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June 13, 2005

Motorcycle Wreck Kills Man

Motorcycle wreck kills Forsyth man proclaims the headline of an article in the Gainsville Times by Matt Stewart.

It's an accurate title, I guess, but it seems to miss the salient fact that a negligent motorist turned in front of the motorcycle causing him to die. This is sadly one of the most common causes of motorcycle accidents and deaths by far.

I'm sure the driver of the Chevy Astro van feels very bad and is sorry about the situation and what she has done. Unfortunately she faces possible fines if not likely jail time depending on Georgia laws and the court's mercy. Even if the judge suspends the sentence, she'll always have this young man's blood on her hands.

While journalists (rightfully so) take a factual approach to these accident report stories, it frequently seems the focus on the "another motorcycle crashed" side of the story rather than the "motorcyclist killed" aspect of the story. While the "wreck" did kill the "man", it might be more accurate to say "Motorcyclist killed by careless driver" in a headline.

Motorcyclists: Assume that every other driver out there doesn't see you and drive accordingly. Defense is all you have; if you slowed down ahead of time you may end up only pissed off instead of dead when someone does turn in front of you. If you haven't taken an MSF class, sign up for one today.

Drivers: Please double check when you scan for oncoming traffic. Oncoming motorcycles are narrow and can be difficult to see. When you do notice a motorcycle, put yourself on "high alert" about your surroundings. Also, please be aware that motorcycles accelerate and stop significantly faster than cars, so give us motorcyclists some room. (No one seems to realize this in real life.)

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a motorcyclist and I am an AMA member. If you ride, consider joining.

Links to articles about the Janklow/Scott case:
American Motor.Com
AMA article from February 2005

AMA Justice For All Campaign

The full story of Chris Young's wreck. This is what happens (and what you'll look like) if you wreck at high speed without proper protective gear. Gnarly pictures and all the gory details...

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Posted by speedeep at 12:22 PM | | Comments (0)

June 7, 2005

Deo Vindice


Since I'm not 'from around here', when I spotted this graffiti the other day, I found myself rather offended. My year of public school Latin gave me a quick translation as "God will vindicate." That mixed with the stars and bars I found somewhat disturbing. I'm aware there are groups who maintain the Confederate States' ideals and would like to see us go back to how things were before the Civil War. I know that even today racism is sitting right below society's skin, not dead or eradicated as many would like to believe. The fact that someone would make that statement anonymously and without context caught me off guard.

A little more research on "Deo Vindice" and I learned that is was the national motto of the Confederate States of America. So maybe the artist's intentions were pure, but there's a nasty racist undertone to this graffiti. "Southern Pride" rhetoric is tossed around by racist, bigoted, and legitimate groups alike for clearly different reasons.

Those still fond of their southern pride would prefer you translate it as "God is our protector" but I find that a deception from its true meaning. I'm guessing the Confederate statesmen who chose the motto wanted it to have a more literal meaning of "God will vindicate" than that politically correct translation.

I found this UNC Latin professor's alternate translation of the phrase interesting: "with God as our punisher."

Anyway, the backwards 'N' is a nice touch.

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Posted by speedeep at 12:04 PM | | Comments (15)