Are we getting a bit paranoid? <kind of long>

[Jim Ochi <jochi@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi folks - just had to throw in my 2 cents.  In recent digests, we had the
story of the guy who's car got hit by a stone thrown by a second-grader,
and we had the story of the van driver in Chicago who kicked a car that
didn't stop when he tried to flag it down.  Somehow, it seems to me that we
jumped to the conclusion that somehow the car that was being driven was the
cause for this sort of hatred.  

Let's think about this a bit - in the incident with the stone-throwing
second-grader, maybe the kid was doing what all bratty kids do, being
bratty.  A manifestation of a hatred for BMWs?  Nah - you probably just
happened to be in range and were unlucky enough to be going at the right
speed to be hit.  Now, if you did like all good defensive drivers in the
city and immediately sped up to 75 mph when you saw the "school zone"
signs, the kid probably would have missed your car (for the humor impaired,
this last sentence was a joke...).  The kid also probably didn't think of
the consequences of his action - cars are big, stones are small, how can a
stone damage the car?  (Just as an aside, I cringe at the Saturn commercial
that shows the Saturn being used as the backstop for batting
practice...some dumb kid is going to see that and decide that any car can
be used in the same way, and start pitching against one of our beloved
bimmers...)

Now about the van driver.  This story (or maybe the presentation of this
incident) actually worries me - the author sees a guy standing by a van,
and immediately classifies him as a "loser", a "crack-pot", a "jerk", a
"self-appointed self-righteous freak-show of the neighborhood".  Granted,
this was written after the van driver put a sizable dent in the author's
car, so emotional hindsight probably comes into play here.  Anyway, the
story continues with the van driver trying to flag down the BMW driver, the
BMW driver ignoring the van driver, the van driver moving his car to try
and block the BMW driver, the BMW driver speeding up and getting away, but
not before the van driver kicks the BMW.  However, before we jump to the
conclusion that this was some sort of BMW-hating psychotic, maybe we should
think about the other side of the story.  Here's one try:

Van driver desperately needs assistance (he's late for an appointment and
totally lost, wife is having a baby in the back of his van, he was just
robbed by the other psycho lurking on the street, etc.), and tries to flag
down the first passing car.  Car ignores him and goes zooming by.  In
desperation, the van driver moves his van and tries again.  Car acts like
it's going to stop, then hammers the gas and almost runs him over.  Van guy
gets pissed, and out of frustration, desperation, and anger kicks the car.

Or, maybe the van guy spots something wrong with the car (something
dripping, splash shield dragging, low tire, kid stuck in air dam grill,
etc.), and tries to do something nice by warning the car driver...Or maybe
this was the first arctic silver M3 that the van guy has seen, he's hit
with that gotta-have-it blast of automotive lust, and needs to know
everything about the object of his desire so he can run out and buy one.

Now, I wasn't there.  Maybe the van driver looked like Charles Manson
(complete with a swastika carved in his forehead), had blood stains on his
clothes, had "HATE BMWS" tattooed on his knuckles, and was waving a
chainsaw in one hand and a gun in the other.  Maybe he really was a psycho,
and the author of the story narrowly escaped a horrible fate.  Like I said,
I wasn't there and didn't have to make the call.  But, if the guy needed
help, or was trying to be a good samaritan, all the car driver's behavior
did was reinforce the notion that BMW drivers are rat bastard yuppie scum
bottom-feeding jerks.

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is, while it's an unfortunate
necessity in modern American life to be cautious, let's not go overboard
into paranoia. Try to help people out - that's the best way for us to shed
that yuppie scum BMW owner image.  And, let's definitely not attribute
random acts of destruction to BMW hatred.

Jim Ochi
jochi@domain.elided

BTW - about the school kids - Whenever I spot a group of kids,  I either
fire off a burst of suppressive fire from my MP-5 or let off one of the
claymores that I have mounted on my bumper.  That way, they don't throw
rocks at my car... 

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