More Guest Grieving from Craig
AofG Super Commenter Craig has got some stuff on his mind, and he asked me to give it legs. I'm a yes man, so, accordingly, I said "yes." Not surprising to anyone, is it?
Have you seen this? In case your mouse is broken or you really don't like to read websites from Colorado, let me summarize it. Three people were killed in a single car accident near Boulder, CO. They had been drinking and were going over 100 MPH at the time of the crash. As if stupidity like this wasn't enough to grieve about, a local newspaper talked with the sister of one of the victims, who came up with this gem:
"The thing that really makes me feel much better about this is they died doing what they loved to do -- they were drinking, they were going fast and they were together," Lorie Flaherty told the Boulder Daily Camera. "It gives me comfort, it does, to know those three things."
Really? This is what makes you feel better? Who cares about the fact that they were lucky not to take anyone else with them, they did what they loved best. I guess we should all be thankful that what they loved to do didn't involve guns or explosives.
Look, I don't want to make light of the fact that three people lost their lives. (Editor's note: I... uh... I kinda do. Sorry.) They were all human beings with people who loved and will miss them and two of them were parents to young children. However, I can't help but think that this was their own fault and that the attitude shown in the quote from the sister shows a distinct lack of respect for anyone else. An attitude of "we'll do what we want and never mind the consequences" which is all but guaranteed to end poorly, and next time the people with that attitude may just take some poor innocent person out with them.
So, is it just me? Am I overreacting or is the quote really that inappropriate?
So, is it just me? Am I overreacting or is the quote really that inappropriate?
Not just you. I clicked on the link 4 words into the post and as soon as I read that I knew it would be the crux of your grievance. There's no adjective to describe the idiocy that this comment is infected with.
Posted by: Art Vandelay | January 22, 2008 at 04:00 PM
This being Boulder, I suspect they were stoned as well.
Posted by: Crazy Joe Davola | January 22, 2008 at 04:28 PM
"If I heard they were going that fast, and they hadn't crashed, I would have chewed them out."
and the father of the year award goes to....
I think Mr. one-eye was destiny bound last night. Does anyone know anyone else who is infatuated with car racing and isn't mentally challenged?
Posted by: Eli | January 22, 2008 at 04:59 PM
This being Boulder, I suspect they were stoned as well.
I'll go ahead and assume that the sister was stoned then when she made that comment. That's really the only explanation my mind can handle at the moment...
Posted by: Itchy | January 22, 2008 at 05:17 PM
Charles Darwin has his eyes set on the rest of the family too. That sister can't have more than a week left if that's the stuff coming out of her mouth.
Posted by: Assman | January 22, 2008 at 05:29 PM
Does anyone know anyone else who is infatuated with car racing and isn't mentally challenged?
And, no. But I hear it's very popular in Florida. Daytona 500, baby.
Posted by: Assman | January 22, 2008 at 05:30 PM
as a 47 yr old fan of all types of racing, it seems to me to be the gen x (or y or whatever the fck these punks are)mentality--crotch-rocket riders that feel crashing their ride is like a trophy, street racers that feel they have to endanger others to prove their abilities--just darwin at work!
Posted by: soupnazi | January 22, 2008 at 06:05 PM
It was mere luck that this nitwits didn't, say, crash head-on into a entire family, causing the minivan to explode and kill the whole family. Would the sister be as delighted that her peeps were having fun if their disregard for safety and the law killed innocent people, too?
Posted by: Schmoopie | January 22, 2008 at 07:48 PM
a few other gems from the story:
"Michael Martin Flaherty, 21, idolized NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt"
heh heh, sorry, I just, heh heh.
"His best friend since sixth grade, 21-year-old Snyder, also had speed and automobiles in his system. He was a driver for a lumber company and wanted to make a career in commercial driving, his mother Judy Snyder said."
In retrospect, having "speed and automobiles in one's blood" and driving a commercial vehicle on a daily basis probably wouldn't have been a winning combination for all parties. So I'd say the rest of us probably dodged an additional bullet on that one. Final score -- World 2, Snyder 0.
"Police have not said who was behind the wheel of the sports car when it crashed early Friday morning,"
Current Vegas lines: 2-1 on the woman driver, 5-1 on the lumber trucker, 10-1 on the cyclops.
"It was a bad decision," David Flaherty said. "If I heard they were going that fast, and they hadn't crashed, I would have chewed them out.""
Yeah, they seemed like the types that would have obeyed a good old fashioned Boulder-style "chewing out." Also, nice to see how concerned he was with speeding and not at all with drinking and driving.
Posted by: Jack Klompus | January 22, 2008 at 08:21 PM
"This being Boulder, I suspect they were stoned as well."
Note the NEAR Boulder in the article. This happened in Lousville, which is a shitty suburb of Boulder. I live in Boulder, and the reaction here has been pathetic, everyone wants to feel sorry for these people and their family. I say Fuck Them, with capital letters. What if I had been out driving that night?
On an entirely seperate note, the pics of the wreckage were pretty amazing, barely recognizable as a car anymore, engine ended up like 250 feet from the wreckage.
Posted by: Babu | January 23, 2008 at 10:16 AM
"What if I had been out driving that night?"
What if you had been out cycling that night? Not even the neon spandex with reflectors could save you.
Posted by: Jack Klompus | January 23, 2008 at 10:43 AM
Note the NEAR Boulder in the article...
At those speeds, it was probably happening outside of Boulder, then inside of Boulder, then on the other side of Boulder 20 seconds later.
Posted by: Assman | January 23, 2008 at 10:59 AM
The world would be such a better place if individuals realized they were sharing it with others. This not only applies to this story, but drivers with road rage and the lack of general, common courtesy in any given public place.
Posted by: Randi | January 23, 2008 at 01:18 PM
"What if you had been out cycling that night? Not even the neon spandex with reflectors could save you."
Too fucking cold for spandex right now, but I am glad you constantly think of my ass in spandex, makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Posted by: Babu | January 23, 2008 at 01:25 PM
but drivers with road rage
Randi, to be fair to drivers with road rage, I'm not sure they're the ones you want to be condemning for being individuals that don't realize they are sharing the world with others. As a matter of fact, in most cases, that's exactly their issue with the rest of the world.
Posted by: Art Vandelay | January 23, 2008 at 01:35 PM
"but I am glad you constantly think of my ass in spandex"
I wouldn't say "constantly" Babu. Not with all the time I spend thinking about Vandelay's Mickle-tits in a tight Fanilow t-shirt.
Posted by: Jack Klompus | January 23, 2008 at 09:16 PM
Nobody will see this, but anyway,
All three in Louisville crash had alcohol in system
-From the Daily Camera
"All three people who died in a speeding car that crashed into a Louisville light pole last month had alcohol in their systems, Boulder County Coroner Tom Faure reported this morning.
Lucas Snyder’s blood-alcohol content was 0.19, Amber Kowalski was 0.32, and Michael Flaherty was at 0.263. By comparison, the legal driving limit is .05.
Police have not yet said who was driving at the time of the crash, but a friend who was with the group earlier in the evening told the Camera that Snyder, 21, decided to drive Kowalski's Subaru Impreza WRX because he was the least drunk. Curt Borton, 23, said the group had been drinking at three bars in Boulder and Superior before the wreck at McCaslin Boulevard and West Cherry Street.
The three Lafayette residents were killed early Jan. 18 when the car crashed at more than 100 mph into the metal pole, split into two pieces and caught fire.
Final autopsy reports are not yet completed."
Now I go out boozing a fair bit, hell, I am nursing a minor hangover as I type this, but 0.19 is way too drunk to drive a lawnmower, let alone a WRX at 100mph. .263 and .32 are pretty much fucktarded. I was at a martini party a few years ago with some people who do alcohol research (which is funny in and of itself) so they had a breathalyzer there. I took it to be my mission to beat everyone, I wasn't even close to .32. I don't think I even got over .2 and I was pretty drunk.
Posted by: Babu | February 01, 2008 at 01:33 PM