I pit car burglars, drunk drivers, and people in general

The BBQ Pit
1

First off, I hate the amateur burglars who broke into our van and stole my briefcase. I call them amateur for a few reasons. They seemed to have trouble getting into our van because there were several cracks on the front passenger window (as if someone smacked it but couldn’t break it) and the weather stripping was torn (as if someone tried to pop the lock but couldn’t). They did succeed in breaking the sliding door window, but they must have had trouble or else used a backhoe to do it. Whatever tool (or vehicle) they used cut the headliner, sliced the paneling, punctured the airbag inside the paneling, and even damaged the seat. These guys must never have heard of a slim jim. All together they did about $5,000 damage to our van just breaking the window.

The final reason they’re amateurs . . . they got my briefcase which contained two paperback books, a spiral notebook, two umbrellas (one is broken), some bus system maps, and assorted pens and pencils. I hope they enjoy their slightly used copy of Equal Rites. (I was in the middle of it too!) Obviously there weren’t any parents in the group or else they would have realized the two booster seats and two car seats were worth at least $50 each.

Second it looks like it’s been about 6 months since we’ve had a drunk driver pitting and I’ve now had two close people killed by drunk drivers in less than 1 month so I’ll start another. (Plus I’ve never taken part in one).

I mini-ranted one just under a month ago.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15701926&postcount=330

Basically I decided you can put a value on human life, and the life of a 30-something elementary school teacher who’s involved in all those church women’s groups that bake food for homeless people and makes meals for nursing homes is worth more than the life of a 50-some drunk who has been in and out of prison for theft, burglary, drug possession and now (hopefully) vehicular manslaughter.

Third, a child at a local elementary school was killed:

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/12/06/5-year-old-boy-dies-in-crash-on-north-side.html

In short a drunk ran a red light and hit a dad taking his kids home from kindergarten, killing the 5-year-old-boy.

I was resisting pitting the guy who decided to get wasted at 1:00 in the afternoon until someone showed me another article:

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/12/08/mental-illness-a-court-issue.html

This guy has a record too. 36 charges, including assault, menacing, and escaping from jail. He even has a previous DWI, but it was dismissed because he was found not competent to stand trial. Seriously?

I can understand mental defects and dementia, I’ve seen it before. If you’re going to argue that someone shouldn’t go to jail because they can’t understand that drinking and driving isn’t a good idea, then don’t let them do one of those two things.

Or get them help. Or get them a doctor. Definitely don’t let them have access to a gun (as he did in at least one of his aggravated menacing charges).

Damn it, there are some people where you look at their life history and just kind of think “Really? Is your future going to have anything good in it?” If the number of criminal charges against you is greater than your age, shouldn’t that be a warning sign to society that we might be better of to put you away somewhere? At least until you have a few birthdays.

Sorry this was so long; it’s been a stressful few weeks.

2

I wouldn’t pit people in general. The world isn’t perfect.

3

I’ll concede that would be too broad; I didn’t even say much against “people in general.” Bad title choice. It was pretty weak on the hatred and loathing too. I need to work on my pitting skills.

4

Gedd, have a little compassion, at least he’s not one of the 47% who choose entitlements over working.

5

If you ever want to kill somebody and basically get away with it, get drunk and use your car. You’ll probably get away with a slap on the wrist. :mad:

6

I hate amateur burglars too. A few years ago someone broke into my GF’s car because there was a wrapped present in it. They really bungled the job and permanently broke the driver’s side lock. And there must have been some ander involved, because they kicked in the fender as well.

And all they got was a wok.

What were they expecting, a big box full of crack?

7

I saw that episode of Quincy… it didn’t work.

8

At least they disposed of your broken umbrella for you.

9

I was going to post that I’d seen this on a TV show way back, but couldn’t remember which one. I don’t think it was Quincy though.

10

I endorse this pitting. It should be extended to all burglars, most drivers, but I guess the people in general covers that.

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It most defintely was Quincy (though I don’t rule out other 1970s-80s cop shows using the same premise). A man decides to kill an enemy, drinks a little bit in public, runs him down, then drinks a lot more so his post “accident” blood alcohol level will suggest a routine drunk-driving tragedy.

Quincy nailed him by examing blood drained from a hematoma the killer suffered in his leg during the collision which showed a very modest blood-alcohol level, proving (well, suggesting, anyway) that his significant alcohol consumption happened afterward.

Reference

12

That’s easily enough fixed - just make sure you do all your drinking before driving.

13

True. I’d been meaning to clean my bag out. I found some random papers that had been there for over two years. I can be quite a pack rat, so this was like Clean Sweep on steroids. We’ve been trying to make light of having a rental; if anything this will make us appreciate our van more.

As for the other stuff . . . My wife watches a kid who is (was?) in kindergarten with the boy who was killed. She said it seemed like about half the parent already knew and the other half found out when they dropped off their kids in the morning and the principal was there with a councilor. 5 and 6-year-olds can have quite a variety in how they react to a death.

If you want to make stupid choices in life fine, you have that right. Pick things like hatchet juggling, alligator wrestling, or motorcycle-broom jousting with your buddy. Don’t pick things that hurt people who didn’t volunteer.

And I don’t buy this crap.

:dubious:

That includes the DWI that was dismissed because he is/wasn’t competent.

Is there a complaints department somewhere? What the hell are we supposed to do with people like this? Let him continue breaking laws and each time say, “Sorry, he’s not competent enough to know he was wrong. Don’t worry, he’ll get some help.” Maybe that’s the best way to commit a murder.

And hello, this shouldn’t be too hard: If he’s not competent enough to know you shouldn’t drink and drive, don’t let him have a driver’s license. We could come up with plenty of other things he shouldn’t be competent enough to know. Fuck you, crappy judicial system. (Maybe that should have been in the title).

14

ISTR that Monk dealt with something similar. Driver got himself hospitalized for an alibi.

15

I endorse this pitting.

But let this be a lesson learned. This is a philosophy I’ve held pretty much all my life:

If you drive a crappy car (In this context, I mean one that isn’t high end), and you ain’t got shit in your car worth stealing; LEAVE IT UNLOCKED!!

Had the OP done this, he’d only have the minor annoyance of a stolen briefcase.

I’m not admonishing the OP because I’ve had the exact same thing happen to me. My damage was’t as bad as the OP. All I had to deal with was a broken window. And the real kick in the balls was; when I went to look inside my car, NOTHING WAS STOLEN! Not my crappy radio and not even the change I had sitting in my cup holder.

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Problem is, that doesn’t always keep people from driving.

17

Wouldn’t that have an effect on contents insurance? Plus people can strip down gearboxes and stuff with greater ease.

18

Very true. The first drunk driver from a few weeks ago had a suspended license. Well now it’s gone for even longer; if that wouldn’t normaly stop him, being in jail will.

If he ends up there.