Tales From The South Side...
There are those days when you think about what you're going to blog about...as the rain falls.
You've been over the news stories and perused the scads of channels looking for things of interest.
And then you have an "idea" of where you want to go for that next post.
But, every once in a while, (especially down where we live) something brilliant presents itself, and you just HAVE to "pass it along".
For example...the whole issue about PARKING.
Now, for most of you out there, parking a vehicle seems like second-nature, right? You know what a CURB is, as well as what a DRIVEWAY is.
And you know WHICH WAY the vehicle is pointed relative to the flow of traffic.
So, it should be a no-brainer when it comes to pulling over, or pulling into someplace to park.
Shopping centers are the easiest to figure out...got those nice YELLOW or WHITE LINES to help with the issue.
And they even have SPECIFIED areas where the HANDICAPPED can park (closer to the store).
Now, doesn't it just piss you off when you see someone who is NOT handicapped parking IN those spots?
I know it does me.
What about parking and then leaving the motor running?
We know how well THAT fares here in Fort Wayne, as I mentioned the other week about THREE separate incidents where someone left the motor running (with children inside, mind you) and someone ELSE availed them of the vehicle.
Fortunately, all three vehicles were recovered soon afterward, and the children inside unharmed.
Hopefully, lesson learned THERE.
When it comes to parking on a residential STREET, it should be pretty straight forward as well, right?
You might be lucky and have a garage (as we do) or at least a driveway, which means WE have a predesignated PLACE TO PARK.
And anyone wishing to visit us is also allowed to park IN OUR DRIVEWAY (we're nice that way).
Let's face it, ON-STREET parking down here (when you happen to be white, and keep your vehicle in good repair) can be an exercise in angst. Wifey's previous car was vandalized as it sat IN OUR DRIVEWAY (waiting to be sold)...the balls of some people, hmm?
So, anyone with half a brain would much rather park OFF-STREET (garage preferred), as it takes away much of the possibility of the vehicle being broken into, or outright stolen by a thief, right?
You can readily SEE the people that have parked on the streets down here...they're the ones with a sheet of PLASTIC covering one window (usually a rear door, either side) which allows access nicely. And we DO see our share every damn year.
Does that mean people are careless?
Not necessarily...it DOES mean we have a THIEVING problem down here, and with a majority of the populace being "other than white", you don't have to have a bunch of fancy letters AFTER your last name to figure out WHO THEY ARE.
There are specific LAWS when it comes to parking ON THE STREET...and we know we need laws for the LAW-LESS (only).
(Well, and maybe for the chronically-stupid, too)
These are not "suggestions"...or "guidelines"...they are LAWS.
When you pull up to a house on a residential street, you have to park WITH the flow of traffic, which basically means NO "cross-street" parking aka "facing the opposite way TO that flow of traffic".
For example, you DON'T park facing NORTHBOUND on the SOUTHBOUND side of the damn street...simple, huh?
Well, tell these boneheads that one around where we live, because every, single day, there are AT LEAST TEN violations OF that specific law.
And that adds up over a year, trust me.
The city is missing a TON of cash on that one...make NO mistake.
See, this city has those marvelous "EIGHT strikes and you're out" proviso, that ALLOWS bad behavior to go unpunished for quite some time.
We have warning after warning issued either verbally or in some, extreme cases,...written (horrors - how dare they do that?) with a red placard placed on the vehicle by Parking Control (who could ALL retire early with the money to be had down here...lol).
We also have a law that states that SIDEWALKS ARE NOT TO BE BLOCKED by a vehicle (exception being that someone is moving, construction, etc), so when someone parks a car overnight at some house and DOES block the sidewalk, isn't that making an impediment to anyone who might be USING that sidewalk?
Yeah, they have to walk IN THE STREET (and the way some folks "fly low" up and down the block, that could become a problem...another issue not readily addressed by the city, but that's another post for another day).
So this morning, I see a car parked beautifully across the sidewalk (they didn't pull far enough INTO the driveway), and I decide to call it into dispatch as a "signal 37" (parking violation)...which it definitely IS.
Remember, I come from PHILLY, where parking is ALWAYS at a premium, and you have to spend about FIVE minutes reading the signage BEFORE you decide IF you're going to park someplace (and hopefully NOT get ticketed anyway).
After the obligatory "20 questions" and having to repeat my NAME and ADDRESS several times (maybe someonje in dispatch needs a Beltone?), the call goes out....about TEN minutes after I called it in.
I explained to dispatch that school kids would be forced to walk IN the street IN the rain.
Yeah, YOU know...and *I* know all the kids walk in the damn street anyway, but I get tired of people doing whatever they want to, and getting away with it all the damn time...it gets old real fast, especially if WE take the time to OBEY THE LAW.
So, about ten minutes after the call goes out, a cruiser rolls up and I imagine the officer had to knock at the door.
(Oh, BTW, this is a house where MARIJUANA is smoked...just so you know)
And I just KNOW that the occupants OF that house (who just happen to be black) will offer up a load of crap to the officer with some outlandish "story".
Now, if there is ONE piece of (non-standard issue) equipment EVERY officer should have in his/her possession...it's a "BULLSHITOMETER"!
You LEOs out there know EXACTLY what I mean.
But I guess this officer didn't have one, as after the cruiser left, the offending vehicle at the house was STILL THERE...and not parked along the curb (which would have taken all of 30 seconds to accomplish).
Two (plus) hours later...the vehicle is STILL sitting across the sidewalk.
NO followup...amazing!
(( *ahem* ))
Gimme a break, here.
((editor's update - 0950 hrs - "Mr. Ignorant" finally rolled out of the sack and left, but I did notice something under his windshield wiper...))
Now, I'm sorry, but if you're an officer of ANY good repute, you ask the person to (please) MOVE the car, and you WAIT while they do so.
(it's a compliance thing)
If you were given some story such as: "I's takin de kids to school, so's I parked dere", you need to check TWO things:
1) See if the driver's nose is GROWING.
2) Watch the needle on your Bullshitometer peg the scale.
Because you ARE being lied to (that's normal around here with such people), and if YOU buy into their tall tale, YOU have just become a part of the problem, rather than a part of the solution. Got it?
First off, the kids WALK to the bus stop. They NEVER get driven anywhere (except to baby-daddy's drug crib...or McD.s).
Next, the car's been there ALL DAMN NIGHT...blocking the sidewalk.
ANY officer driving by SHOULD have noticed this, and went door-knocking THEN.
And the car's NOT broken down, because it WAS parked across the street on someone ELSE'S property earlier (see above photo).
Oh, but KNOWING all this would mean you have an officer that PATROLS THE AREA...sorry, I was mistaken.
You see, an officer has to PATROL an area to actually SEE stuff.
No patrols - no stuff being seen...again, so simple a caveman could understand it.
And once again, we have set another DOUBLE-STANDARD.
We have allowed "bad behavior" to be "rewarded"...no citation and non-compliance. Another "free-pass".
How's THAT for "reparations"?
Yes, friends...your tax money at work.
I trust this would be an isolated incident, and is not the standard practice of the FWPD.
I do know some officers that wouldn't just treat this with a cavalier attitude, but WOULD in fact, uphold the law.
Now, this could be remanded over to Parking Control, and they might roll out (later) to see IF the vehicle was moved...lotta good that's going to do - the car will most likely be gone...free to come back another day and do it all over again.
That's what these people do...skirt the law, thumb their nose at authority, and basically shun those hired to protect them.
(until it suits THEIR interests)
Call me old-fashioned, but I don't believe that's any part of what it means to be a real American.
It DOES sound like some sort of third world nation.
Perhaps in a tribal-run society, that's the way thing shake...but not in THIS country.
We DO have laws here...for specific reasons...and they're supposed to work...for EVERYONE.
The laws we permit in our society are there to better ALL our lives, and pertain to ALL the people...or they mean less than the paper and ink used to write them all down.
If a law is unfair, WE can change it...but we don't just IGNORE it because we don't "like" it, or because we're too damn stupid to know what they are.
Ignorance of ANY law doesn't mean that law stops existing for you, or me, or anyone else.
We learn...that we may teach others.
That's worked pretty well down through our time as a nation.
Thing is, we've gotten away from that. We let others do FOR US, rather then challenging ourselves so that we might do better FOR OURSELVES.
Maybe you can't legislate stupidity, or even ignorance, but I do know one thing...you sure as hell CAN write it a citation for it every time!
Therein lies today's lesson.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.