# Fuck You Mike **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 28, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108 "2003-08-28T00:59:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/1 "2003-08-28T00:59:53Z")
So today I got my second NYC parking ticket this month. I was parked in a 100% legal spot, but some asshole decided to write me up anyway. The first ticket was slightly more legitimate but basically unjustified. Sorry to sound paranoid, but the cars next to mine (which were parked just as legally or illegally) had NY plates and were untouched. My car has 'Jersey plates. GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (Oh, and please don’t tell me to sue the city or alert the media. Because let’s face reality: The best thing to do is to suck it up and pay.) That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/2 "2003-08-28T01:08:14Z")
Looks like they targeted exactly the right person: a NJ driver who would be less likely to contest. Thank you for your money, proud New Jersian. We need it pretty desperately, you see. ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/3 "2003-08-28T01:18:07Z")
If it’s any consolation, I got a $100 ticket for double parking during alternate side hours near work. Not a single other car that was double-parked on the block got a ticket - only I did. You better believe that I contested that puppy! So what happened? The Administrative Law Judge hearing my case told me it was just too damn bad, I owed the hundred bucks. And I’ve got NY plates. Sometimes, you just can’t win. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![NBIT33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NBIT33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NBIT33)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/4 "2003-08-28T01:20:47Z")
Yes, the “everyone else got away with it” defense rarely succeeds. ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/5 "2003-08-28T01:21:40Z")
Damn the man! ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/6 "2003-08-28T01:24:21Z")
If it was “a 100% legal spot” what was the justification for the ticket? ---
**Author:** ![county](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@county](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/county)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/7 "2003-08-28T01:28:45Z")
I’d say that’s a pretty good argument for using public transportation. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/8 "2003-08-28T01:33:33Z")
Uh … who’s Mike? ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/9 "2003-08-28T01:38:04Z")
**Jack…** : WAG, but I think it’s His Honor the Mayor:D ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/10 "2003-08-28T01:42:21Z")
Oh. Okay then. My actual real name is Mike. I thought I was going to have to start kicking a little ass here. ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/11 "2003-08-28T01:53:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NBIT33 \* > \*\*Yes, the “everyone else got away with it” defense rarely succeeds. \*\* True enough, but if you’ve had the misfortune to deal with the evil that is alternate side parking you know… EVERYONE who is parked on the side of the street to be cleaned double-parks on the other side during alternate side hours (in my case, from 11 AM to 12:30 PM). The cops usually don’t bother ticketing anyone then unless they violate the (unwritten rules) by a) double-parking and leaving the car unattended before 11 AM, or b) moving their car back to the other side and leaving it unattended before 12 noon. Literally hundreds of people in the neighborhood go through this dance every day but Wednesday. In my case I really was doing was is usual and customary for the neighborhood, and was the sole recipient on that block of a ticket as a result. But hey, it was the end of the month… guess someone was going to get picked on to help meet the ticket quota for the month, and I was it. ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/12 "2003-08-28T01:55:27Z")
Damn, I meant to hit preview. Make that, “In my case I really was doing what is usual and customary…” ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/13 "2003-08-28T04:57:53Z")
Jeebus **lucwarm** , what did I do? ---
**Author:** ![Mike.V](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Mike.V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike.V)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/14 "2003-08-28T06:27:14Z")
Yeah? Well fuck you, too. ---
**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/15 "2003-08-28T10:26:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andros \* > \*\*If it was “a 100% legal spot” what was the justification for the ticket? \*\* Absolutely none - that’s the point. See, the block had a sign in the middle. On one side of the sign, it was “no parking anytime.” On the other side, it was "no parking Tuesday & Friday between 9:00 and 10:30. It was a Wednesday and I was clearly on the safe side of the sign. > [@](#): > > Looks like they targeted exactly the right person: a NJ driver who would be less likely to contest. Thank you for your money, proud New Jersian. We need it pretty desperately, you see.\*\* I know - but there are more legitimate ways to put the commuter tax back in effect. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/16 "2003-08-28T12:27:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jack Batty \* > \*\*Oh. Okay then. > > My actual real name is Mike. I thought I was going to have to start kicking a little ass here. \*\* Same here. Although to be fair, I hear this a lot in real life. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/17 "2003-08-28T12:46:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sunfish \* > \*\*If it’s any consolation, I got a $100 ticket for double parking … \*\* “Double parking?” Isn’t that where you park in the middle of the street, blocking the person parked next to you from pulling out of his space? And you want us to sympathize with you? :wally ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/18 "2003-08-28T12:47:39Z")
BTW, another Mike here who opened the thread just in case he was being Pitted. Gimme Bloomberg’s money and you can complain about me all you want. ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/19 "2003-08-28T12:57:42Z")
You’ve obviously never had to deal with alternate side parking, **dropzone,** because if you did, you would know full well that your car might be blocked in for an hour. Did you miss this part of my follow-up post: > [@](#): > > EVERYONE who is parked on the side of the street to be cleaned double-parks on the other side during alternate side hours (in my case, from 11 AM to 12:30 PM). … Literally hundreds of people in the neighborhood go through this dance every day but Wednesday. If it was absolutely vital that you move your car from the side of the street that was unaffected by street cleaning that day, then you’d be sure to park at a metered space on Broadway or something instead of on a side street. As it happens, I was double-parked just behind a “No Parking From Here to Corner” sign, so the guy who was parked between me and the curb would have had no trouble getting out. :wally to you too. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2003, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108/20 "2003-08-28T13:04:46Z")
Actually, I, myself, was a bit ambivalent when I read the title. But I figured **lucwarm** couldn’t have mixed up **Mike** and **Michel**. So, I opened it, although gingerly, and not without a sense a trepidation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-mike/198108.md?page=2)