Owning an SUV means you can do what you like

Petey2006

apparently-


By peteIRL08

Silverfish

Yeah, they got the same 'Do what you like' license as BMW and Merc drivers in a recent amnesty.


Funny thing I noticed today as well..... all these expensive cars, you'd thing indicators would come as standard, no?

Kintarō Hattori

Man that is bad, hope someone reported the c'nut.

kona

youre only realising this now.:D

it reflects the attitude of the owners, unfortunatly all get tarred with the same brush, some are kewl, the majority are, well sheep, buying a car that in no way suits their needs, just because they think it makes them look like a "celeb" or wag in the hello magazine they buy each week, they are totally removed from reality....gob****es

im laughing my ass off at them as most have those bought under finance and wont be able to pay back the money.

Clytus

Tenner it was a female driver!!:D

galwayrush

Clytus wrote: »

Tenner it was a female driver!!:D

Beat me to it.:D

niceirishfella

Clytus wrote: »

Tenner it was a female driver!!:D

+1

but to balance this........if it was a bloke too, shame on him.:p

anyways, dreadful parking. I was in Dundrum town centre a while back and the yummy mummy's in their x5's cant reverse or park properly full stop...........like why do you want to own a car/suv that you cant judge the size of to safely drive? Its stupidity.

rubadub

Silverfish wrote: »

Funny thing I noticed today as well..... all these expensive cars, you'd thing indicators would come as standard, no?

The indicator lights do work, they just don't use them when turning or on a roundabout. They park up on cycletracks, loading bays, disabled spots etc, and then put them on flashing/hazard mode, this gives them the same diplomatic like immunity that taxis are also fully entitled to.

CuLT

SUV I saw most recently had a some sort of makeup holder thing in it, couldn't help but roll my eyes.

He or she has probably had one ding too many from other peoples cars.
Thats one way to avoid them
I think thats Dundrum SC ?

rubadub

CuLT wrote: »

SUV I saw most recently had a some sort of makeup holder thing in it, couldn't help but roll my eyes.

Thats for the off road commandos applying their war paint camouflage

Dave!

jayzus, shoulda let the air outa those tires........ gobsh*te......

jellie

ronoc wrote: »

I think thats Dundrum SC ?

looks like dundrum. & parking on saturday (if pics from today?) is usually mental anyway without someone taking up 2 spaces!

rubadub

DaveMcG wrote: »

jayzus, shoulda let the air outa those tires........ gobsh*te......

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1010-04.htm:D

SUV Drivers in Paris Get Wind Knocked Out of Them
A clandestine group lets air out of tires as a form of protest. The vehicles' owners are not amused.
by Sebastian Rotella

PARIS - If the French marauders known as The Deflated waged their brand of urban subversion in Southern California, the mecca of the sport utility vehicle, by now they would probably have been jailed, beaten, shot or at least sued.

But five weeks after the clandestine crew of environmentalists launched a low-intensity war on SUVs in Paris, there are no casualties to report. Except, of course, for dozens of deflated gas-guzzling vehicles, said Sous-Adjudant Marrant (Sub-Warrant Officer Joker), the mysterious, masked leader of Les Dégonflés.

Under cover of night, Marrant's troops target Jeep Cherokees, Porsche Cayennes and other four-wheel-drive vehicles parked on the tree-lined avenues and cobblestoned lanes of wealthy neighborhoods. The eco-guerrillas deflate tires without damaging them, smear doors with mud and paste handbills on windshields proclaiming that the vehicles are dangerous, polluting behemoths that do not belong in the city.

"We use the mud to say that if the owners will not take the four-wheel-drives to the countryside, we will bring the countryside to the four-wheel-drives," said Marrant, 28, who uses an alias because angry drivers deluge his website, http://degonfle.blogg.org with e-mails threatening mayhem and questioning his manhood.

Although his nom de guerre was inspired by Subcommander Marcos, the masked Mexican guerrilla revered by leftists, Marrant insists he is not violent or even particularly serious. "Deflated" is a self-deprecating name that also means "coward" in French. The group wants to send a mischievous message while avoiding damage to the vehicles, injury and prosecution, the thin, mop-haired activist said during an interview in a corner cafe on the Seine's left bank, longtime turf of radicals and revolutionaries.

"We emphasize the comic, the burlesque side," Marrant said with the earnest, wide-eyed look of a prankster trying to keep a straight face. "It would be hard to take us to court. We don't slash tires, we deflate them. Air doesn't cost anything. As for getting cars dirty, that's nothing. I would plead guilty to that. Our rules are to never run from the police. And always run from the owners."

The rise of anti-SUV activism in France shows that one man's vandal can be another man's avenger. The deflators are on the fringe of a movement that has considerable support at City Hall, which is governed by an alliance of the Socialist and Green parties.

Christophe Delabre, the president of a French association of SUV owners, has appeared in a television debate with Marrant, who wore sunglasses, a baseball cap and a bandanna to conceal his identity. Delabre does not find his adversary amusing.

"It's comparable to extremism, to discrimination, to inciting hate," Delabre said. "You can't stigmatize a category of the population with impunity under the pretext that they drive a kind of vehicle…. [The Deflated] put others' lives in danger, and that's unacceptable. It's out of the question that this kind of action is tolerated in France. I don't understand how the police can arrest deflators and let them go a few hours later."

Although city leaders don't condone vandalism, officials have gone as far as proposing that Paris ban sport utility vehicles. Deputy Mayor Denis Baupin, who oversees transportation programs, has called the SUV "a caricature of a car."

Baupin spoke during a recent rally of about 200 activists at a Jeep dealership where the manager had agreed to shut down early for the day. The decision drew cheers from children wearing cow and buffalo masks, cyclists hoisting bikes triumphantly aloft.

"An SUV is totally useless for Paris," Baupin said in his speech, blaming the recent devastating hurricanes in the U.S. on climate change caused by pollution. "The situation is striking: The country that refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol suffered from a climatic catastrophe…. We all feel sorry for the dead in New Orleans. But now maybe the United States should start considering that their development pattern is not to be repeated worldwide and that it causes environmental problems."

In the United States, sport utility vehicles account for one of every four automobiles sold, but in France, SUVs represent only about 5% of the market. The prices are high for middle-class families, but sales jumped about 20% last year.

Overt official hostility has encouraged antisocial attacks masquerading as activism, Delabre charged.

"This reflects the impact of the statements made during the last two years by Mr. Baupin," he said. "He has told anyone listening, and the media helped him a lot, that four-wheel-drives should be banned. I criticized him because that kind of talk surprised me coming from an elected representative."

Like other historic European capitals, Paris struggles with overwhelming traffic that challenges even the smallest cars and steeliest drivers. Double-parked delivery trucks block narrow streets. Swarms of motorcyclists zoom the wrong way on congested boulevards. Parking garages, impossibly small, seem designed by sadists.

Spurred by the take-back-the-streets attitude of the Greens, City Hall is trying to discourage cars in favor of mass transit, biking and walking. In addition, the national government has imposed a new tax on high-polluting vehicles that works out to about $300 per owner, but varies depending on emission levels.

And the Deflated are stepping up their stealthy fight. Marrant is writing a children's song as an anthem for the cause. He also hopes to record a dance-mix version before Saturday, when activists plan an international wave of anti-SUV operations — by daylight, this time — in France, Britain, Canada and Australia.

"The point is to focus on consumers," he said, spewing smoke from a Gaulois cigarette into the haze shrouding the crowded cafe. "We have to get past the idea that there's always a single, identifiable villain: the president, the corporation, the chief executive. Our campaign has to be very marketing, shocking, provocative. I want to make it fashionable to be anti-4X4."

Marrant is unemployed, though he has dabbled in journalism. His brother works for a major European corporation. His group numbers about 20, he said. They come from a mix of middle- and working-class backgrounds and anti-globalization and environmental groups.

The Deflated have made contact with like-minded activists in the United States. Marrant is familiar with the U.S. television advertising campaign that equated buying an SUV with financing Islamic terrorism. But he finds it too gloomy.

He says the French public supports his group's approach. People send e-mails asking to participate or suggesting tactics, such as a special tool the activists now use for lightning-fast deflations.

"It's a kind of key that deflates a tire very fast and completely, in two seconds," he said. "A mechanic sent an e-mail telling us about it. He said, 'You can do better than you have been doing.' "

Delabre, meanwhile, fears an eventual confrontation.

"I put myself in the place of an owner of a four-wheel-drive who sees people messing up his vehicle," he said. "I worry that things will get out of control. We can't accept that in our fine democracy. People have died for the freedom we have today."

mikemac

To be fair, yes it is ignorance but it's most likely a women who doesn't feel confident to reverse it into a space. So she takes the easy option

I suppose the bright side is she isn't damaging other cars, doesn't excuse it though

KamiKazi

taken in WhiteWater in newbridge?

Petey2006

It was indeed Dundrum, and today, approx 3pm. What was most annoying was there was about 30 spaces left in the entire shopping centre. The goddamn ignorance of it. If I'd the balls, I'd have keyed the goddamn vehicle.

mikemac

Petey2006 wrote: »

If I'd the balls, I'd have keyed the goddamn vehicle.

I dare you to post that in the motors forum, :eek:
No matter how bad the parking is, that is just a line you do not cross!

By all means, get security to lash a few stickers on, I'm told they are a bitch to remove

mang87

ronoc wrote: »

Thats one way to avoid them

Its also a way to get the side of your car keyed.

Petey2006

Petey2006 wrote: »

If I'd the balls, I'd have keyed the goddamn vehicle.

Well thankfully you didn't have the balls for this cowardly act. Seeing as you thought seriously about doing it and didn't makes you a pretty worthless person.

mang87 wrote: »

Its also a way to get the side of your car keyed.

I see we have another ball-less coward

randylonghorn

Petey2006 wrote: »

The goddamn ignorance of it. If I'd the balls, I'd have keyed the goddamn vehicle.

Annoying as it is, and SUVs in general are, that's hardly the appropriate response.

CuLT wrote: »

SUV I saw most recently had a some sort of makeup holder thing in it, couldn't help but roll my eyes.

To check your eyeliner?

Petey2006

ronoc wrote: »

Well thankfully you didn't have the balls for this cowardly act. Seeing as you thought seriously about doing it and didn't makes you a pretty worthless person.



I see we have another ball-less coward

Yeah, you're a pretty heroic person yourself, raggin on someone anonymously over the net. Never fails to ammuse me.

FunkZ

The big G man should use a giant saw to cut it in half!

Petey2006

Petey2006 wrote: »

Yeah, you're a pretty heroic person yourself, raggin on someone anonymously over the net. Never fails to ammuse me.

Don't try justify what you said you passive aggressive tosser. Maybe you should get a job as a parking attendant seeing how you care about traffic laws.

Potential-Monke

Oh it's not just suv's...

passive

ronoc wrote: »

Well thankfully you didn't have the balls for this cowardly act. Seeing as you thought seriously about doing it and didn't makes you a pretty worthless person.



I see we have another ball-less coward

Meh, less consequences and harm caused than keying the owner's face, and pretty karma-ly justifiable.

Spent 10 minutes stuck turning a corner in a bus yesterday because some bitch was parked on double yellow lines. She was sitting in the car and got out to yell back at our bus driver. Then got back in. And sat. And waited, blocking up a large intersection, until her friend returned from the shop.

I question the sanity of anyone who doesn't think she deserved a brick through the windshield.

rubadub

ronoc wrote: »

Well thankfully you didn't have the balls for this cowardly act. Seeing as you thought seriously about doing it and didn't makes you a pretty worthless person

I see it more like a convenient act rather than cowardly. Should they wait around to challenge the person when they come back, is that "brave" the possibility of starting a fist fight. Keying is quick and easy.

I do not agree with the keying, but I see it as a vigilante way of imposing a fine on the person.

The word "brave" is also used all over the place now aswell. If I didn't know the meaning of brave I would have guessed it meant sick or disabled, since it is used to describe such people all the time these days.

"Parking attendants"/traffic wardens will similarly impose tickets, put labels on the cars when people are gone, are they cowards too? It makes sense to wait until people are gone.

randylonghorn

passive wrote: »

I question the sanity of anyone who doesn't think she deserved a brick through the windshield.

Well, question mine then, because I wouldn't agree with the brick approach.

I would, however, have taken out my mobile and called the guards, and included her reg. number in the report. I would also have encouraged the others on the bus to do likeways. If they had received enough calls, they would have got someone round there in a hurry, if only to stop people calling them.

rubadub

rubadub wrote: »

I see it more like a convenient act rather than cowardly. Should they wait around to challenge the person when they come back, is that "brave" the possibility of starting a fist fight. Keying is quick and easy.

I do not agree with the keying, but I see it as a vigilante way of imposing a fine on the person.

The word "brave" is also used all over the place now aswell. If I didn't know the meaning of brave I would have guessed it meant sick or disabled, since it is used to describe such people all the time these days.

"Parking attendants"/traffic wardens will similarly impose tickets, put labels on the cars when people are gone, are they cowards too? It makes sense to wait until people are gone.

God you people really are something else. Go ahead keep trying to justify it to yourself. Wait until you get your car keyed for no reason some day. Enjoy the big bill:):):)

Grid.

niceirishfella wrote: »

I was in Dundrum town centre a while back and the yummy mummy's in their x5's cant reverse or park properly full stop...........like why do you want to own a car/suv that you cant judge the size of to safely drive? Its stupidity.

Dead right , it amaze's me that women get into these vehicles without the skills to even drive them!!!! I don't care who your husband is!! Thats just plain wrong!!! Why are the insurance companies lettin them away with it!!:mad:

passive

randylonghorn wrote: »

Well, question mine then, because I wouldn't agree with the brick approach.

I would, however, have taken out my mobile and called the guards, and included her reg. number in the report. I would also have encouraged the others on the bus to do likeways. If they had received enough calls, they would have got someone round there in a hurry, if only to stop people calling them.

Living in France at the minute... Not so big on the phone calls or engaging strangers in conversation thing, due to language difficulties . But consider your sanity questioned in any case... I don't personally want to throw one and hurt her, as such, I just think it would be a good thing for the universe "en general" (see what I did there?) if a brick were to arrive, at considerable velocity, upon her windshield, and the windshields/property of similarly inconsiderate, "ignorant" (in the Irish sense) people.

passive

ronoc wrote: »

God you people really are something else. Go ahead keep trying to justify it to yourself. Wait until you get your car keyed for no reason some day. Enjoy the big bill:):):)

And here is where our paths diverge and our argument stems, though we are all at heart rational and like-minded folk. You may have had your car keyed for no reason. That is wrong and something you don't deserve. The person who did it to you deserves great misfortune to happen to them. Great, bricky, misfortune.

People parking inconsiderately/dangerously in tanks veer a little further away from no reason... But I don't think this person should have had their car keyed if there were plenty of other spaces around... If, however, you urgently needed to park somewhere, everything was full and something like this was taking 2 or 3 spaces; There is a strong case for keying/otherwise inflicting a punishment on the random asshole (who is like whoever keyed your presumably innocent car).

passive

passive wrote: »

Living in France at the minute... Not so big on the phone calls or engaging strangers in conversation thing, due to language difficulties . But consider your sanity questioned in any case...

Passive aggressive tendencies and violent thoughts, perhaps you should be questioning your sanity...

muckwarrior

ronoc wrote: »

God you people really are something else. Go ahead keep trying to justify it to yourself. Wait until you get your car keyed for no reason some day. Enjoy the big bill:):):)

Is what you're saying not like comparing someone coming up and punching you in the face for no reason and someone coming up and punching you in the face after you told them their girlfriend was a filthy whore?

muckwarrior

muckwarrior wrote: »

Is what you're saying not like comparing someone coming up and punching you in the face for no reason and someone coming up and punching you in the face after you told them their girlfriend was a filthy whore?

Do you often try to make a coherent point by comparing two things that have nothing to do with what is being talked about?

passive

ronoc wrote: »

Passive aggressive tendencies and violent thoughts, perhaps you should be questioning your sanity...

I'm not the one with flash-rape in my sig .
And, incidentally, I do... But that isn't the issue at hand!

edit...

ronoc wrote:

Do you often try to make a coherent point by comparing two things that have nothing to do with what is being talked about?

I think you need to reread my last post, then reread his, then think about it a bit. You may see the comparison only if you allow yourself to... Punched for no reason = Puncher is an asshole. Punched for "girlfriend whore" incident = You're an asshole and got punched. Keyed for no reason = "Keyer" is a ****. Keyed for parking humm-vee in middle of road/handicapped space/on a puppy = driver is an asshole, keyer's probably dodgy enough too, if we wanna be honest about it.

Following?

muckwarrior

ronoc wrote: »

Do you often try to make a coherent point by comparing two things that have nothing to do with what is being talked about?

Yes. It's called an analogy.

passive

passive wrote: »

I'm not the one with flash-rape in my sig .
And, incidentally, I do... But that isn't the issue at hand!

edit...


I think you need to reread my last post, then reread his, then think about it a bit. You may see the comparison only if you allow yourself to... Punch no reason = he's an asshole. Punch girlfriend whore = you're an asshole and got punched. Keyed no reason = keyer is a ****. Keyed parked middle of road/handicapped space/on a puppy = driver is an asshole, keyer's probably dodgy enough too, while we're at it.

Following?

That is an interesting way of putting it to say the least.. Discarding that whole punching argument and getting back to keying someones car.

You may think its an appropriate punishment but society as a whole does not. If you choose to key someone's car you are in my mind scum.

Petey2006

ronoc wrote: »

Don't try justify what you said you passive aggressive tosser. Maybe you should get a job as a parking attendant seeing how you care about traffic laws.

My my, we are an angry little man, aren't we? Harboring some deep rooted resentment over someone keying your car in the past? Either way, the comment about keying the car was just that. A comment. Stop getting your knickers in such a twist.

And I'm perfectly happy in my job as it is, thanks.

rubadub

ronoc wrote: »

God you people really are something else. Go ahead keep trying to justify it to yourself. Wait until you get your car keyed for no reason some day. Enjoy the big bill:):):)

I already said I do not agree with it! I was simply explaining the mentality behind such an act, and questioning your declaration that it is a cowardly act. Would calling the gardai anonymously in this situation be brave or cowardly?

It is a convenient act to do, more convenient than calling the gardai, who might not turn up in time. Some people will become vigilantes for many reasons, not wanting to waste garai resources would be one. Doesn't mean it is right, or that I agree with it.

I am simply stating why people would do such a thing, in case anybody else couldn't understand why. You said "Wait until you get your car keyed for no reason", in which case it is just pure vanalism, not a form of vigilantism. I cannot understand the mentality of vandals.

passive

ronoc wrote: »

That is an interesting way of putting it to say the least.. Discarding that whole punching argument and getting back to keying someones car.

You may think its an appropriate punishment but society as a whole does not. If you choose to key someone's car you are in my mind scum.

Well... okay. The disapproval of other good people and the labelling of me as scum would be the reason I personally wouldn't key someone's car, moreso than the legal side of things. To me the "someone" in your sentence is the key issue and affects the judgement one should make about the act, with the above facetious examples being what I mean about the someone.

The most extreme act of passive agressive vigilantism I've ever performed in reality was to leave a note beside a guy sleeping on a bus telling him that his blaring heavy metal could be heard about 12 seats back, was pissing off everyone on the bus and that I couldn't possibly imagine how the **** he was sleeping through it. The advice of the note was that if he wasn't a complete dickhead then he should be aware of how inconsiderate that is, and if he was and did so knowingly, then I, and many other random people, wish harm upon him.

Clocked myself in the face with the metal bar as I escaped heroically down the stairs afterwards... That probably has significance.

Petey2006

Petey2006 wrote: »

My my, we are an angry little man, aren't we? Harboring some deep rooted resentment over someone keying your car in the past? Either way, the comment about keying the car was just that. A comment. Stop getting your knickers in such a twist.

And I'm perfectly happy in my job as it is, thanks.

Yes I have had my car keyed in the past.

What do you do if they are parked on double yellows? Break their back windows? Rip their wing mirrors off perhaps?

Wise up.

Edit: All the would be vandals seem to be back peddling. Hopefully you have all seen the error of your ways

passive

ronoc wrote: »

Yes I have had my car keyed in the past.

What do you do if they are parked on double yellows? Break their back windows? Rip their wing mirrors off perhaps?

Wise up.

Depends on if they're doing no harm, and just happen to be upon some lines that're yellow, or if there's an ambulance trying to get around a corner that can't pass... An ambulance on its way to save a cute little orphan.

http://drx.typepad.com/psychotherapyblog/images/2007/03/13/orphan.jpg

In that case, I'd gladly use my indignant good citizen strength to toss their car into the sun... Wouldn't you?

Petey2006

The most fun thing to do is find cars that have paid for parking and overstayed their alotted time. What I do then is kick off their wing mirrors and take a dump on their windscreens.

rubadub

ronoc wrote: »

Yes I have had my car keyed in the past.

Do you think it was an act of vandalism or vigilantism.

ronoc wrote: »

Edit: All the would be vandals seem to be back peddling. Hopefully you have all seen the error of your ways

I would describe them as would be vigilantes. A vandal perfoms wanton destruction, with no reasoning behind it. A vigilante is issuing their own justice, and hope it works as a deterrent to committing crimes, just like how the real law works.

ronoc wrote: »

What do you do if they are parked on double yellows? Break their back windows? Rip their wing mirrors off perhaps?

Legally they should contact gardai, they will be fined and give them a monetary punishment in that manner. Rather than monetary punishment in the form of repair. Some "victims" might be financially better off with the vigilante approach, and could be just as unlikely to commit the "crime" again.

I wouldn't like to see my car keyed for no reasons, nor would I like to receive a fine for no reason.

Petey2006

Petey2006 wrote: »

The most fun thing to do is find cars that have paid for parking and overstayed their alotted time. What I do then is kick off their wing mirrors and take a dump on their windscreens.

But only the vehicles which are ostentatious shows of wealth. Because deep down that's what this SUV thing is really about right?
I doubt a battered volvo would have provoked the responses the BMW X5 did.

passive

ronoc wrote: »

Edit: All the would be vandals seem to be back peddling. Hopefully you have all seen the error of your ways

Well, no... Everyone's spent the last few minutes trying to explain to you the difference between "no reason" and "with reason." And a quick glance back over the thread finds me nobody who said "I would personally key cars that annoy me" who has now in any way backtracked. We've both explained our positions rationally, there are merits to both sides. Nobody back peddled and your personal problem over what happened to your car is the huge driving force behind your inability to see why some people, other people who do bad things might deserve misfortune inflicted by a random passer by, when they would go otherwise unpunished by inefficient legal processes.

Petey2006

Wouldn't have mattered if it was an SUV, Skoda, tractor or motorbike. I'd have posted anyway. That it was an SUV just made it more nuts since they have such a bad reputation as it is.

rubadub

rubadub wrote: »

Do you think it was an act of vandalism or vigilantism.

It was vandalism regardless of the circumstances.

rubadub wrote: »

Legally they should contact gardai, they will be fined and give them a monetary punishment in that manner. Rather than monetary punishment in the form of repair. Some "victims" might be financially better off with the vigilante approach, and could be just as unlikely to commit the "crime" again.

You are arguing on one hand its a punishment then on the other it somehow benefits the driver. Which is it?
Some of these justifications really are stretching it a bit.

armada104

May I interrupt this argument to point out part of ronoc's original statement...

ronoc wrote: »

Seeing as you thought seriously about doing it and didn't makes you a pretty worthless person.

Pretty worthless person? I don't think it's worth arguing with someone who can conclude something like this from a throwaway comment on an internet forum.

passive

passive wrote: »

Well, no... Everyone's spent the last few minutes trying to explain to you the difference between "no reason" and "with reason." And a quick glance back over the thread finds me nobody who said "I would personally key cars that annoy me" who has now in any way backtracked. We've both explained our positions rationally, there are merits to both sides. Nobody back peddled and your personal problem over what happened to your car is the huge driving force behind your inability to see why some people, other people who do bad things might deserve misfortune inflicted by a random passer by, when they would go otherwise unpunished by inefficient legal processes.

Lets face it, its more about revenge than punishment.

You are spitting hairs at this stage. I'll make it simple for all of you.

Do you think criminal damage is justified for minor traffic infractions?

Would you commit such an act to unilaterally punish the driver in question?