TheAgitator.com
I Get a Lotta’ Love
Monday, August 23rd, 2004Verbatim mail this morning responding to this op-ed:
calling you names is good for you. and stating that i wish death on you just reenforces my understanding of you that you are very stupid and ignorant. is 5000 thousand [drunk driving deaths] tolerable for you?? if even one of those 5000 was someone close to you i do think you would be singing an entirely different tune. like i said, devastation is the best attitude changer because it is permanent. so grow up and pull you head outta your ass. because yours is so far up there that you haven’t seen the light of day since you were born.anyone who is so barbaric as to drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol should be given a minimum of 3 years in prison and anyone who kills or maimes someone while under the influence of drugs or alcohol should be given the minimum of life imprisonment without a chance of parole or review and even the death penalty would be justified. the victims of given a life sentence without any chance of correction or justice. there is nothing anyone can do to make them whole. the perpetrators should be punished to the extremest measure. again, grow up.
and you speak of draconian – tell draconian to the parents, in alabama, of the 26 school children and the driver, who burned to death when a drunk, driving a pickup, slammed head on into a school bus they were in. now, if that isn’t draconian then surely your poor little alcoholics that you so vehemently stick up or can handle a little hassling from the police, no??
you are stupid sir. so please don’t waist my time and yours by writing back to me. i don’t really want to hear or read you stupid, ignorant drivel. its morons like you who are ruining this country and i wish you would leave.
Sic all.
Don’t worry, some of us like to read you stupid, ignorant drivel! :-)
Actually, it didn’t seem like the emailer read the same article as I just did. People hear what they want to hear. And apparently spell like they want to spell (“…please don’t waist my time.”)
“so please don’t waist my time and yours by writing back to me. i don’t really want to hear or read you stupid, ignorant drivel. its morons like you who are ruining this country and i wish you would leave.”
Sometimes no means yes, I look forward to hearing your reply.
Please post their e-mail address so we all can respond!
Well siad, well spoaken.
Be nice to him or her, by calling him or her some names, since if it’s good for you, it must be good for all.
How very sad. I just got my little newsletter from a Belgian beer importer. An interesting related note:
“Studies froom the University of Utah, the New England Journal of Medicine, and elsewhere who that drivers using a hands-free cell phone (that’s hands-free!!!) are more ‘impaired’ than drivers at .08 percent BAC.”
So, aside from all the imbicile grammar, spelling, and logical errors, I wonder if the author would also support the death penalty for someone who gets into an accident while on a hands-free cell phone. Or a minimum 3 years in prison for someone who is caught using one while driving. Ah, facts…ain’t they grand!?
That letter just shows that all those who disagree with you are stupid.
The letter proves that emotion often overtakes logic when dealing with touchy subjects.
It really shows the cognitive ability of the people who support such policies. The guy has zero reading comprehension skills.
I too blame Balko for everything wrong with this country, most prominently gay marriage
Not only can this person not right, they can’t reed either.
Unless I was reeding wrong myself.
Radley, you’re FOR drinking and driving? Rassafrassa details further down . . .grrrrr . . .
5,000,000 deaths from drunk driving? I guess it’s worse than we thought!
“…grow up and pull you head outta your ass. because yours is so far up there that you haven’t seen the light of day since you were born”
And yet you type amazingly well.
I can’t believe I found the ‘send’ button after a whole bottle of absinthe.
Still, at least I got my point across cogently.
Radley’s thoughtful points were not favorably received by a person that has ostensibly been personally affected by the actions of a DUI. This person’s ability to turn a phrase or type should not be the focus of your critiques. As Justin said, “emotion overtakes logic.”
Giggling at the grammar only makes YOU look smaller.
There is a serious point in this rant: The idea that punishment is always good, and that more punishment will yield better results than less punishment. This has become a commonly accepted (at least in the political realm) idea. And the result is we’re jailing more people for more crimes, and often for acts that are not genuine crimes but perceived or derivative crimes.
I guess there’s a few ways to go with this. 1. Ban all alcohol, because though it didn’t work so well back in the day, but with today’s technology blah blah blah. 2. Ban all automobiles, as that would clearly eliminate all drunk driving possibilities. Even though drunk walking would still be a problem, this would get the Greens onboard right away. 3. Kill everyone because that way no one would be able to harm or inconvenience anyone else.
Or maybe we could all grow up, deal with our own problems without resorting to Big Brother to beat up that bully that’s picking on us, and live like Americans are supposed to live: Free.
I do not understand where this guy found the CATO website. He doesn’t seem to be the type of person who reads daily.
The comments of a drunk if ever I saw them.
Hey! I sniffed a little glue before I read it and it all made perfect sense!
Attempting to raise a child for 9 years now has cured me of thinking that punishment is the answer to everything.
It disgusts me to see someone who caused an accident while under the influence get off with a light sentence. However, unlike the e-mailer, I don’t see “throwing the book at a DUI driver in an accident” as the same as throwing the book at a DUI driver.
Mr. Balko,
Why do you hate America? Can’t you see that the authorities know more than you?
They only want what is best for YOU. You seem like a smart person, so you should know what would happen if they let adults act like adults. COMPLETE CHAOS. It’s UNthinkable. Adults acting like adults, HA
khh,
You forgot to implore Radley to “think of the children.”
Freedom is unpopular. One does not become a libertarian in order to get nice email. Or chicks, for that matter.
I have noticed lately an increasing amount of news coverage where drunks are arrested for something that is not driving related (public drunkenness or the like), where the reporter states the blood alcohol level, and then says something like ‘that is twice the legal limit’. Is it now illegal to be 0.09 whether you are driving or not?
You know, the writer does make a good point: writing them back would be a waste of your time.
To be fair, your article did say, at the end:
‘That isn’t to say we ought to ease up on drunken drivers. But our laws should be grounded in sound science and the presumption of innocence, not in hysteria.’
Which makes it only fair that the hysteria alternative get a fair sounding too.
Remember.. driving is a privilege granted to us by the government… not a right.. i learned that in driver’s ed 40 years ago (wink)
These people cannot seem to make any distinction between the act and the accusation.
I am all for harsher laws for convicted drunk drivers. First offense conviction and you are a pedestrian for a year is fine with me and probably a good deterrent.
But the Penn. man was never even accused of drinking and driving. People that have not been convicted are innocent until proven guilty.
The slippery slope of freedom elimination is steep and well greased. When will people understand that it will not stop where they think it will. It will not stop just because common sense will kick in. Once you justify the elimination of freedom once, you open the door.
You will not like what comes through later, I promise.