# Lets shut down the highway, that'll solve all the problems! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 25, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577 "2018-07-25T19:24:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/121 "2018-07-27T14:13:22Z")
> [@Textual\_Innuendo](#): > > I disagree - that time has value even when you can’t directly bill for it. > > Arguably, in a lot of cases, that time may have _more_ value than your usual hourly rate. As a thought experiment, if there were a magical solution such that you could cut out an extra half-hour of sitting in miserable rush-hour traffic, by paying half your hourly rate and you are magically home, are you telling me you wouldn’t do it? I and tens of millions of others would do that in a heartbeat. Well, I make far less than MW, so sure. But, there are those who make a bit more than I do. If you make $50 an hour, would you take that deal? If so, why didn’t you just take a cab or an Uber? You’d still be in traffic, but if you are not driving, then it is sitting in a car, doing whatever work or entertainment you feel like doing, not sitting in miserable rush hour traffic. > [@](#): > > What if you would never have to wait in traffic again, but you had to take a permanent 10% pay cut? Again, I and tens of millions of others would do that in a heartbeat. This is not backed up by the fact that they could live closer to where they worked, but they would make less, or they would live in a house they less preferred. I know plenty of people who made the choice to increase their commute by half an hour or more, for much less than a 10% pay increase. > [@](#): > > The time spent waiting in traffic still has value even if you can’t bill for it. But, not enough value to live close to where you work, pay for someone else to drive, take mass transit, or agree to pay taxes to improve roads or aforementioned mass transit. But, it is valuable enough to take exception to someone bringing attention to a problem that is harming many of your fellow citizens. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/122 "2018-07-27T14:13:54Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > so equip a few cop cars with a few cowcatchers and presto - problem solved. Bull Connor: Gone, But Not Forgotten ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/123 "2018-07-27T14:19:51Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Bull Connor: Gone, But Not Forgotten Nah, he didn’t suggest sicking dogs on them or hitting them with fire hoses. Just murdering them with vehicles modified specifically for that purpose for having the audacity to exercise their first amendment rights. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/124 "2018-07-27T15:36:49Z")
Not to defend a horrid idea, but isn’t the point of a cowcatcher to _avoid_ murdering cows? ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/125 "2018-07-27T15:42:42Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Not to defend a horrid idea, but isn’t the point of a cowcatcher to _avoid_ murdering cows? I think it’s to get the cow off the tracks when it gets hit so the train doesn’t derail. I don’t see how a cow survives getting hit by a train just because the front is shaped like a wedge. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/126 "2018-07-27T15:55:52Z")
I didn’t say they couldn’t put cushions on the cowcatchers. Of course, I would like to see the part of the Constitution that says ‘Congress shall make no law interfering with the right of loonies to block the public roads’, but I am open to persuasion. Still and all, I want to be reasonable. If they have a right to stand in the road, and I have a right to drive on the road, then I don’t see how both of us can’t exercise our rights at the same time. I might even slow down when I see them. Probably. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/127 "2018-07-27T16:01:01Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Not to defend a horrid idea, but isn’t the point of a cowcatcher to _avoid_ murdering cows? Well, the _real_ way to avoid murdering cows is not to run trains into them, but we’re going to assume the trains have to run for the greater good. I’m unclear on the greater good being served by ramming police cars into protesters, regardless of how the cars are equipped. Of course, Shodan is now in full-blown “I’m only _kidding_ (not-kidding) about killing people! Can’t anybody here take a joke about which I am partly serious? Aw, c’mon, I don’t _really_ mean it, though I somewhat do. I certainly probably wouldn’t actually kill anyone, ha-ha.” ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/128 "2018-07-27T16:01:40Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Not to defend a horrid idea, but isn’t the point of a cowcatcher to _avoid_ murdering cows? No. They are to avoid damaging or derailing the train when it hits cows or other objects on the tracks. The cow’s comfort is not a consideration. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/129 "2018-07-27T16:01:56Z")
**Shodan** : Do you feel the same way about construction workers? They shut down streets all the time. Or do you only want to maim those that hold different political positions from you? If someone ran over your family member with a car because they were peacefully protesting would you tell them oh well you deserved it? Womp womp? ---
**Author:** ![Textual\_Innuendo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@Textual\_Innuendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Textual_Innuendo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/130 "2018-07-27T16:05:16Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Well, I make far less than MW, so sure. But, there are those who make a bit more than I do. If you make $50 an hour, would you take that deal? > > If so, why didn’t you just take a cab or an Uber? I’m not a great test case here, because I actually DO live close to work, and timeshift away from the main rush hours, and pay significant amounts of local and vehicle taxes annually. I also 100% support higher gas taxes (although they’ll never happen), and actually miss the brief period when gas was near $5 a gallon for premium, because it actually helped reduce the traffic significantly. And this is largely because I, like most sentient beings, hate traffic, and have taken these and other steps to avoid it, and largely succeed in avoiding it. But in one of those unavoidable times when I AM stuck in it? I’d happily pay a half hour of my hourly rate (which is several multiples of $50 an hour) to be magically and instantly whisked home. An Uber or a driver isn’t the same as instantly transporting yourself home. You’re still stuck in traffic, you’re still breathing exhaust fumes, your driver is probably irritated, and you can’t play with puppies / interact with loved ones / do chores / cook dinner, etc. It’s inherently less valuable time than “home time” even if you’re not the one doing the driving. It’s also not an option if you drove yourself there in the first place because it would leave your car stranded somewhere, but is something you would have to choose to do on both ends of your trip (and most often when I’m stuck in rush hour, it’s only at one end due to the timeshifting, living close, etc). Sure, an Uber is worth something, and I have taken them into core downtown locations on occasion to avoid traffic and parking hassles, but it’s not a 1:1 comparison. Incidentally, I created a [poll](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=859476) based on this thread asking others on the Dope where they would locate a protest they hated. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/131 "2018-07-27T16:15:27Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > … > In Cincinnati, for instance, there was an express bus that picked up from one block away from where those protests were going on, and went directly to John Boehnor’s (speaker of the house at the time) back yard (well, the golf course that is his backyard). I had suggested getting on that bus, and bothering him, but no one listened to me. Maybe you were thinking that the population is made up of rational adults with the ability to make independent choices under their own agency, rather than vindictive spiteful reactionaries. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/132 "2018-07-27T16:28:25Z")
I apologize. I am a _naif_ in the ways of cowcatchers. I thought they gently guided the cows to the side as the train rolled slowly and majestically by. All I know about cowcatchers I learned from Buster Keaton’s **The General,** where the train never broke 15 mph. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/133 "2018-07-27T16:33:26Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I apologize. I am a _naif_ in the ways of cowcatchers. I thought they gently guided the cows to the side as the train rolled slowly and majestically by. I don’t think we need to go too far in the weeds here to see that Shodan’s in the long tradition of people who think that brutalizing nonviolent protestors is a proportionate response. Thus the Bull Connor reference. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/134 "2018-07-27T16:34:15Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Protests like this one and the Anthem protests by pro athletes aren’t at all about winning anyone over. > (Pause for understanding. Let it sink in.) > They are about forcing attention to an issue that would otherwise be ignored. Assholes who block roads are just assholes standing in the road. I don’t care what their motivation is. Is that the kind of attention the protestors wanted? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/135 "2018-07-27T16:37:02Z")
They, like most people, probably don’t give a shit what you think. But you could always ask them. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/136 "2018-07-27T16:58:05Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Assholes who block roads are just assholes standing in the road. I don’t care what their motivation is. Is that the kind of attention the protestors wanted? I fucking hate it when I agree with you. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/137 "2018-07-27T17:04:53Z")
Frankly, if any crowd deserves to get physically crushed, I nominate unruly mobs of people celebrating a championship win by a local sports team. Sure, celebrate all you like, but when windows start getting smashed and cars start getting flipped, the busting of heads is now justified. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/138 "2018-07-27T17:24:39Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > They, like most people, probably don’t give a shit what you think. But you could always ask them. Isn’t that the current SNAFU political situation? People not listening to what the other sides concerns are? It doesn’t matter what you actually say, some asshole will tell you what you meant to say, and then tell you why their version of what you didn’t actually say is morally wrong, and condemn you for saying it. Life goes on. In the mean time, don’t protest ON roadways, don’t make an protesting ass of yourself in a restaurant while I’m trying to eat, and don’t ever fuck with people who lined up to get their morning fix of coffee. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/139 "2018-07-27T17:26:07Z")
> [@bubbadog](#): > > i fucking hate it when i agree with you. 7/27/2018 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577/140 "2018-07-27T17:34:15Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > In the mean time, don’t protest ON roadways [like these assholes](https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-almost-forgotten-selma-march) > [@](#): > > don’t make an protesting ass of yourself in a restaurant while I’m trying to eat [like these SJWs](http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-anne-moody-20150211-story.html) > [@](#): > > and don’t ever fuck with people who lined up to get their morning fix of coffee. [like this worthless sonofabitch](https://interactive.wttw.com/timemachine/jack-spratt-coffee-shop-sit). It’s lovely to have folks declare themselves so clearly for which side of history they’re on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-shut-down-the-highway-thatll-solve-all-the-problems/818577.md?page=8)