Car vandalism

When some charmer took a hammer (or equivalent heavy sharp object) to the glass roof panel of my car and cracked it a few years back I was mad as a mad thing.  My state of displeasure grew much greater when I was later informed that replacing the panel could cost up to £10k.  Whilst I had protected no claims insurance, previous experience of this when I claimed resulted in me retaining full no claims discount but the base premium was significantly increased.  On the basis of once bitten twice shy, I ended up trading my car in at significant cost rather than claim on the insurance.

Unsurprisingly, I take an extremely dim view of all low lifes who takes it upon themselves to deliberately damage any property not in their ownership.

Peter

I sympathise Dungassin. It's grossly offensive behaviour. I also find offensive the efforts by some here to minimise or even justify this criminal act of vandalism.

Let's hope the bastards are caught.

C'est la vie.  BMW Chesterfield are coming to collect the car next Wednesday to take it away for repairs.  Delay was caused by them taking their time replying to my insurance company!  SWMBO says I should wash the car before it goes off, buy I said 'they'll do that anyway, dear', and then ran for cover (she hates being called 'dear').  

Does vandalism of estate agents' cars count as criminal activity?

In my part of Saarf London there is a plague of these wretches; every time a shop or caff shuts, a poxy estate agent opens in its place.

Foxtons, whose reputation is extraordinarily low, even compared to other estate agents, is infamous for its fleet of Minis, often "wackily" decorated, so as to make the besuited bellends that drive them seem a bit more human, I suppose.

Anyway, I saw one of these tiresome vehicles parked in a road in my neighbourhood. Someone had spray-painted a four letter word beginning with "C"  on both the bonnet and roof of the car.

I thought it was quite funny. Wish I'd taken a pic of it.

So?

Do you condone casual vandalism?

Hopw about the simple concept that such wanton disrespect of someone else's personal property is illegal and morally reprehensible, irrespective of one's views of the object so defiled?

I personally think automobiles are the biggest waste of money out there, and I own one because I have to in order to get to work and make a living.  But that notwithstanding, if someone else chooses to spend their hard-earned dollars in that manner, we still live in a relatively (albeit dwindlingly so) free society, and they have the right to own whatever they can afford with the fruits of their labor, and not have some shite for brains mess it up, whether out of jealousy, spite, or whatever.

One's view on cars has NOTHING to do with the point of the thread.  Vandalism, as was pointed out above, is just a petty act of a small-minded person, and has no place in a "civilized" society.  It's about the right to personal property. Pure and simple.

Well, no. Vandalism is a pointless and destructive exercise, undertaken by scum. But I do think we are a bit over the top with our worship of "posessions". Worship of cars are perhaps one on the more egregious examples of our love for "stuff".

But I do hate what cars do to our society, our relationships, our world and our health.

Forum members' hatred for cars is irrelevant here. A crime was committed. None of your negativity for cars can even begin to justify what happened.

Cars can be both good and bad, like many other things. I have made many good friends though our mutual love for cars and motorsports, so I can say it has been a positive force in my life.

Motor vehicles give us the freedom to travel, the ability to have fresh food and donated organs; the flexibility to choose our own leisure activities, location and timing; the ability to work further than walking distance...

I would be very upset if anyone vandalised one of our cars, particularly as I'm a car enthusiast who sees them as more than a means of transport, so I've huge sympathy with Dungassin. But I agree with RaceTripper - the essential point here is the importance of respecting property of other people. There can be no excuse for this sort of criminal and anti-social behaviour.

MDS

I'm talking about private cars. Mechanised transport has indeed brought much to our well-being. And private cars have taken much from our souls.

I would like to know how my cars have taken from my soul. This will be interesting.

I had cars for many years. I was even an somewhat of an enthusiast. But since giving up on driving everywhere (we do have a family car now, but I rarely drive it), I have discovered a life that is much richer. I am more healtieir, wealthier, have made many wonderful firends through my recreational activities. I live more locally. I have more time to myself. I am less obessed with material posessions.

When we have cars, we have extra speed (when not stuck in traffic), but instead of trading that for extra time, we trade it for distance. We live further from our lives. We work further from home, we play further from home, our friends live further away, we live further from our extended families. We shop at malls, rather than the local village. We drive past wonderful things to see other wonderful things. We spend our time in traffic.

I commute each day past an endless line of single-occupant vehicles making the same drive into town. (This commuter queue is replicated on every arterial road in every city in the world, every workday. Next time you're in traffic, think about that.) I don't pretend to know how they are feeling as they crawl along in traffic, but I do guess that there are things they'd rather be doing. Me, I'm doing one of the things I love to do. I'm riding my bike. Same outcome, in that we all get to work in about the same time, I guess. I get there exercised, relaxed and not a little smug.

In North America alone, we kill each other at a rate of 30,000 people each year with our cars. The equivalent of 2 full passenger jets each week. Wow. And that isn't counting the mortality due to the epidemic of obesity in our "western" societies. Even if they don't die, the quality of life of the morbidly obese is hardly an tick for the private car.

I ride past a nice beach park every day. The park would be much nicer if over 50% of the available open space was not taken up by car parking. I ride thorugh Stanley Park each evening. It would be much nicer without the endless stream of cars and large carparks. Many people driving through the park appear to not even get out of their cars. They just stop in the road to take phone-photos out of their windows, before quickly rolling them back up (so as not to have to experience non-airconditioned air).

Our love affair with the car takes a big toll on the environment. Never mind the fossil fuel usage, just look at the land usage for roads and car parks. The english garden has been paved over for off-street parking. Our streetscapes are polluted by lines of parked cars.

I could go on....but that's plenty for now.

Well, yeah, cars -- like many other things -- cause their problems, but it's a bit dramatic to say they take away from the soul. I don't think so. They also have many benefits.

There are plenty of other things that also cause problems and take tolls on our society as well.

Well yes. Alternative medicine is one that springs to mind. Many people think AM is helpful, or harmless at worst; but in reality alternative medicine is overwhelmingly and tragically harmful to all but those who obscenely and fraudulently profit from it.

Personally, I think there is nothing more soul-sucking and draining on society than organized religions. I think they should either be outlawed altogether, or at least pay their share of taxes. 

And this insightful statement comes from a discussion of car vandalism? Wow, I've got to pay more attention!

We're in agreement on this one. Perhaps not "outlawed". That might be too strong, But we should insist on the strict separation of religion from the affairs of those who don't have a private sky fairy looking out for them. Yes, remove any state support, be it tax relief or otherwise. I'd support any initiative to outlaw religious indoctrination of children.

Hi Farmer.

Great to hear your legs will be carrying the weight of your petty little mind ! Peter

I am at loss to know what you think is small minded about taking the opportunity to give up private motoring.

Not small minded but a sane, un-selfish, and ecologically sound course of action, I would have thought.

Your post smacks of the not unusual bitterness of those still wedded to the financial and transportational trap that motor cars all too often are!

Farmer

I don't think he was referring to you giving up motoring as small-mindedness; rather, to how you treat and respond to others who have not, as in post #2 in this thread.

Dear Race Trpper,

I did not include the whole of the quote that Peter made [of my words, where I am a quite clear about the criminality of vandalism], and I answered the post as it was posted. I cannot be fairer than that as I am not a mind reader. You may care to read the post that I was answering [from which I quote Peter's words alone, to be found two posts above my answering post] in its entirety before speculating as to what any particular person may have intended as their meaning.

I answered the post clearly, as it was posted.

Farmer

PS: Edit: I just read my first post in this thread, and I don't see it as being anything exceptional. and merely an opinion that ought not to offend the broad minded. "Forgive and forget," is right, in the general way of things. Only obsessive materialists would be profoundly offended by it  I never very much liked materialists, so I am not so worried to find them out, and avoid them in future. Their motivations are rarely very kind to those who are less well off than themselves ...

ho ho, back on your favourite subject winky !!

and exagerating as usual.

I've spent many mornings and evenings walking in Stanley Park. Its a delight. Away from the bustle of Robson Street and Burrard Street (just realised i'm wearing a Sutton Place sweater this evening). Even down by the totem poles us tourists aren't a serious problem with our cars (I normally walk from whichever hotel i'm staying in, but I appreciate others don't). And the large carparks seem to melt into the background along with the tram terminus.

I guess even horses would be a nightmare for you Winky ! Changed human activity for sure when we learned how to use them for work and transport.

But the bike.............ah that's great. No methane, no oil, no polution, no need for roads................oh, oh, wind that back a moment. Bikes over england's green and pleasant grass land, or even the rocky outcrops of North Vancouver..........I don't think so.

For a more tranqil existence I'd return to the North Pennines. or join my daughter on a hillside overlooking the Okanagan, or .......well, anything rather than live/work in a large city and cycle to/from work each day.

Come to think of it, I do live within 50 yards of the countyside and I don't even need a bike to get there !!

Cheers

Don