Nonviolent Direct Action: On flowbark's car!

The BBQ Pit
1

My car has acquired a structural defect in the recent past. Specifically, where there was once a right rear window, there are now glass shards.

But hey, I still have my radio. And I haven’t noticed anything missing. So there’s the question of motive to ponder.

I live in an urban neighborhood. A borderline one. You know, section 8 housing down the street. Alleged crack houses several blocks away in one direction. Very residential in another. Borderline.

Now it is possible that the Mad Smasher has made a comeback. The Mad Smasher was once active about 20 blocks south of my neighborhood: he would smash multiple windows on a particular thoroughfare when he needed to unwind a little. However, word on the street has it that he had a heated disagreement with an unincorporated alternative pharmaceutical supplier, which resulted in his untimely death. So it probably wasn’t the Mad Smasher.

But there’s the issue of the decoration that I placed on my auto. I have a Darwin fish and a public radio decal; my local zoo sticker was destroyed in the incident.

Then there’s a more recent homemade addition.

Saddam with the Bomb!!!
Is that what you want?

Now, perhaps our redecorator took issue with that point of view. Still, I would like to make the following tentative observations:

  1. There are more effective targets within the military/industrial complex than flowbark’s car.
  2. When you smash flowbark’s late 1980s Honda Civic, you’re not fighting the man.

I know, I know: this is the Pit; it isn’t Great Debates. And perhaps the vandal was apolitical.

But now I need some advice. I have removed the offending statement. What should I replace it with? Some ideas:

War Is Not Nice To Flowers, Other Living Things, and Windshields

Visualize World Peace

WMDs are bad and should be avoided. Please don’t hurt me.

2

A word on self-pity:

I have very little, as I recognize that certain Iraqi civilians will be suffering far worse in upcoming weeks. I just thought I might add that.

3

Just want to say that I floved this:

My favorite part of the rant, right there.

4

You rich bastards with your LATE 1980’s cars are always whining about something.

5

Well, my late '80’s car you can screw with all you want. Hell, it’s a piece of crap. That’s why I drive it into town every day to go to work.

If you mess with my truck, on the other hand, there’s gonna’ be some blood spilled.

Are you serious, flowbark? Somebody busted out a window in your car and didn’t steal anything? Not even a coat or something out of the back seat?

You gots you some half-assed criminals out theah on yer Left Coast.

6

fb: I have removed the offending statement.

Why? Since you don’t even know who smashed your window or why or whether it had anything whatever to do with your slogan, why are you deciding you have to remove it?

A word on self-pity: I have very little, as I recognize that certain Iraqi civilians will be suffering far worse in upcoming weeks.

Too true. It’s starting to sound as though you were feeling rather conflicted about displaying a pro-invasion sign in any case. My advice: keep the sign or don’t, just as you like, but quit worrying about what some hypothetical window-smashing anti-war protestor might think about it. For all you know, somebody could even have broken your window accidentally and been too chicken/selfish to leave a note.

7

Yeah, there was nothing to steal in my car, as far as I know. The glove compartment was not open (though maybe Mr. Vandal was considerate enough to reclose it).

Kimstu: More weak evidence/factors:

  1. I had earlier gotten a note in my windshield, asking, “Who provided those weapon systems in the 1980s?”

(A: Not the US. We did provide satellite intelligence though. Certain companies provided components that Saddam used. But, uh, no we didn’t provide any complete WMD weapon systems.) Mr. Note didn’t leave an electronic or physical address, so I could not reply. I doubt whether he did it, but the note reflects a certain political stance in my neighborhood.

  1. Car windows are smashed with some regularity in my neighborhood, though this is the first time I’ve heard of nothing being taken.

  2. Accidentally? Ah, no. The window was facing the sidewalk and it was obliterated.

  3. I had The Club[sup]TM[/sup] on my steering wheel. They weren’t after the car itself, in all likelihood.

  1. Key point: Jeez. If there’s a 5% chance that the pro-attack sign will cause my window to be trashed again, I’m not going to post it. This is a rear window with hinges; replacing it will not be a trivial expense. Frankly though, I would put the odds above 5%.
  1. I take no pleasure when civilians are bombed. But, no, I’m not feeling conflicted about the sign. I’m simply re-directing my energies to less time consuming and expensive outlets.

Freedom of the press belongs to those who can afford to replace their smashed windshields.