My Choice of Vehicle is Offensive

quick liNks

maintenance

General Maintenance

Wiring Diagrams

Lubrication Charts

Specifications

Yesterday I went to my neighborhood movie theater to see the movie Jackass. I normally would have walked there, since it is only a 7-10 minute walk, but having broken a toe the previous night during a hockey game I decided to drive my 98 Explorer and save myself some pain.

When I returned to my car after the movie I found a note on my windshield. It is printed on an inkjet printer and about 6x3 inches:

Your choice of vehicle is offensive,arrogant and short-sighted. With global warming now a fact, and an impending war for oil, it's time to start helping. No blood for oil.

On the first reading I only made it to the end of the first sentence before I had two thoughts in quick succession: The first was a little primitive, but it came from the heart--"Fuck you." My second was "Isn't America a great place?" I feel the "fuck you" was justified. Who is this that is telling me that my choice of car is offensive? It doesn't offend me, and it's my choice. If I let other people decide what kind of car I drove who knows what I'd end up with? That is why America is such a great place! I can chose to buy a car that gets 18 miles per gallon. I can add that to my other car that gets 16 miles per gallon, and my truck that gets 10 miles per gallon. Yes, my household of two has three cars--deal with it. My little household of two has an income that supports this type of activity. To be fair, I also think it is great that people have the right to publically state their opinions, as this person has done. There is a saying that goes something like "I don't agree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it." I really believe that, even if the person is an ignorant college student who knows all the cool sounding rhetoric but hasn't quite learned how the world runs yet. You have a constitutional right to be obnoxious...though hopefully you'll have the common sense not to use it.

Later on I took the time to read the rest of the note. Since the author of this note has made some serious allegations as to what distasteful activities I am supporting by owning a Ford Explorer, I feel I should respond, and respond I will:

Accusation #1, #2, and #3 -- My choice of vehicle is offensive, arrogant, and short-sighted.
To offend is to cause harm to somebody, break the law, or transgress moral codes. At the time I received that note, my car was 100% law-obiding. It is properly registered and insured and was legally parked. It isn't offensive on those grounds. Am I transgressing moral codes? I suppose that relates back to community standards. My community is Burbank, CA zip code 91504. If you would like to do a little research you'll see that Burbank is a fairly well-to-do area. Houses in my area sell for $300,000 and up. Apartments rent for $1100 to $2000 per month. I think it is safe to assume that community standards say it is okay to own a 4 year old Ford Explorer. In fact, if you look around here you'll see that SUV's outnumber other types of vehicles. Now as for who I may be harming with my vehicle, I think that accusation is clarified later so I will hold my comment until then.
If my choice of vehicle is arrogant, then I am overstating my importance by buying an Explorer, right? That is what arrogant means. Whose choice is it how important I am? I'd say that is my determination, not anybody else's. The reason I bought a Ford Explorer is because of the utility value. A Honda Civic, Ford Mustang, or Toyota Camray--as good as they are--did not meet my needs. I fail to see how I am making myself look more important than I am. I'm 30 years old, married, am a teacher, and make over $40,000 a year. I bought the best car I could afford that met my needs. This argument is silly on face value anyway--who is going to try to make themselves look like a bigshot driving a 4 year old run-of-the-mill stock SUV?
I likewise fail to see the short-sightedness of this vehicle. Sure, it devalues about fifty cents for every mile it's driven--but I knew that when I bought it. I know that when it is paid off, my $21,000 car will probably be worth $12,000. I know that to get my money's worth out of this car I will have to keep it until 2010. Why is this anybody's concern but mine?

The next accusations are very interesting.
"With global warming now a fact." Is global warming a fact? I think the best the scientific community can do is to say "we don't know". Most of what I have read and heard in the last 5 years or so says that there probably is no global warming--or at least that people aren't contributing to it. Do you think the Earth sees the Ford Explorer as a threat? The earth has seen global flooding, mass extinctions, huge asteroid hits, a thousand years of darkness, a thousand years of fire storms. Why are a bunch of Americans driving around in SUV's going to pose a threat to the Earth? Now THAT sounds arrogant! By the way, my Explorer was smog-tested yesterday and passed. So the most stringent testing in the country says my car is up to current standards.
"...an impending war for oil..." What war for oil? I read that we may attack Iraq again. Isn't that because Iraq is harboring terrorists and building weapons of mass destruction? If it keeps my country safe, then do what you have to do. Eleven years ago we attacked Iraq as well. I believe that was because Iraq had become rather unchaplike with its neighbors and the UN stepped in to tell them what's what. There is no proof that it was an oil motivated action.
"It's time to start helping". Helping who?
"No blood for oil." This gets another instant "fuck you". This is just 10 year old rhetoric. I resent the implication that I am killing US troops because I drive an SUV. That is just stupid! Currently we are a society that is dependent on oil. It's a non-renewable resource and it will eventually dry up, and by the time it does we will have an alternative. I don't see the big deal.
So now I have to ask again--who am I harming with this vehicle? The government says I'm not hurting the environment, I'm not hurting the soldiers who have to fight the war, I'm doing everything legally and I'm a responsible owner. I don't see who I'm hurting. If somebody in a Nissan or Geo does something stupid and we get in an accident, they have a greater chance of being hurt than I do. It may sound terrible but I don't mind that at all. Anything that keeps me alive is a good thing. I don't throw my weight around though, so if everybody just drives reasonably we won't have any Explorer vs. Miata bloodbaths.
Before making accusations like these, the author of that note should examine his/her own level of involvement in the "problem". Did he/she drive to the movie theater parking lot that day? If so they have culpability. If not, did they take the bus? Did the bus burn gasoline or natural gas? Did mom and dad drop them off? Did mom and dad drive a car with a gasoline engine?

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, but if they do they should at least write their names on them. I'd love to know who left me this note, but they chose not to sign it. Why? It seems kind of cowardly to me. Even terrorists claim responsibility for their actions. You're making a statement--so let people know who you are. Now about the glass houses--of course if I met the person who left me the note I would dig around and find the hypocrisy in his/her life. Not because I'm mean or petty, but because it's there. It is really easy to preach about what others should do, but it is very hard to practice what you preach. So shut the fuck up and live your life.

Now it is just nit-picky, tit-for-tat time. Dude, your note is all screwed up. I already talked about the content, but the form is terrible. Who let you out of English class? The first sentence is okay except for a missing space between the comma and the a in arrogant, but the second one is a disaster! "With global warming now a fact, and an impending war for oil, it's time to start helping." You have a very nasty run-on sentence there--plus, who needs to be helped? Try something like "Given the dangers of global warming and the impending war for oil, it's time to start helping the kittens who have lost their whiskers." "No blood for oil" is not only a sentence fragment, it is also a cliche. Cliches do not make for very powerful writing. However, neither does profanity but that never stops me. Fuck you.

Dan Wentz
October, 2002

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.

My Choice of Vehicle is Offensive

quick liNks

maintenance

modifications

F-Series history

Online Tools

community

My 1950 f1