Rant: I'm sick and tired of the human race

[Coventina]

Last night my husband went to a baseball game.

He rode his bicycle to a "park and ride" lot for light rail to get downtown for the game.

When he returned to his bicycle, it was to find that his lights and drink holder & bottle had been stolen off the bike.

I get it, crime happens, but this is just so low!

He had to bike home with no lights (illegal, not to mention dangerous) and now has to purchase new ones and a new drink holder/bottle.

Here he was, doing the right thing for the environment and his health, and our pieces-of-shit fellow citizens screwed him over for it!

Well, we have tickets for tonight's game as well, so we're going to DRIVE downtown and park in a guarded lot, because people suck.

PEOPLE SUCK!!!!!

[Cary]

1. I apologize on behalf of our species

Oh, if only this was an example of the worst of the things that we do. Alas, we do much worse.

[Coventina]

2. I know it's a relatively low-level crime and all, but that kind of pisses me off all the more.

I mean really?

Stopping to rip off someone's bike lights?

And who the HELL wants someone else's used water bottle?

That's just fucked up.

[Cary]

3. I understand

I didn't mean to disrespect your sense of having been violated.

I was agreeing with you, actually.

[Coventina]

6. No, sorry, I wasn't angry with you, and I understood you were agreeing.

I just came across as angry at you because I'm just mad right now.

I apologize!

[Cary]

34. You're good with me

[sheshe2]

4. I am sorry, Coventina.

I am glad your husband made it home safely.

[lunatica]

5. I get your disgust

Sometimes thief’s just go too far. What possible reason could anyone have to steal something anyone can afford?

I remember feeling just like that when an older homeless man I used to talk to had an old military wool coat he really liked stolen from him. He was heartbroken. He was so proud of that coat. I can’t imagine the depravity of someone stealing from an old homeless man!

[Coventina]

8. That is truly low!

[nolabear]

7. No. Someone sucked. I'm really sorry that was done to your husband.

You can’t try to do good for a reward. You do good because it’s right and helps. But I know how sad and discouraged you must be. Life is so capricious. Don’t let the ones who hurt you sour you on all the ones who are trying themselves. You don’t deserve that stress.

[Coventina]

43. Except that now we no longer have the option of using mass transit, unless we

want to risk our vehicles being targeted AGAIN at the Park & Ride.

So, now we can't do what we thought was a good thing for the environment without a whole new level of risk.

So that person sucking, ends up causing more damage than just the loss and inconvenience of a few items.

[lindysalsagal]

9. Yuppers

[shanti]

10. I had a bike stolen

out of a "guarded" lot. Depends on who's guarding it....MEAN PEOPLE SUCK!

[hlthe2b]

11. Yes.. it is extremely frustrating. You can find lights that allow you to take off the mount and

carry with you, but damn... taking the bottle cage too. Sheesh. That's just vindictive.

My friends had twin daughters whose bikes were outfitted with really nice wicker baskets on the front. They were pretty expensive because they were one of those higher quality baskets made by some Nantucket local company. Both girls got their baskets stolen, even though they left the bikes, which while locked could probably have been taken.

Frustrating....

[lindysalsagal]

12. We never learn: We always must be entertained. We jump to conclusions about details we don't

grasp. We are impatient, greedy, and think we can force our way on people with anger.

We're ruining our planet and poisoning our grandchildren.

And don't get me started on religion.

[dameatball]

13. Buy a new bottle, pee in it and leave the bike there again tonight.

Okay, yes, that was not a nice thing to say.

[Phentex]

26. But!

It was a funny thing to say!

[ProudLib72]

14. I use lights that attach to my helmet

There are some that have their own battery incorporated into a small light and don't use a wire to a battery pack. Here is the one I have: https://www.starbike.com/en/exposure-lights-joystick-mk13-light-black/?currency=USD&vat=hide&gclid=CjwKCAjw-4_mBRBuEiwA5xnFIBu1uhKGEPYJYOEllajF9FTF1RQCSlx2r4T-RFyJM8AMf6j6odw93BoCG40QAvD_BwE

You can also get some cheapo Knog bike lights that go on the frame and can be removed easily: https://www.rei.com/product/124716/knog-frog-strobe-bike-light-set?sku=1247160002&store=121&cm_mmc=PLA_Google_LIA|404_174193|1247160002|none|f21a2afa-77ae-4fb1-9c77-bafe3dbfbe9f|aud-553371945779:pla-452552813682&lsft=cm_mmc LA_Google_LIA|404_174193|1247160002|none|f21a2afa-77ae-4fb1-9c77-bafe3dbfbe9f&kclid=f21a2afa-77ae-4fb1-9c77-bafe3dbfbe9f&gclid=CjwKCAjw-4_mBRBuEiwA5xnFIFfazjXiv8dFD4-T-iwZtWoE0tMr4d2MxGMzdvwVuQtUkYBI0lgwLxoCGDMQAvD_BwE

[mr_lebowski]

30. Just an FYI ... any characters appearing after a question mark in any URL ... are superfluous ...

I.E. Here are your links ...

https://www.starbike.com/en/exposure-lights-joystick-mk13-light-black/
https://www.rei.com/product/124716/knog-frog-strobe-bike-light-set

[ProudLib72]

37. Ok, I figured I didn't need the entire URL

I just copy and pasted. Now I will try to remember the question mark rule!

[mr_lebowski]

38. N/P ... The Question Mark always indicates 'the actual URL is to my left ...

And now everything that comes AFTER me ... is a 'parameter list' I'm handing to the Web Server at the URL being visited'. It's almost never required info, not on a public domain at least.

It's very commonly information about 'where the URL came from', like telling the server 'I clicked on an advertisement link on Twitter/Facebook/Somewhere to reach you', but there's a huge variety of different parameters possible, like where you're at (Europe/US) and many other things.

Anyways, I'm kinda anal, I admit ...

[Karadeniz]

15. No respect for others. So sorry such a cretin entered your life.

[BigmanPigman]

16. You are preaching to the choir as far as I go.

People do not give a shit about anybody but themselves it seems.

In 1979 at Union Sq in NYC I was with my dad loading my car. Back then it was a park full of junkies, not farmers markets and cafes like now. We put my fan down on one side of the car, went to the other side, came back around for the fan and it was gone...no one in sight had it. 45 seconds!

I always thought "Oh, this is just NYC". Since then everywhere I have lived has turned into this type of atmosphere. I hear my parents say how they never locked their houses despite living in a major city while they grew up. Older movies from the 50s and 60s show drivers hopping in and out of parked cars that have keys left in the ignition. Unbelievable how much has changed so rapidly with overpopulation and stagnant wages.

[Chin music]

29. Crazy.

Sounds like some type of "FAN-atic'. 1979 NY. Right on! I remember you saying you were in some sort of fashion job here once.

[BigmanPigman]

31. I attended Parsons and the dorm was

at Union Sq. Now it is very expensive apts. It was next to Warhol's place.

[Chin music]

32. Very very interesting time to be there!

And you saw 'the sights' at a better rate.

[babydollhead]

17. here is a poem which speaks to your rant.

Walking Around
Pablo Neruda, 1904 - 1973

It so happens I am sick of being a man.
And it happens that I walk into tailorshops and movie houses
dried up, waterproof, like a swan made of felt
steering my way in a water of wombs and ashes.

The smell of barbershops makes me break into hoarse sobs.
The only thing I want is to lie still like stones or wool.
The only thing I want is to see no more stores, no gardens,
no more goods, no spectacles, no elevators.

It so happens I am sick of my feet and my nails
and my hair and my shadow.
It so happens I am sick of being a man.

Still it would be marvelous
to terrify a law clerk with a cut lily,
or kill a nun with a blow on the ear.
It would be great
to go through the streets with a green knife
letting out yells until I died of the cold.

I don’t want to go on being a root in the dark,
insecure, stretched out, shivering with sleep,
going on down, into the moist guts of the earth,
taking in and thinking, eating every day.

I don’t want so much misery.
I don’t want to go on as a root and a tomb,
alone under the ground, a warehouse with corpses,
half frozen, dying of grief.

That’s why Monday, when it sees me coming
with my convict face, blazes up like gasoline,
and it howls on its way like a wounded wheel,
and leaves tracks full of warm blood leading toward the night.

And it pushes me into certain corners, into some moist houses,
into hospitals where the bones fly out the window,
into shoeshops that smell like vinegar,
and certain streets hideous as cracks in the skin.

There are sulphur-colored birds, and hideous intestines
hanging over the doors of houses that I hate,
and there are false teeth forgotten in a coffeepot,
there are mirrors
that ought to have wept from shame and terror,
there are umbrellas everywhere, and venoms, and umbilical cords.

I stroll along serenely, with my eyes, my shoes,
my rage, forgetting everything,
I walk by, going through office buildings and orthopedic shops,
and courtyards with washing hanging from the line:
underwear, towels and shirts from which slow
dirty tears are falling

[mr_lebowski]

33. Pablo ... was a heavy dude ... (nt)

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

18. So sad to hear.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[nycbos]

19. I feel that Bender from Futurama had the right idea.

[Soxfan58]

20. Today

This is what bothers you?

[extvbroadcaster]

21. Sorry

I know how you feel. When I lived in Atlanta, they would steal anything. You learned never to leave anything in your car, not even change in the cup holder. Back in the day, you could not buy beer on Sunday so people used to pick up a 12 pack on Saturday night. A friend got his truck window broken out to steal the 12 pack he had sitting on the seat!

[Honeycombe8]

22. I hear you. Thieves and other criminals

They steal from productive citizens, lowlifes who kill good people.

[Snake Plissken]

23. There are several ways to look at this ...

After decades of living in the same location I've never had to lock the doors of my cars. One morning about a year ago I open the door of my car and the center console was opened, all of the change I keep there 'easily over $20' and a few tools along with my favorite pocket knife were gone. At first I felt as you did, violated and extremely pissed off, hoping the person who ripped me off would face an extreme case of bad karma, but I realized that I was only hurting myself, so I focused on being more fortunate than someone who has to risk prison by go through the night stealing charge and random items for cars. Now I lock my car doors and am thankful I live rather comfortably not having to steal from people to get by.

I'm not making excuses for criminals, I'm just glad I'm in a position where stealing from others never even enters my mind.

[magicarpet]

24. Hopefully you and your husband will not stop....

..... being good doobies... there are so precious few good doobies left around any more... society can ill afford to lose two more.

[912gdm]

25. #firstworldproblems

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-48081592/cyclone-kenneth-wipes-out-mozambique-villages

"Cyclone Kenneth has ‘entirely wiped out’ some villages in Mozambique, after making landfall on Thursday, according to a UN official.
One aid worker said it looked like areas had been ‘run over by a bulldozer’.
It comes just a month after Cyclone Idai killed 900 people across three countries, including Mozambique."


Sorry about your husbands bike, and that you had to pay for parking.

[Phentex]

27. Not necessary...

this isn't the Who Has It Worse game. Do you feel your response has helped the OP in some way?

[Coventina]

40. Oh ffs! Did I say anything about how my life was ruined? NO.

All I said is that this proves people suck.

And people, by and large, do suck.

The older I get, the more this is proved to me on an almost daily basis.

So take your attempt at shaming me and shove it.

[Raine]

52. must be nice

to be so noble and perfect

[Marengo]

56. I assume you're headed off to Mozambique to assist in relief operations or have made a sizable...

Donation?

[Phentex]

28. What a crappy thing to do...

there are good people and then there are those with no regard for anyone else. So sorry this happened to your husband!

[mr_lebowski]

35. Lemme guess ... vs. the Cubs last night and tonight?

Assuming I'm correct, let me just say ... yeah, The Valley kinda sucks.

At least housing is affordable though ...

That's some annoying stuff, but in the overall scheme of things, since he thankfully made it home okay ... more an inconvenience than anything. Be glad for that. I had some asshole break in my vehicle, steal a very expensive stereo, all my CD's, Revo sunglasses, and destroy my ignition switch with a screwdriver when my car was parked in downtown SF in the early 1990's overnight ...

The inability to drive, then caused me to miss Lollapalooza II the next evening in 1992, for which I had tickets ... which was ... this:

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Ice Cube, Soundgarden, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Lush

Just sayin'

[Coventina]

41. You are exactly right!

[mr_lebowski]

44. Gah ... not a fun game tonight though ...

Gotta admit, the home team has been impressing me this season, esp. after all the guys they lost, they've been showing up. Bats are hot.

Sadly, not tonight, for you guys though

[Coventina]

47. Well, there were a few things I rarely see (as I don't attend games that often)

I got to see a baulk - don't think I've ever seen one before.

And, a bench-clearing....discussion!
No punches were thrown, but it sure drew a crowd!!

And, for the first time I thought I did a pretty decent job of scoring the game.
Again, as I don't attend many games, it's a skill that has taken me a long time to get semi-competent with.

[mr_lebowski]

49. Scoring the game? Did you bring your card and fill it out?

If so, I'm impressed

Never seen a balk, huh? Yah, pitchers rarely make that mistake these days, but it does happen. As you saw.

[Coventina]

50. Yes. :)

Growing up, my dad always scored the games, very neatly and never seemed to make a mistake.

I'm a ways from that, yet!!

[mr_lebowski]

51. Nice! Yeah, that's a nearly lost art, right there ... very cool :) (nt)

[Captain Stern]

36. I'm sorry that happned to your husband. But I disagree with :People Suck

Sure, some people suck. Some people do the wrong thing all the time, some more than others, and some hardly ever. Most of us just do the wrong thing once in a while, and feel bad about it, and try to better next time.

Just throwing out "People Suck" isn't all that different than saying foreigners suck, or black people suck, or white people suck, or cops suck, or young people suck, or whatever.

The person that stole the things from your husband's bike is in the wrong. Just him or her.

[Coventina]

42. Well, that person that sucked means that we no longer feel safe leaving our

vehicles at the Park & Ride, because obviously thieves are targeting the area.

Therefore, we will no longer use mass transit.

So, now we have to suck because that guy sucked, and the whole human race continues to get suckier.

[mr_lebowski]

45. And that's a whole lotta suck right there (nt)

[Coventina]

46. It sure is!

[NotASurfer]

39. Sometimes life sucks

Friends help. I'll let Lou take over here

Much better said than I have been able

[mr_lebowski]

48. Holy Shit I've not heard that in FOREVER ... F*** I LOVE THAT SONG ...

That is SO LOU REED right there. It's Perfect.

[Raine]

53. I'm so sorry..

[Maru Kitteh]

54. Tonight I was driving home at midnight after a 12hr shift in a WHITEOUT, and

came VERY suddenly (as will happen in a whiteout) upon a man stumbling at the edge of a rural road dressed entirely in dark olive and black. I had to swerve to miss him! So I slow down and what does he do?

Flips me off.


Okay friend. For you, I call 911 and tell the sheriff what mile marker I saw you at.

[jimlup]

55. I'm a cyclist and worry about this

I'll remove my lights when I park in a busy public space like that.

Some people suck ... but some people don't. Problem is it takes only a small number of the former to make things go wrong.

[Mc Mike]

57. Sorry that happened.

Kids in the Hall had some good bike theft skits:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/108790147223448034/