All this noise about a very poorly behaved drone operator (and how it impacts us and our hobby) got me thinking about something that I face as an urban motorcycle commuter.
In the cities we have a problem with groups of folks on unregistered dirtbikes and ATVs performing stunts on public roadways, ignoring traffic controls, scaring the crap out of everyone and generally being menaces. Groups like this are what brought about that fateful day on NYC's West Side Highway where a panicked SUV driver ended up in a conflict with the "stuntas" and ran one over, causing some very serious and life-changing injuries.
These idiots' antics cause the city's law enforcement to pay a lot of undue attention to we law-abiding (er, mostly, LOL) motorcycle riders, mostly to create an appearance of "doing something", all while the real menaces get a pass because of no-chase departmental policies.
And we law-abiding riders wind up getting quite a bit of "brother's keeper" type of noise from the citizenry.
Well pardon me but those "stunta" idiots ain't my brethren. Two wheels doesn't make me their keeper any more than two legs makes me anyone's keeper. And if any of you think for even a tenth of a second that I could talk any sense into these mental midgets, I'd really appreciate you sharing your drugs with me. Because whatever substances you're abusing are obviously much better than any drugs I've ever tried. And that's a stretch!
I say don't fall into the trap of being compelled to take responsibility for what foolish people do with their drones, and strenuously resist any attempts at getting lumped in with them.
They is not us.
YMMV.
In the cities we have a problem with groups of folks on unregistered dirtbikes and ATVs performing stunts on public roadways, ignoring traffic controls, scaring the crap out of everyone and generally being menaces. Groups like this are what brought about that fateful day on NYC's West Side Highway where a panicked SUV driver ended up in a conflict with the "stuntas" and ran one over, causing some very serious and life-changing injuries.
These idiots' antics cause the city's law enforcement to pay a lot of undue attention to we law-abiding (er, mostly, LOL) motorcycle riders, mostly to create an appearance of "doing something", all while the real menaces get a pass because of no-chase departmental policies.
And we law-abiding riders wind up getting quite a bit of "brother's keeper" type of noise from the citizenry.
Well pardon me but those "stunta" idiots ain't my brethren. Two wheels doesn't make me their keeper any more than two legs makes me anyone's keeper. And if any of you think for even a tenth of a second that I could talk any sense into these mental midgets, I'd really appreciate you sharing your drugs with me. Because whatever substances you're abusing are obviously much better than any drugs I've ever tried. And that's a stretch!
I say don't fall into the trap of being compelled to take responsibility for what foolish people do with their drones, and strenuously resist any attempts at getting lumped in with them.
They is not us.
YMMV.
Last edited:
