Re: Are we getting a bit paranoid? <long>

["John Ward" <jtward@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>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.


Jim, I am the one who had a kid throw a rock at my car. I never said he
actually tried to hit my car specifically because it was a BMW... merely
that someone decided to throw a rock at it. At the time I was not sure if it
was accidental, intentional, or what. All I knew was it hit my back
passenger door, sounded loud as hell, and a school kid was responsible. The
issue has already been settled, as I posted earlier. Turns out he was
playing a "game" where he tried to throw rocks under cars as they passed by.
My car was not singled out, but merely a victim. At any rate, I'm glad to
see the school and parents were able to get to the bottom of the matter and
all parties were willing to accept responsibility. I pursued the matter for
2 reasons.

1. I didn't want this to happen to somebody else. He needed to know this was
a very serious matter. It's not safe. Cars cost a lot of money, and BMW or
not body work is big $$$. Ask how I know, I just spent $3k in March getting
my entire car repainted.

2. I didn't think it was right I should get stuck paying for the damage out
of my own pocket. While I could've paid to fix it myself, I am only a
college student so I have plenty of other things to spend my money on first
besides fixing damage that wasn't my fault.

>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...)


Like I said, just a game. Since he apologized and the damage is paid for, no
hard feelings. It's just sheet metal and it can be fixed. But imagine how
you would feel if I chucked a rock at your car? (not a good feeling, I
assure you) I hate those Saturn commercials... another that comes to mind is
that insurance commercial (Allstate?) where the kid is knocking baseballs
into a parking lot of cars.

<snip>

>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...

Haha.... try downtown Cincinnati... that's where you need to save that stuff
for. Actually it's one of the more tame cities....In the suburbs I imagine
you could get by quite nicely with a Glock 17, 30 shot clip and a laser
sight. <g> The sad thing is it's the SCHOOL KIDS who have the MP-5's these
days so your car might look like swiss cheese when you're through exiting
the school zone. Maybe that's what BMW made the 540i protection for, huh?
j/k

Regards,

John

1990 750iL
1992 325iA
BMW CCA #150800

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