Road Rage in Alabama

[pax]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Angry driver flashes gun at another in incident on I-565
07/13/00
By WENDY REEVES
Times Staff Writer

At 3:10 p.m. Wednesday, things were anything but calm around One Tranquility Base on I-565 where police say an angry driver flashed his .44-magnum at another motorist.

No one was hurt in the road-rage incident, said Huntsville police spokesman Wendell Johnson, who also said criminal charges are pending against a 32-year-old Huntsville man.

No arrest had been made this morning.

A 30-year-old Decatur man told officers he was driving toward Huntsville in the fast lane of I-565 and was in front of the Harley-Davidson store near the Greenbrier Road exit when he saw a motorist behind him who seemed to want to pass, according to a police report. The Decatur man said he moved into the right lane.

But when the passing motorist pulled alongside the Decatur man, he had a ''large handgun, waving it (pointed upward) aggressively while shouting,'' the police report said.

By this time, the drivers were on I-565 in the area of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, located at One Tranquility Base.

Officers stopped both drivers on Patton Road, where a loaded .44-magnum Desert Eagle handgun was found inside the Huntsville man's car. The gun was kept by police, pending the outcome of the investigation.

© 2000 The Huntsville Times[/quote]
http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/Jul2000/13-e7111.html

[This message has been edited by pax (edited July 14, 2000).]

 

[David Scott]

Idiots like this give good gun owners a bad name.

 

[Miss Demeanors]

Whats wrong with these people? I see it all the time here in Chicago. People are all rushing to get to the red light. People irk me as well but it isn't worth getting killed or in a fight over.

The newest thing now is air rage. This just tells me that society is growing more and more violent each day. I don't get it, is the fact that the amount of people has doubled over the last century? Why can't everyone just relax and take things one at a time?

Scary stuff.

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Sandys' Homepage
RKBA forums
We are as one as we all are the same fighting for one cause -Metallica

 

[Coinneach]

Sandy, the population increase probably has a lot to do with it.

Some study way back when established that when populations, be they rats, virii, or human, reach a certain density, violence in that population increases dramatically. For further evidence, look at violence in high-density areas (like inner cities) compared to sparsely-populated areas (like Terlingua, TX).

"Mom's gonna fix it all soon. Mom's comin' 'round to put it back the way it oughta be." --Tool

 

[maxinquaye]

I dunno...all these "rages" popping up seem to be the media's way of throwing a catchey label on a behavior, and then showcasing it to serve their interests.

"Air rage"? C'mon. People have always been pissy when delayed. The media likes to portray it as something new and dangerous, but it's ALWAYS been there.

It's like renaming a book and republishing it. Same content, higher sales.

Money makes the world go round, and if the media thinks they can "spin" something to increase viewing, they will.

Now if everyone would shoot their TV and read, or god forbid, sit down over a beer, coffee, whatever, and actually _listen_ to another human bieng for a while, perhaps even *socialize*, well hell, I bet all kinds of "rage" would diminish. And even if it diddn't, you probably would not know or care...



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"Freedom is that instant between when someone tells you to do something and when you decide how to respond."
-Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
-Martin Luther King Jr.

 

[Mike in VA]

"rage du jour" is just the media hyping bad behavior and lack of self-control to sell papers/air time. SOS/DD. The sad part is taht nobody does anything about it. If someone were to grab these 'ragers' by the throat and slap them silly and put them in the pokey for the weekend to cool off, the behavior would soon stop, but instead, we make excuses for them and let it slide (no one wants to get involved or make a stand) so the crap continues.

I agree with the observation that high population density can bring on neurotic behavior, however, life ain't fair, there's always going to be something to pi$$ you off, but that doesn't give you the right to take it out on those around you or make your problem into someone else's. Those who can't figure out how to cope in an acceptable manner should be whupped regularly and swiftly with the cluebat until they figure it out. Batter up!
M2

 

[Grin&Barrett]

With the increase in number of passengers to an all time high, the likelihood of more and more incidents of "air rage" are going to occur. Besides more passengers every day the airlines have cut back on service and their facilities are strained.

Tired passengers, after breathing bad, stale air for hours are more prone to get irritated
and airline employees after hearing more & more of the crap from customers will put up with less. Not a good combo.

 

[Miss Demeanors]

I'm not sure how it is in other states but I can tell you this about Chicago and the near suburbs. The NWST side of Chicago was basically a good place to live. They started building apartments, low income housing, condos etc. Then they built more. They continue to keep on building these things. Now you have one million people all crammed in one neighborhood, the after effect? More violence, more crime, more rage. I would bet my life if they knocked down some of these apts and housing projects, scattered them around to more open areas, added some good schools in those areas, you would see a significant decrease in crime, rage etc. I remember going to Arkansas with my parents, rush hour there was 10 cars. Rush hour in Chicago is about a million cars. People can't handle being packed in like sardines which causes rage. We all know there are many people in this world that just can't maintain their cool when in sticky situations, its sad but its the truth. Those particular people (well many of them anyways) need to be somewhere there is less conjestion.

You are correct about air rage and packing people in there. As a kid I remember flying with my parents and being able to move the seat back. Now I go on a plane and can't even move my legs in front of me. Also that waiting on the runway for hours at a time has got to stop. Its inhumane. I would rather be stuck inside the airport for a few extra hours than to be stuck in a plane...literally STUCK! My sister just got back from CA, she sat on the runway for three and a half hours (with a 3 year old mind you) then when she finally made it to Chicago, becuase of the rain things were backed up, well she had to circle over for another hour and a half! I do understand they need to get things back in order when weather isn't cooperating, but they really should let people out and stay in the terminals.

The more they pack us in via airplanes, apartments, condos etc. I am afraid we are only going to see more and more rage.

So ya Coinneach, you are totally right about comparing a larger city with a smaller city.

Gee you think Congress would think of that huh? HAHHAHA

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Sandys' Homepage
RKBA forums
We are as one as we all are the same fighting for one cause -Metallica

 

[paratrooper]

I think dignity plays a large part . Some may consider the term Macho to fit as well . If I buy a ticket on a plane and it should leave at 3 O'Clock you got till 3:30 to make me see the ground leaving me real fast . After that you have taken me for granted and I think it was done with full knowledge . People get upset when they don't get what they pay for when it looks like the sellers were going to disappoint them from the gitgo .
Imagine you go to the ballpark and order a hotdog . You pay for it and the guy walks away without giving it to you . You yell at him and he tells you he will be back later . Like you are just a nobody that he can diss when he feels like . He's got the money so you can just "bite me" .
When people pay for a product that is advertised as "such and such" they want what they paid for . An airline that knowingly oversells seats HOPING that people will cancel or take getting bumped lightly they are insulting the entire group . " We can oversell and don't care if we inconvenience you in the process " attitude will draw anger every time . The main problem is that the lowly peons that you are in personal contact with not only did not institute that policy but could not care less if there are 2 or 3 empty seats on that plane . They are not the enemy BUT they are the face that is associated with your problem . You need to find an exec. of the airline if you are gonna kick some tail . I'm not saying you should but if you do I didn't see anything .

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TOM
SASS AMERICAN LEGION NRA

 

[Mike H]

The trouble is, some would (and will) argue that if society at large is getting more violent then we need fewer guns in circulation as this is the equivalent of pouring gas onto a fire.

I have heard this said before.

Mike H

 

[Art Eatman]

Let's don't get into "why", but it's obvious that there is more rudeness and crudeness than 20, 30, 50 years ago. Aside from personal observations, there are numerous studies and articles concluding that rude and discourteous behavior is generally increasing.

That is, more population = more kooks; plus, with the changes in our society over the last 40 years, we got more kooks per capita.

Just the fact that large corporations are hiring consultants to give seminars on business ethics to their middle management, oughta tell ya something! Middle management, generally, is folks 35 to 50 years old. If they don't already have a sense of, a knowledge of "ethics", in their business dealings, I wonder if a 3-day seminar can turn them around?

So, crowd all this mess up in a wad and you have the new buzzword, "Rage".

Thank you, I'll take Terlingua.

But I gotta fly to Frankfurt, Deutschland, in September...

Art

 

[Mike in VA]

I quit my last job because I don't want to fly anymore. Airports are stupitiy magnets. They attract people who can't count (e.g. limit of two), are spacially impared (must fit under your seat) and are being managed (herded) by people who don't follwo their own rules. throw in an aging fleet of aircraft, ****ty security, more minimum wage morons . . . I just don't want to go there. I have to go to LA the end of teh month (1st time on a plane since Feb., may quit when I get back, I can make a living w/o airlines/airports. FM) M2