Sunday, May 23, 2010

The power to be invisible...when no one's looking!

I recently overheard a conversation of smart, well-intentioned people talking about the dangers of motorcycle riding. They called them “donor cycles” and scoffed at anyone who’d be crazy enough to ride one. Of course, it was obvious that none of them were riders. This fact alone doesn’t make them wrong. Certainly there is some inherent risk putting yourself on two wheels. But like most controversial topics, assumptions are made based on feelings rather than a cold hard look at the facts.

At this point, I deleted my entire blog. It was filled with statistics and an analysis of high performance engineering versus adrenaline junkie mentality essentially attempting to persuade you that, “it’s not the bike, it’s the rider.” And while I think it was all accurate and relevant, it was an exercise in futility. Because a motorcycle rider will NEVER convince a non-rider that we’re not all a bunch of suicidal, irresponsible maniacs. That’s okay. That’s part of the reason we ride.

But consider the following. Here’s a list of the things a motorcycle rider is doing while driving through city traffic:

1. Constantly focused on EVERY single vehicle in front, to the side and in back of them.
2. Actively looking at the road for gravel, oily spots, pot holes, etc.
3. Expecting EVERY car to suddenly change lanes or turn in front of them.
4. Driving as if they were completely invisible to everyone around them.

Now here’s a list of the things that a motorcycle rider is NOT doing while driving through city traffic:

1. Talking on their cell phone.
2. Texting.
3. Yelling at their kids in the backseat to keep it down and stop touching your brother.
4. Trying to find that Jack Johnson song on their Ipod.
5. Putting on make up.
6. Shaving.
7. Tying their shoes.
8. Trying to find the quarter that just slipped between the seats.
9. Wondering if they closed the garage or not.
10. Checking out the blonde in the Miata next to them.
11. Eating a bacon double cheeseburger.
12. Drinking a chai crème frappachino.
13. Reading.
14. Driving with their knees.
15. Making a doctor’s appointment.
16. Talking with the four other friends in the car about how Jeff, like, totally likes Jennifer even though he’s going to prom with Kelly and Kelly like, doesn’t even know and now Jennifer’s going to steal Jeff at prom and it’s going to be like, the biggest fight ever!
17. Telling the dog to “sit!” while driving him to the vet.
18. Trying to beat the light.
19. Listening to loud music.
20. Realizing that they just drove twenty minutes across town to work and can’t even really remember driving there, they just sort of “arrived.” Weird huh?

So, are motorcycles dangerous? Yes. So are guns. And cheeseburgers. And swimming pools. As is hiking, scuba diving, playing sports and being in a relationship. Incidentally, you know what the number one cause of death for a woman in the workplace is? Her husband or boyfriend murdering her. It’s true. Maybe all women should just quit working.

There are just some things that people won’t understand. That’s okay. You can have your opinion and feel good about it too. We talk about you too. The “cagers” who haven’t experienced the tactile feel of the pavement beneath their wheels, the smells and sounds of the world around them. The sometimes profound experience that comes with being alone on a motorcycle. All we ask is that you please look out for us. Just because we pretend we’re invisible, doesn’t mean we’re not out there.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Why Can't We All Just Love Oranges?

I was recently sent an article by someone who is in opposition to the recently signed Arizona Senate Bill 1070, the state initiated immigration law. The article, an editorial by Tim Egan,

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/desert-derangement-syndrome/?emc=eta1

was replete with innaccuracies, erroneous generalizations and blatant lies. In fact, my thoughts about Mr. Egan's opinion woke me up at 6:45 on a Saturday morning no less. I spent the next couple of hours responding to the article. This blog is my response. Take note that I've included citations from sources that even opponents to the new law cannot deny. The citations may not be clickable in this blog format so if you wish to read them, you may need to copy and paste into your browser. And so here it is...



I read the article. I’ve always tried to take the position that I prefer clarity over being right. If two people are debating something, it’s more important to make sure they’re debating the same thing rather than just prevailing. If I’m trying to convince you that orange juice is good for you and you counter that orange is the prettiest color… well, you see the dilemma.

And that’s my problem with Mr. Egan’s editorial. While I realize that it’s an opinion column, he bases his entire argument on window sticker and comedy central anecdotes rather than dealing with actual facts. The facts (I’ve included citations and they are not in dispute) are as follows:

1. Here’s the actual Senate Bill 1070:

http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf

It’s stunning to me the things being reported by people who haven’t even read the bill. Contrary to what Mr. Egan states, NO WHERE does it say that the law “allow(s) authorities to stop and question anyone who looks Hispanic.” Nothing even close to that. He has either not read the bill or he is just flat out lying. The bill states that if an officer comes in contact with a person who he/she believes has a reasonable suspicion or probable cause to be in the country illegally then they can be detained and questioned. First of all, EVERY SINGLE act a police officer makes in regards to the public is done on the reasonable suspicion/probable cause basis. It’s the criteria used to decide to pull you over for a traffic citation or arrest you for theft. We trust them for every other thing they do and 99% of the time they do their job right. Why do we now think they’re just going to go hog wild and round everyone up?

As you know, my friend Seth is a police officer. I work with police officers on a daily basis. Every single one of them has said that if they stop someone for speeding, they don’t have a driver’s license on them, they can’t speak English and have no other documentation that shows who they are, if they can at least tell them what their social security number is they can be verified and let go with only the traffic ticket and a ticket for not having their driver’s license with them. Not very Gestapo if you ask me.

NOTE: Gov. Jan Brewer signed an addendum to the bill yesterday clarifying that police officers cannot engage in the immigration status questioning unless the person has been detained for committing some other crime or infraction. This should immediately dispel those who assert that cops are going to round up all the brown people although I’m sure it won’t. Here’s the CNN article on the changes made yesterday:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/30/arizona.immigration.law.changes/index.html?hpt=T2

2. 70% of Arizonans support the new law. 60% of U.S. citizens nationally support the law. Nationally, even Democrats are evenly divided on the issue!

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/nationally_60_favor_letting_local_police_stop_and_verify_immigration_status

3. Currently (in all states), if a police officer comes in contact with you for any reason, he is allowed to ask you questions about what you’re doing and who you are. He can also ask you for legal identification and even search you if he has a reasonable suspicion that you may have violated a law (Supreme Court, Terry vs. Ohio). This is no different than what the new Arizona law states.

4. The federal immigration law states that it is illegal to enter the U.S. illegally. The new Arizona law merely compliments that law by saying that it is illegal to REMAIN in the U.S./Arizona illegally. This is the equivalent to adding a law that says not only is it illegal to break into someone’s home (burglary) but it’s now also illegal to REMAIN in the home for an extended period of time and use the resources of the homeowner illegally. Nobody would ever contest that law.

5. There are currently over 50 illegal immigrants in the Phoenix 4th Avenue jail awaiting trial for murder. Maybe they’re all innocent, but not likely. We’ve had 5 police officers murdered by illegals in the last year in a half. We’ve had scores of people killed by drunk drivers who were illegal immigrants. Just yesterday a Pinal County Sheriff’s deputy was shot by 5 Mexicans in the desert during a traffic stop. They were smuggling a car load of drugs and tried to shoot down a border patrol helicopter. Phoenix is the car theft capital of the country. My own SUV was stolen a couple of years ago and eventually found in the desert being used by immigrant smugglers. Phoenix is also the kidnapping capital of the country, by far! In fact, there were more kidnappings (370) in Phoenix in 2009 than any other city in the world except for one: Mexico City. See the ABC news story:

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=6848672&page=1

In my own previous neighborhood there have been two occasions in one year of Mexican military soldiers who had crossed the border and staged a military assault (ski masks, fatigues, Kevlar vests, machine guns) on homes down the street. Hundreds of rounds were fired and two people were killed. Just last week at 91st and Lower Buckeye (my old neighborhood), one suspected illegal murdered his Hispanic neighbor. I had to move because of my own 4 year criminal investigation into Mexican drug cartels smuggling drugs into Arizona and weapons and money into Mexico resulted in a potential threat to my family.

All of these incidents are directly connected to illegal immigrants. Legal citizens commit lots of crimes too. But it is a fact that if none of the illegal immigrants were here, the crimes they committed would never have happened. Personally, I agree with the following quote:

“We must not tolerate illegal immigration. We have moved forcefully to protect American jobs by calling on Congress to enact increased civil and criminal sanctions against employers who hire illegal workers. Since 1993 (one year), we have removed 30,000 illegal workers from jobs across the country.” – Bill Clinton in My Life, by Bill Clinton, p. 756, June 21, 2004.

Almost everyone agrees that the process of legal immigration should be streamlined and less tedious and time consuming. Personally, although many would disagree with me, I would have no problem with “grandfathering” those in the U.S. now and putting them on the path to citizenship IF, and only IF, we secure the borders first. Southern California finished their border fence in the San Diego area and it dramatically cut back the flow of illegals and the crime rate dropped significantly. Arrests of illegal immigrants in that area have dropped 95%! See the NPR story about this:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5323928

I don’t know a single conservative person who doesn’t agree that America is a place for hope and opportunity and we welcome all who wish to come here and be a part of the American dream. Just come in legally, pay taxes and don’t commit crimes.

The immigration policy failures are both Republican and Democrat. Neither Obama nor Bush nor Clinton before him did anything to solve this problem. The world is full of those who wish to better their lives and hopefully the United States will always be that shining beacon for those people to follow. But the end cannot justify the means. The argument that it’s somehow justifiable to break federal law so they can work and earn a living for their families is intellectually dishonest. If this is acceptable then it also must be acceptable to break other laws for the same reason. Is it acceptable to embezzle money from your rich boss as long as you use the ill gotten gains to better the lives of your family? Of course not. How is this any different?

Does Arizona have some crack pot crazies? Sure. There’s a few in California too. In fact we have no shortage of nut jobs in every state in the country. But it’s disingenuous to paint 60% of Americans with the “crazy brush” and make that the basis for an argument. That’s like debating with a child. You give them your opinion and supporting facts and they respond by calling you a doo-doo head. Really?

Arizona is not doing anything that the federal government, by law, is supposed to be doing. And those who label Arizonans as racist and accuse us of having a slave mentality, consider this. The supporters of the Arizona law want the illegal aliens to go through the process legally, then come into America and work for legal wages and pay legal taxes, just like the rest of us. Opponents want to fight this effort, keeping the illegals at ridiculous wages with no access to benefits, no government recourse or protection such as worker’s compensation, worker’s disability, social security, etc. Honestly, which sounds more like slavery?

The only thing the Arizona law requires you to do is provide documentation of who you are AFTER you’ve been stopped for breaking some other law. That same rule applies to me, you and everyone. Not just Hispanics. Sounds pretty reasonable. Ironically, maybe the U.S. should just use the same illegal immigration laws that Mexico has on the books which are MUCH more strict. Anyone want to sneak into Mexico, use a fake i.d. and see how long you rot in a Mexican jail?

Actually, if the U.S. told the Mexican government that all foreign aid to them would immediately cease if they did not control their northern border, I’m pretty sure they’d be shooting on sight within the week. Obviously that would be horrible and not what we want. But let’s not delude ourselves about Mexico’s financial interest in this issue.

Finally, just remember that all of the “noise” of the protesters and activists are those arguing that orange is the prettiest color when what we’re talking about is juice. I hate to confuse them with facts and logic when they’re having so much fun. I just wish they’d read the bill.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

I regret that we don't have any regrets anymore

If I hear one more person utter the cliche, "I don't have any regrets, for everything I've done has made me who I am today," I think I might punch myself in the face. This has got to be one of the most intellectually dishonest statements made on a regular basis.

This ill-conceived notion, the scars of experience that some seem to bear proudly, is fraught with problems. First of all, are all of these individuals really saying that right now they are somehow better off because of the mistakes they've made? Can't they see that from a theoretical standpoint, if they had lived a life of zero mistakes they'd probably be better off at the present? Haven't we all hurt someone? Or ran a little wild with money? Or been idle at a time in our life when perhaps we should have put in greater effort? The "person they are today" is frankly a jerk compared to the person who would've done the right thing.

This isn't to say that we should celebrate our failures or live in the past. Just the opposite. We should freely acknowledge our regrets to ourselves in order to learn from them and keep from repeating them. Not just acknowledge the regret, but acknowledge and accept that had we not committed the error, our lives and the lives around us would've been for the better. Because that awareness, I believe, will teach us a more profound lesson than the glib utterance of regret denial.

Consider the following exercise: project yourself into your future five, ten years. Imagine the things you want to accomplish. Imagine the things you want to avoid. Now imagine the choices you will have to make between now and then in order to not have regrets about the outcome of both. Call it "pre-regret".

You see, regret isn't about beating yourself up for your sins. And it's certainly not about making your private mistakes public for the world to scorn you. It's not about your past. It's about your future. It's about accepting that we're all human, we all are consistently imperfect and that we have the sense of conscience that allows us to ask for forgiveness, give it to others and allow it for ourselves.

Embrace Regret. Call it what it is. Learn from it. Then move beyond it. But whatever you do, don't ignore it or pretend that you don't have any. For if you do, you may be bound to re-live them. And I promise you, that would be something you'd definitely regret. So the next time someone asks you, "Do you have any regrets?" Don't be afraid to say, "I sure do, plenty." It will be a breath of fresh air in a world of stuffy denials, filled with those who think they have no room for improvement.

P.S. It should be noted that I have tons of regrets. I'm not glad for any of them. But I am glad I've learned from them. :-)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The monkey began to type...

First of all, it should be noted that I realize that chimpanzees aren't monkeys. But if Coca Cola can get away with a smaltzy ad campaign featuring polar bears socializing with penguins despite the fact that they reside on separate ends of the planet, then I think my little primate faux pas should be allowed. Besides, I'm not selling anything. And it's funny.

Second of all, I have to acknowledge that this exercise, this online journaling of sorts, feels a lot like an amusement park ride for the ego. Wondering where should I put the twists and turns, the slow steep climb and the yeehaw free fall. Do I write for my loved ones? Do I write for myself? Do I write for the "infinite unknown reader?" Is anyone ever going to read this darn thing? I do not think it's a coincidence that the words diary and diarrhea are so similar. They are both about getting stuff out. Sometimes unexpected, often urgently.

I suppose that's what I'll be using this for. It may vacillate between whimical musings and trivial rants and soap box tirades, but hey, it's my ride. You can get on or get off whenever you want. Just keep your hands inside at all times.