[extropy-chat] Real Extropians don't drive SUVs

[J. Andrew Rogers]

On Aug 18, 2004, at 7:53 PM, Joseph S. Barrera III wrote:
> J. Andrew Rogers wrote:
>>  following the basic rules of firearm safety or didn't feel the need
>>  to learn them. If you give unfamiliar power tools to monkeys, bad
>>  things are bound to happen.
>
> Well, the problem is that someone ELSE gave these power tools to
> these monkeys, and I'm here driving to work in a Honda del Sol
> hoping some monkey doesn't plot a course over my body.


Yeah, well that's the problem: how do you distribute the damage.  
Because someone's ox is going to be gored no matter what, and it won't 
be equitable to some not insignificant group.  You don't have any more 
right to drive a Honda del Sol than someone else has a right to drive a 
Chevy Suburban.  You do have a right to file for criminal and civil 
charges no matter what they are driving, though that probably won't 
matter to you if you are dead.

The fact of the matter is that the people got what the people tacitly 
voted for.  As a general rule, you can't legislate against stupidity 
without exacting a worse toll than letting the stupidity running its 
course, in no small part because stupidity only pays attention to 
legislation part of the time.

Nope, being on a planet covered in low-functioning chimps operating 
heavy machinery is a given of the system.  Pick your armor and your 
weapons accordingly.

Heavier and pricier sedans offer some of the best protection on the 
highway, whether you get hit by a Suburban or a Prius under normal road 
conditions, but saving money won't be a consideration.  The primary 
safety argument for proper SUVs only comes into play in hazard 
conditions where the wheels no longer have controlled contact with a 
fully engineered road surface e.g. snow, gravel, or off-road, or where 
you are likely to occasionally run into or over things.  (In some parts 
of the US, there are State highways that are gravel.)

j. andrew rogers