Get Your Grump on Thursdays - Was (What's chapping my @ss today?)

[j44ke]

To the point. His description of Jordan was decidedly different and he said it's the first time in all of his international travel he's ever felt in danger. He told of driving back to Amman from the beach in a rental car on a freeway. He mistakenly cut off another car, who then proceeded to pursue him and force him to stop by blocking the road. Two men in uniform - unknown what they were .. military, police) got out of the car and acted in a very threatening manner. My friend's Arabic is not good, but as soon as the men learned he was American they drove off.

I had an experience like this in Los Angeles, only the guys in the other car weren't wearing uniforms. They really wanted me to get out of the car. I didn't and finally they left.

[j44ke]

If voter fraud is as rampant as everyone says it is and if it benefits Democrats so significantly, how do Republicans keep winning? Voter fraud is the biggest sore loser argument in politics ever. One group thinks their solutions are inherently righteous, but they lose the election. Couldn't be voters don't like their ideas - no, there must have been voter fraud!

[Corso]

Sorry Jonathan, I have to add…

Gang, I simply think you should be able to prove who you are in order to cast a vote. It was NOT intended to offend. If I have I ‘m sorry for that, but honestly, does everything have to have a “racist” slant to it?

I’m sure something can be done (ID wise) for those "Jim Crow” victims, that group was nowhere in my head when I originally posted.

12 million (who really knows) “undocumented” folks are in the united states. All races, from all over of the world. I see that as a potential voting problem. Local elections can be won or lost by less than 100 votes…

Voting fraud has been going on since the beginning of voting! Saying it doesn’t happen begins a “left vs right” propaganda war, again, not me who brought that up.

An open question to those who are jumping on my thoughts: Is it your opinion that the voting system is ok the way it is?

Acorn? Hanging chads? To name a few...

I’m doing push-ups, sit ups and i’ll even rake my yard today...

[quickag]

I think the issue here is that voter laws that are currently being passed aren't targeted at making voting more legitimate. Removing early/Sunday voting and implementing voter ID laws as is currently being done is specifically targeting minority/low income voters in certain districts. The easy solution is a national ID card and a national holiday for voting. But this solves the overarching problem and doesn't specifically target those people they're trying to keep from voting...and fixing the voting system isn't their goal. Matter of fact, fixing the voting system and making more minority/low income voters eligible and able to vote is the OPPOSITE of what they want. These laws are a last gasp effort to fight the inevitable demographic changes happening in the country.

And I won't do pushups...I have to drive to my MIL's this weekend. That's punishment enough.

[Matthew J]

Zero case? I went to vote several years ago, and was told I had already voted, because someone crossed my name off a roster sheet. (both to get a ballot, then after a ballot was put in a machine. Luckily for me, i knew a cop who was there, who vouched for me. When i asked what was going to happen next, shoulders shrugged, and nothing was going to happen after that.

Yeah, so someone may have voted under my name. Yes, it happened to ME! In Massachusetts.

Or a fat fingered election judge struck the wrong name off the list.

Sheesh. The right is so invested in 'stopping' voter fraud you would think they could show positive examples of arrests, etc.

Still waiting.

Are you saying no african american who wasn’t issued Birth certificate never had to prove who he/she was for any reason?

For privacy reasons, most Counties require the individual to whom the birth certificate was issued to appear in person in order to get their birth certificates. In many counties there is often a delay of hours to days before the person requesting the copy can get it, again in person.

A poor person who has moved from one state to another often does not have the time or the resources to travel back to the county of birth in order to get a birth certificate. Add to that the many burdens local governments place on the person requesting their birth certificates, and the fact is they can indeed be a burden to get. Something the Voter ID proponents are counting on.

[Bobqzz]

Or a fat fingered election judge struck the wrong name off the list.

Sheesh. The right is so invested in 'stopping' voter fraud you would think they could show positive examples of arrests, etc.

Still waiting.



For privacy reasons, most Counties require the individual to whom the birth certificate was issued to appear in person in order to get their birth certificates. In many counties there is often a delay of hours to days before the person requesting the copy can get it, again in person.

A poor person who has moved from one state to another often does not have the time or the resources to travel back to the county of birth in order to get a birth certificate. Add to that the many burdens local governments place on the person requesting their birth certificates, and the fact is they can indeed be a burden to get. Something the Voter ID proponents are counting on.

Right back at you- produce some examples of actual people this has happened to please.

I have no doubt that some people have racist motivations for voter ID laws just as I have no doubt there are some people who oppose voter ID laws because they condone/benefit from/or commit voter fraud. There are numerous documented cases of voter fraud- see Daley Chicago-, just as there are numerous egregious cases of disenfranchisement through voter registration restrictions and other fuckery.

Each side screaming that the other is either racist or wants illegals to vote does nothing to further the debate since both are really fringe positions. It is 2014 in the United States- surely there is some way ensure people who vote are who they say they are AND make sure it is easy to get an ID.
I might suggest Rhode Island as a model.

[Jonathan]

I'm going to indulge my inner control freak and lock this for a couple of days. If you guys wanna talk this out(and I hope you do) start a new thread. If you're respectful to each other I'll make sure it stays open.

If you think I've done some harm to Internet freedom, wait until next Thursday and grump about me. I can take it. You guys have an awesome weekend with safe miles, good friends and loving family.

[Jonathan]

Grumpy time: upper respiratory infection strikes. Hello antibiotics, steroids, inhalers and copays.

[devlin]

There is still 36hrs before I home and can start playing builder wanna be. Not enough hours. The upshot is will get to take my 6 and 7 yr old boys to there first BMX race tomorrow night. Shit......... I have to wait another 20 hours for that!!!!!

[Christian Fox]

I am riding up the west side bike way along the Hudson in Manhattan. This is a bike & roller blade-only path, and pedestrians and runners have their own lane. I get to a stoplight (the bike lane is perforated at regular intervals by all sorts of car traffic, resulting in several fatalities over the years) near this giant aircraft carrier and as usual there are 15-20 Chinese tourists standing in the middle of the bike lane. Even though the light is green for me, I stop and alert the tourists to the presence of bikes coming in both directions, whereupon they penguin in all directions and finally clear the way. As I am starting back up, a cop on a horse ambles into my lane so I move over to go around him. He starts yelling "Stop!" and moves his horse to block my way. So I stop. He says, "You are going too fast. The speed limit here is 15mph." There is no posted speed limit on the bike lane, plus I might have been going 17mph at most. So obviously realizing that I know he is lying, he says, "They are going to start putting up signs next week. A lot of pedestrians use this area so you have to go slow." This is the bike lane. Pedestrians are supposed to stay in their lane, which admittedly they never do BUT I also know that from riding here almost every day so I proceed with caution. "Where's your speedometer?" he says, eyeing my bike. "You need to get a speedometer. We're going to start looking at those to figure out if you are going too fast, so you need to get one." Great, thanks for the heads up. I didn't have my Garmin on the bike, but I was thinking of using one for longer rides. Now that I know NYPD is planning to use them to harass cyclists, I definitely won't use mine (I also know they have been using Strava to investigate accidents to determine if the cyclist was at fault when they get run over by a car, as have insurance companies.) Then he let me go with a warning, but I could tell he was 1.) baiting me and 2.) slightly inebriated so just smiled and went on my way. I don't need to spend the night in jail and have my bike disappear into the labyrinth of impound because I was "interfering with police business," NYPD's favorite method for intimidation these days.

Meanwhile, behind him was 12th Ave where cars come off the Henry Hudson. The speed limit there is 35mph, but cars routinely do 55mph or more in an attempt to clear the stoplights, when they aren't jammed up bumper to bumper. I have never seen a cop pull anyone over for speeding there, but I've seen plenty of accidents.

Chinese tourists penguin walking?? No stereotyping there! Why was it important for you to point out their heritage/nationality? I know you never would have written "gay tourists sashaying" or "black bruthas pimp-walking". In our super PC world, it's somehow still ok to stereotype Chinese people. Jimmy Kimmel's bit with the kid saying that we could kill all the Chinese people to help the economy?....replace "Chinese" with a media protected class and he'd be doing the Imus apology tour begging for his job back.

[devlin]

and another one. I will do push ups.

I'm working interstate during the week. Fly out Monday morning home by 6 on Friday night. I'm paid well and get a meal allowance. Every freakin fortnight they 'forget' to pay the meal allowance. You'd think with 100 people on the project and the same week in, week out setup they would just automatically pay everyone their allowances. No, every two weeks we have to fill out two forms the week before which has to go through about 5 pairs of hands before it gets to payroll. One person delays and we have to wait. The last lot we had to wait 3 pay cycles for them to get it right. It was a nice paypacket but very frustrating.

[znfdl]

88 year old mother in the hospital for the last two days with an erratic heartbeat and shortness of breath......

90 year old father freaking out....

[seanile]

Chinese tourists penguin walking?? No stereotyping there! Why was it important for you to point out their heritage/nationality? I know you never would have written "gay tourists sashaying" or "black bruthas pimp-walking". In our super PC world, it's somehow still ok to stereotype Chinese people. Jimmy Kimmel's bit with the kid saying that we could kill all the Chinese people to help the economy?....replace "Chinese" with a media protected class and he'd be doing the Imus apology tour begging for his job back.

you know penguin walking is not a racial slur right? it means two things: 1) someone is too distracted by something (most often technology) to move without any spacial awareness or confidence, and 2) somebody mightve shit themselves and are shuffling away to the bathroom.
simply stating it was 15-20 chinese tourists do x-action is called setting the scene, it's a method used to make a story more imaginable.

[Bobqzz]

No stereotyping there! Why was it important for you to point out their heritage/nationality? .

Please explain how describing Chinese people as penguin walking is stereotyping?
Would it have been acceptable to mention their heritage/nationality at all? Is it ever acceptable to mention people's heritage/nationality? If so, under what circumstances?
All genuine questions. I look forward to you elucidating.

[Christian Fox]

you know penguin walking is not a racial slur right? it means two things: 1) someone is too distracted by something (most often technology) to move without any spacial awareness or confidence, and 2) somebody mightve shit themselves and are shuffling away to the bathroom.
simply stating it was 15-20 chinese tourists do x-action is called setting the scene, it's a method used to make a story more imaginable.

Give me a break. Sit down for a few minutes with my Chinese business partner and ask him about the stereotyping he's been subjected to since living in this country..."Chinese people waddle around in circles like penguins, ha ha ha!"...yes, it's happened. And, I never said it was a slur...it's a stereotype. Oh, "setting the scene"??, what a pile of bullshit. Like I wrote before, the "scene" would never have been set by writing "A bunch of black tourists". There has been a lot of indignation towards racism in this thread (rightfully so), but when it doesn't involve the usual groups, it doesn't even get noticed.

[Christian Fox]

Please explain how describing Chinese people as penguin walking is stereotyping?
Would it have been acceptable to mention their heritage/nationality at all? Is it ever acceptable to mention people's heritage/nationality? If so, under what circumstances?
All genuine questions. I look forward to you elucidating.

Read my response to Seanile. It is a specific stereotype my business partner has been subjected to. Seriously, you guys have never heard "Asian tourist" stereotypes? God forbid my partner ever take a camera anywhere..And under what circumstances is it ok? How about when it's germane to the conversation? When it's added arbitrarily, it just sounds funny to me. Like I wrote, substitute "black" for "Chinese" and it doesn't come out so nice.

I'm sensitive to this stuff because I've seen someone who is a second father to me subjected to it for years. It's subtle, but it's demoralizing nonetheless.

[mjbabcock]

Reminds me of my sheltered father in-law who was up in Vancouver, BC lamenting the number of Indian and Chinese people walking around.
"Joe, they're Canadian...not Chinese"

[chasea]

Read my response to Seanile. It is a specific stereotype my business partner has been subjected to. Seriously, you guys have never heard "Asian tourist" stereotypes? God forbid my partner ever take a camera anywhere..And under what circumstances is it ok? How about when it's germane to the conversation? When it's added arbitrarily, it just sounds funny to me. Like I wrote, substitute "black" for "Chinese" and it doesn't come out so nice.

I'm sensitive to this stuff because I've seen someone who is a second father to me subjected to it for years. It's subtle, but it's demoralizing nonetheless.

Penguin walk is a slow, aimless shuffle. Jorn didn't mean to attribute that with the nationality of the tourists; just that they're tourists and that's what tourists do.

But you were looking to get offended and you got offended. Well done.

[Matthew Strongin]

That for the second week in a row the grump thread is becoming a forum for politically charged discussions. This is our safe haven for bitching about work, failed bike parts, and general ailments. Speaking of which...it's been a long time since I haven't felt at odds with my company and dissatisfied with my job. And I can't find the source of a minor click on my Gaulzetti and the wheels I trusted my LBS to build for me (you know, trying to support the local guy) have concerning scratches/marks in the rims and spokes so wound up they're white and ready to pop. They've been ridden for maybe 10 miles right when I first got them and have been in wheel bags for months until I get a chance to drive 2 counties over to talk to the shop about it. And my friggin shoulder still hurts.

[nahtnoj]

The thing that made me grumpy about Jorn's post was the drunk cop on the horse boldly announcing that were it one week later, he would have conducted an illegal search of his phone/gps to gather incriminating evidence. Further, it seems that lacking the required self-incrimination equipment is itself a violation. W. T. F.