.A.'ers, I will drink a single on occasion, and on rarer occasions two or three, and can limit myself quite easily. Drinking a single drink I think is my demonstration of willpower and a feeling of superiority over the beverage. I think out of sheer habit I still drink a single drink from time to time, even though much of the pleasure is gone. Really what pleases me most is a glass of tea and milk, followed by chocolate.

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