Wow... how did I miss this thread? This looks fun.
(Oh my government must protect me from everything; all my freedoms are worth it.)*-with a dash of heavy sarcasm.
Far and away, I do not agree with every law the government makes to protect me. Sometimes it's just asinine. Just because it's a law doesn't make it 'right', it only means I must abide by it. Or choose to face predefined penalties. Bitching about those penalties after I experience them is point less. I knew the consequence, and now I MUST deal with them, regardless.
I believe there is a time, place, and situation where street racing can be preformed safely and constructively. However, due to the inability of a large percentage of individuals to make an intelligent choice or decision in the matter, laws must be passed to deal with them. And prevent these idiots from killing other people. Because of the vast number of factors that affect something as unregulated as a street race, it is easier to simply ban all instances of it. As such street racing is illegal, deal with the consequences.
Also, I have zero sympathy for the so called 'innocent bystanders' that get hurt at street racing events. How intelligent do you have to be to stand next to a car driven by that stoned kid that was flipping your burgers earlier that day. He couldn’t even understand "no pickles please", just what were you expecting to happen when he got behind the wheel of this over powered 1/2 ton machine? I find it offensive that we have to make laws to protect you or him from yourselves.
The true innocent bystanders, the kind you see taken out on the side of the road at 3 a.m by some idiot who thought he had the 'right' to drive drunk, those are the ones I really feel bad for.
And yes driving is nothing more than a glorified privilege. I know from first had experience, I’ve had my license taken away for a long time due to multiple speeding infractions in my youth, (funny thing is I've never gotten a speeding ticket in the MKIII). Though I never really street raced. I would just get busted on the highway going to work. Rights are something people, governments, whatever are not allowed to take away from you. They damn well took my license. It is a privilege people, period. That little dog and pony show they have you do at the DMV is only the begging of the test, it continues until you stop driving because you’re too old. If you do too much stupid shit, you fail the test and lose your privilege that they granted you to operate a motor vehicle on their paved roads.
Also there was a time when I would have raised a BS flag on LilMissMkIII. I believed everyone street raced just once, even just stoplight to speed limit, just to see what it was like. But then I met one of my friends, and he is just like that. Has never street raced, has never put the accelerator to the floor, and only occasionally aggressively accelerates to merge on to the interstate. He doesn’t really care for cars, but owns a 2001 Mustang simply because that was the best deal when he went looking for a car. Sometimes I really have a hard time understanding his complete apathy toward the whole car culture. For him, he gets no thrill out of speeding, racing, working on his car, ect. He's completely dead to it, He wouldn't even drive if he didn't have to. Yet he dives, snowboards, sky dives, and does all manner of other adrenaline junky stuff. It baffles me, it does. But it proved to me that people like that truly do exist. So I believe LilMissMkIII can cast the first stone if she says she can.
However 3 hours of travel time one way is a stupid long way. For me something that far would be a weekend hobby only and only one weekend a month. But would I do it? Yes, to legally race I would.
Also one of the things that really bothers me is the fact that here in Washington, as in many states, any modification to a vehicle is illegal. I understand that it is a law and we have to abide by it or deal with the consequences, usually I deal with the consequences, but I have a hard time not bitching about it. I don't like making assumptions about people but LilMissMkIII acts like we have no right to modify our cars because it's illegal, fair enough it is. But the fact that we can't doesn’t seem to bother her. It seriously bothers me. Having the ability to change or alter my car is very important to me. I don't like having somebody say I'm a bad person because of it. Working on a car is really my zen moment, my meditation time. Seeing what I can do, what I can tweak with my car, is my from of constructive stress relief, I can't tell you how important it is in my life, and then to be able to take my car on a long drive, and feel the results of my creation, something that is less the factories and more mine. That is important. And it seriously disturbs me to have to deal with people that tell me I'm wrong, and create and back legislation just because my position is foreign to them, and they want to control a few idiots who can't modify their cars in a safe manner. It makes me angry. Excuse me while I go to work on my car.
And for those that didn’t catch it, I’m against street racing, It’s illegal. I don’t do it, I don’t really have the desire to these days, I’ve mellowed a great deal. But I do still remember the feeling, The fun, the excitement, the whole problem with authority moments, that youth tends to bring with it. So I understand it, but I do not agree with it.
