Like most sane people, I don’t mind a bit of ‘Hummer-bashing’, but this (from the Washington Post) might be taking things a bit far:
On a narrow, leafy street in Northwest Washington, where Prius hybrid cars and Volvos are the norm, one man bought a flashy gray Hummer that was too massive to fit in his garage.
Tip for those with a taste for excessively large military vehicles: check the height and width of the garage door before you buy.
So he parked the seven-foot-tall behemoth on the street in front of his house and smiled politely when his eco-friendly neighbors looked on in disapproval at his “dream car.”
You can see what’s coming here…
It lasted five days on the street before two masked men took a bat to every window, a knife to each 38-inch tire and scratched into the body: “FOR THE ENVIRON.”
Now I can’t say that I’d be pleased with this sort of naughtiness happening in my street, but then I can’t say I’d be pleased with a Hummer blocking up my street either. So on balance I can’t really find it in me to be upset about that.
Incidentally, why does this minor act of vandalism rate as “news”? (And why the hell am I bothering to comment on it?)
Funny how that’s news but the guys in SA who covered up in an investigation into a hit and run murder of a cyclist, and caused a royal commission, that goes unnoticed.
Posted by Crowlie | 20 July 2007, 4:11 pmYes, a sense of proportion appears to be missing (again).
I was just thinking about this a few minutes ago: the victim is clearly pretty media-savvy. I mean, this is just a minor act of vandalism, the same as happens millions of times a day all over the world, and barely newsworthy even on a slow news day.
And would it be too cynical to note that the victim’s new marketing company is mentioned in the article? There’s no such thing as bad publicity…
Posted by Treadly and Me | 20 July 2007, 4:55 pmHeh, I hadn’t noticed that, but yeah, what a surprise.
Did you know that it was Holden who bought up all the tram tracks around LA and ripped them up so people would drive rather than taking public transport? Back in the 50′s I think it was. So now when there are all sorts of safety problems with massive 4WDs and not enough petrol to go round for useful things, they manufacture Hummers. Seems to me this is one company the planet could well do without. In the words of Douglas Adams, might they be first against the wall?
Posted by Crowlie | 21 July 2007, 2:36 pmI hadn’t heard that, but the story of the Great American Streetcar Scandal appears to have some currency, although it’s possible that the extent of General Motors’ conspiracy might be exaggerated. Still there’s plenty of interesting reading on the topic.
It’s funny how some cities that disposed of their trams now wish that they still had them.
Posted by Treadly and Me | 21 July 2007, 11:26 pm