Not surprising. Half the idiots on the road are on their cell phones while driving, paying zero attention to anyone around them. At some level, these idiots realize it is just a matter of time before they hit someone, so, they try to pass it off as the fault of their future victim.

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

I've said this in every topic that comes up that's remotely similar..........it's called the "everyman's crime".

Since everyone does it, especially judges, lawyers, doctors, politicians and people who would be totally offended at going to the penitentiary...........nobody is every going to make a move to really have stiff penalties for it.

Unless you make it that you get prison for killing on the roads, people will continue to make poor decisions.

This is why someone killing a pedestrian often gets zilch and they believe the person but the guy peddling pot in the wrong state gets 20 years. Lawyers and judges don't peddle pot, but they drive like fools.

Also, why is it that drug dealers get hard prison but doctors who peddle too many opiates for profit aren't being tossed in the can?

Ahhhh yeah........it's the druggies fault and not the doctor's fault who over prescribed a knowingly super addictive drug with no intervention planned. Victim blaming.

Oh, that girl shouldn't have dressed like a ho and drank too much.........victim blaming.

Oh, those people whose kid died trying to illegally immigrate shouldn't have tried to escape being murdered in Guatemala for refusing to give money from their restaurant to the local mob for "protection".......victim blaming.

That article is a nonpolitical implementation of a dialect that's killing our politics. On the bright side, it allows me the chance to criticize the practice without incurring the wrath of people whose minds are set to tribal auto-detonation.

1.) This is an advocacy piece for "victims". It's not a piece dedicated to truth or reasonableness or really any other classically noble cause.
2.) As an advocacy piece it cherry picks all its arguments and data.
3.) The piece suggests we restructure our entire language so that the "victims" can benefit.
4.) The ultimate goals that justify this entire enterprise are "meaningful solutions" that are, evidently, totally unmentionable at this time.

If we've got meaningful solutions why not just make the case for those solutions now? I imagine the reluctance is because the meaningful solutions are so patently ridiculous at this time that we have to give society a language lobotomy along with some bullying (read social media peer pressure) in order for it to have any hope of being amenable. In other words, you're going to have to really hate car drivers in order for any of this to sound reasonable.

"A new analysis of 200 articles covering bike and pedestrian deaths in a two-month period last year [PDF] reveals that the media “consistently” faults the dead rather than the survivor, who is often the only witness with whom cops speak."



I was a lucky one that barely survived being hit by a vehicle while on a bike and after my incident, the newspapers were reporting an "accident".

An accident is when I spill coffee on my lap. When you're hit by a vehicle going 100 kmh, while in a bike lane well off the road, because he wasn't paying attention, that's not an accident. That is a vehicle running over a cyclist. I was also told many times I shouldn't have been on the road but there are only a few crossing Oregon and I was on the one used in the cross country routes mapped out and a road that has a bike lane. The implication being, I shouldn't be on the road at all.

You are exactly right Sanuk, it's negligence. And negligence is (and should be) a punishable offense. There are too many distractions and distracted drivers and when their distraction causes an incident it needs to be detailed for what it is, negligent behavior. Driving distracted is a choice. A deer jumping in front of my car is an accident.

I think this really captures it. People can see themselves doing it so they don't think it is something that should be punished.

I have said before, if there is someone you really want to kill and get away with it, do it with your car. Say that the sun was reflecting weird and you thought they were a post/animal/garbage can/etc. so you didn't top.

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I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Driving in to work today, and watched as a car in the right hand lane and ahead of me started drifting slowly to the right, only to be suddenly jerked back to the left and the brake lights came on (for no real reason). Car went back to the center of the lane, only to be drifting again. As I passed, it was a lady putting on her makeup while driving. Unbelievable.

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Taco cat spelled backwards is....taco cat.

I have not heard that term before, but, it is spot on. Well said.

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

My two bits: In the perfect world of all participants owning truthful personal accountability: Car on car is no fault. Car on bike is car fault. Bike on ped is bike fault. Peds are never at fault. Convolution of the Maritime Rule of Gross Tonnage. Also, glad you ended up OK.

The scale of victimhood or victim blaming vs personal responsibility/accountability is not currently in balance and lies as a root cause of a lot of societal problems.