The preferred vehicle of rapists and lawyers…

An Associated Press story today describes accused rapist Kobe Bryant “[arriving at the courthouse] with his lawyers amid tight security in a caravan of three SUVs”.


A little Google News searching for SUVs brought up this summary of California news from October 7



A 6-year-old boy was shot in the head as he sat with his parents and brothers in an SUV…


A man was arrested and charged with attempted homicide after he allegedly ran over another man twice with a sport utility vehicle following a raucous house party in Palo Alto.


In Florida SUV owners are hitting bicyclists (story) and also in Minnesota (story).


On Long Island SUV drivers are killing and robbing people (story).

24 thoughts on “The preferred vehicle of rapists and lawyers…

  1. Other than creating flamebait, what’s your point? Hits at the top of a Google search:

    Man Assaults Woman and Escapes in Civic (http://www.staugustine.com/stories/022603/new_1353478.shtml)

    Armed Robber near Johns Hopkins Flees in Civic (http://www.jhu.edu/~security/sec_info/ay9798/spr98/98sp2.htm)

    Dodge Neon Owner Kidnaps and Sexually Assaults 16 Year Old female (http://www.cityofreno.com/pub_safety/police/news/?newsid=49)

    And don’t forget about those dastardly minivan owners…

    Father and Son Attempt to Run Over Iowa Police Chief with Minivan (http://www.iowafarmer.com/02/0210news/assault.htm)

    Two Men in Minneapolis Flee in Light Blue Minivan after Assault and Murder Crime Spree (http://www.daily.umn.edu/daily/1998/07/01/news/poli3/)

  2. Although executives from the RIAA may drink Starbucks, rapists and murderers might flea in SUVs and Civics, searching Google News for bicycles did not produce ANY rapists, murderers, white collar criminals, or even hit-and-run drivers. Amazing.

    🙂

    -Ken

  3. Given the choice, I bet most rapists would fly about in those miserly gas sipping personal airplanes and helicopters, though they probably need to acquire a few more $$$ when they want travel via the preferred transport of Columbian drug runners.

  4. Stella: I’m sure that rapists would enjoy a ride in a Gulfstream V business jet with two professional pilots up front. In fact if you search for “Kobe Bryant private jet” you’ll see that Mr. Bryant is a big fan of this form of transportation. The kind of person who seeks the security of 7000 pounds of steel when traveling to the 7-11, however, isn’t likely to risk his life flying a piston-powered 2-seat helicopter or a 4-seat airplane and certainly he wouldn’t want to take responsibility for his own safety. The parking lots at general aviation airports are mostly notable for inexpensive small oldish sedans (the flight instructors), exotic sports cars (the airplane owners), and beautifully maintained classic cars (the mechanics and the antique airplane owners).

  5. Philip, do remember when you used to do something useful? When you seemed genuinely interested in creating. When you wrote travelogues like Travels with Samantha and started web communities like photo.net? What happened to you? Did the VC bastards that stole Ars Digita from you hurt you so deeply that you can no longer contribute more than that these shallow diatribes? It looks like these days you preoccupy yourself with cruising around in your little plane and write pseudo-provocative statements like this for attention.

  6. Just out of curiosity, what do you drive yourself? Can’t be an SUV or a new BMW. (And, before you bounce the question right back: I don’t drive anything. I have two bikes and no driver’s license).

  7. Mark, I’ve long claimed (although clearly we’re seeing biases have an effect on sample selection) that the drivers who cut me off are generally either SUV drivers, or the folks in the 15 year old oil-burning Civic with the “social justice” bumper sticker. So maybe you’ve spotted the other side of the trend?

    Giggle.

  8. Patrick: I have a 5-year-old green minivan. It was a replacement for my old vehicle, which was … a 5-year-old green minivan. Once people reach a certain age they stop shopping for new and different things. I lust after a new green minivan with openable middle windows (the new Toyota Sienna) so that I can put a steel mesh in there and provide secure ventilation for a parked dog. However I refuse on general principle to pay more than $500 over invoice for a car and right now the dealers are swamped with customers.

    [Admission: if I lived in the suburbs and had a garage I would probably get a sports car or two for fun. It would have to seat two people and a dog, which eliminates my favorite driving car the Acura NSX. And if I were going to drive from Boston to Argentina down the Pan American Highway I’d probably buy (gasp) an SUV. But first I’d have to learn Spanish.]

  9. Oh yes… I reviewed my minivan in http://philip.greenspun.com/materialism/cars/sienna in case you’re curious.

    I also have a mtn bike, a cross bike, two folding bikes (mostly for the airplane but they turn out to be fun for all kinds of things (Giant Halfways), and a recumbent bike (sign of age!).

    I bought a Winnebago motorhome for 8 months of traveling around North American but sold it when we were done. Not easy to park in Cambridge!

  10. Five bikes and not one of them a road bike?!?! I’ve got nothing against the other bikes (okay, maybe that recumbent…), but you do realize that you’re missing out on one of the purest joys of cycling, right?

  11. Former Admirer: It was fun doing things that I thought were useful. Though in the end, except for the teaching, most of what I thought was useful turned out to be a waste of time. But as I’ve said earlier you can’t do engineering by yourself. If society doesn’t want new and improved information systems there is no sense sitting inside on a sunny day and building them.

    LuhrenLoup: With a little imagination it is possible to spend almost any amount of money!

    Kevin: I do love the handling of road bikes but I just can’t get comfortable on them. The posture is too forward and the seats tend to be pretty, uh, hard. The recumbent is like sitting in a living room chair (though very unstable, sadly; an inverted pendulum is more stable if it is longer).

    Webwench: Perhaps you are really young. When you get old I suspect that you won’t be “enamored” of their own aging process. In despair, perhaps. Horrified, certainly. Saddened, definitely.

  12. I’m not horribly far from your age, Phil, at 31, but my comment was regarding three recent comments from you about your ‘old creaking bones’ and the like. You ARE just 40, correct? I’ve known people in their fifties plus who complained less about their age!

  13. I would not call it imagination, boredom, ennui, dullness, creative and/or spiritual bankruptcy . . .

  14. Webwench: When you get to be 40 you’ll have little doubt why marketing professionals established the “18-34-year-old demographic”.

  15. “If society doesn’t want new and improved information systems there is no sense sitting inside on a sunny day and building them.”

    So, Philip, what does society want? And what does society need?

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