Monks Jazz Club
Tailgaters Are America's Suicide Bombers
RECEIVED Mon., May 10, 2004
Dear Editor,
When I hear a politician today talk about giving American freedoms to other peoples, my gut reaction is, "Exactly which Americans are you talking about?" I spend 90 to 120 minutes a day driving my daughter to and from PISD and myself to a part-time job in downtown Austin. Out of the thousands of drivers I see each day, there are dozens, some days hundreds, of drivers who exercise their freedom to coerce others into driving in a reckless and dangerous manner. It is a rare leg of travel where I do not have a driver tailgate me at 55 mph and up, refusing to pass me, even when the left lane is clear. It is a daily occurrence to have a driver tailgate me even after I've changed lanes to get out of his way.
The "obedience to authority" experiments showed 60% of a representative sample of New Haven would torture and execute a stranger because of orders from a man in a white lab coat. Only 2% refused. Congress outlawed the experiment before anyone could find out what percentage would torture and kill for the hell of it. Given the behavior of drivers on I-35, I think it is way above 2%.
Tailgaters are America's "bizzaro world" equivalent to suicide bombers. Both are willing to kill innocent strangers for a cause. But unlike those who kill for God or country, American tailgating extortionists will kill for a few seconds in a day with 8,440 seconds, for a few feet in a journey of miles. The lack of any politician, pundit, or talk-show host condemning such behavior gives you an idea of how many ATEs are out there. No one wants to lose elections or rating points, even if it would save a dozen lives each year.
When I hear a politician today talk about giving American freedoms to other peoples, my gut reaction is, "Exactly which Americans are you talking about?" I spend 90 to 120 minutes a day driving my daughter to and from PISD and myself to a part-time job in downtown Austin. Out of the thousands of drivers I see each day, there are dozens, some days hundreds, of drivers who exercise their freedom to coerce others into driving in a reckless and dangerous manner. It is a rare leg of travel where I do not have a driver tailgate me at 55 mph and up, refusing to pass me, even when the left lane is clear. It is a daily occurrence to have a driver tailgate me even after I've changed lanes to get out of his way.
The "obedience to authority" experiments showed 60% of a representative sample of New Haven would torture and execute a stranger because of orders from a man in a white lab coat. Only 2% refused. Congress outlawed the experiment before anyone could find out what percentage would torture and kill for the hell of it. Given the behavior of drivers on I-35, I think it is way above 2%.
Tailgaters are America's "bizzaro world" equivalent to suicide bombers. Both are willing to kill innocent strangers for a cause. But unlike those who kill for God or country, American tailgating extortionists will kill for a few seconds in a day with 8,440 seconds, for a few feet in a journey of miles. The lack of any politician, pundit, or talk-show host condemning such behavior gives you an idea of how many ATEs are out there. No one wants to lose elections or rating points, even if it would save a dozen lives each year.
Kevin Cox
