Ventings of a Discontented Youth

To be honest, I don’t think there’s anyone involved with this law that has an IQ you can’t count on your fingers. The fact that some of the worst “boy racer” activity in the country takes place less than 20 minutes drive from where this law was made adds to its stupidity.

A short drive on a Thursday night would have told these politicians all they need to know. The problem is not a lack of legislation; but a severe lack of police manpower, coupled with a ridiculous loophole that allows offenders to pay their fines off at a rate of $1.00 a week if they so choose. How is that punishment? On multiple occasions, I’ve been parked at Melling Station along with hundreds of other cars which, believe it or not, being parked and all, are actually, wait for it, switched off. They are therefore, not moving, not making loud noises, or involved in illegal activity. However, the police feel the need to circle continuously and peer at everyone as though they think they’re going to find Osama bin Laden hidden under someone’s car. All the while, just accross the train tracks, the real idiots are drag racing off from the lights to their hearts content! Do they get pulled over? No! The police are too busy making up their ticket quotas by issuing fines for minor infringements such as expired rego’s and driving after 10pm. There is your problem.

It is clear that this law is nothing other than a scapegoat put in place to show New Zealand’s cardigan wearer’s that some effort is being put into stamping out fun so that they can watch Coronation Street in peace. 

I think this is definately a sign of a wider issue that’s buried deep within traditional Kiwi mentality. As a general rule, we love nothing more than jumping on the moral high-ground bandwagon and absolutely crushing something; be that a person, an interest, an idea, etc. In comparison with the rest of the world, we really are a fart in the wind but we love to walk around with our heads high, spouting about the way we punch above our weight. In actual fact, I’ve found myself questioning New Zealand’s morals more and more often as time (and expectation) progresses. I grew up with fairly traditional parents who drilled the value of common courtesies into me on a daily basis. But are those courtesies still common? When was the last time a teenager opened a door for you? Or offered to help load your groceries into your car? That sort of behavior is rare at best, but can you blame them? Their parents generation is staunchly rude and utterly commited to not giving a stuff about anyone but themselves. Children who have been brought up in a society that so values political correctness, refuses to call anyone a loser or tell them that they’re wrong, and puts money before anything else, see no reason to give respect to their elders. Why would they? Why should they? To this young generation, respect and courtesy have a price along with everything else, as their parents have shown them every time they demand their money back for some trivial matter such as their bag of chips weighing 39 grams instead of 40.

On top of that, there has been (and it’s still going on) a mass desensitising of everything that has for years been off limits to any form of joke or exploitation. Everywhere you look, you are bombarded with advertising. Girls are encouraged to be promiscuous, treat males as stupid, and act like their heads are full of dirt; and males are increasingly encouraged to treat women as objects, or rather trophy’s that can be paraded around along with a thick gold chain and a trucker cap. It seems evident that the people who place value in such areas as morals, my parents and myself included, are a dying breed. But who are the real culprits? Do you blame the sheep for its shepherd? It’s not the under-25’s of New Zealand that are running the advertising agencies, or the television stations, or the music producers, etc. It’s the same people that complain loudly about the behavior that they themselves promote. Why? Because sex, lies, and video tapes sell, and they sell well. Especially to those under-25’s who get given bucketloads of money in place of actual parenting…

So, you tell me who’s at fault. If the previous generation is willing to promote anything in order to make a buck rather than promoting what’s right or at least going about their business in a way that doesn’t promote idiocy, it’s hardly the kids fault if they want to go out in their car (which is usually funded by Parents Inc.) and scream through town like they do on Fast and Furious.

Don’t get me wrong, you still have to be an idiot to be a sheep, but an idiot has to be shown how to cause problems. They can’t figure it out on their own.

Almost on a daily basis, there are letters to the editor of the Dominion Post demanding more rights for cyclists, and accusations against motorists for harassing them.

Yesterday, I was called a wanker because I was forced to take evasive action after an idiot on a bicycle crossed 3 lanes of rush hour traffic in a 50k zone without any form of indication. Then, on the motorway (100km/h zone), near Melling turn-off I was again forced to take evasive action as the car in front of me swerved around not one, but 6 cyclists riding inside the lane. For anyone that doesn’t know, that particular area has about 150mm between the white line, and a concrete wall, on both sides. As the average car weighs around a tonne, that puts cyclists between a rock and a hard place. Who in their right mind would deliberately put themselves and others at risk like that? Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against responsible cycling but come on guys. I know you want to get fit and do your bit for the environment; and I know the committee of useless pricks a.k.a Wellington City Council just sit around collecting money instead of building you cycling lanes; BUT AT PRESENT, THERE ARE NO CYCLING LANES THAT DOES NOT JUSTIFY RIDING YOUR BIKE INSIDE A 100km/h MOTORWAY LANE WITH HUNDREDS OF HEAVY, STEEL VEHICLES IN IT. There is no room to move around you whether we’d like to or not! Either we slow down to 15km/h until you can find it in you to get off the road (which is usually not an option by the time you become visible), or we try and squeeze into a gap in the next lane enough to shoot past. It’s an accident waiting to happen. And when it does happen, all the cyclist jump up and down and blame cars! It’s inconcievable stupidity at its finest!

Today I see there is a letter suggestion it become law that all other road users give way to bicycles. I’m almost too stunned by the greatness of this idiocy to come up with a reply. Surely, a bicycle and its rider with their  maximum cumulative weight of around 150kg, small size, easy manueverability, and short stopping distance would be able to give way to other vehicles far more easily? Would they not have a greater perception of everything around them and be able to act far more quickly? Would they not consider themselves at greater risk because of their small size and therefore show the highest level of courtesy to other vehicles? Do they not think that since they use the road and seem to think they have more right to it than anyone else, that maybe they should contribute towards its maintenence? AND, DO THEY NOT THINK, SEEING AS HOW A COLLISION WITH ANY OTHER SORT OF VEHICLE WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR LOSS OF LIFE FOR THEM, THAT IT MIGHT BE AN IDEA TO OBEY THE F*CKING ROAD RULES??