Pay attention; it's your responsibility

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for January 19, 2022)

There's almost no one more dangerous than a driver who refuses to yield because they have the right-of-way. I've known people who got into accidents because the other person was supposed to move over or slow down, and didn't, and they weren't going to let the other guy "win".

When two drivers of this sort encounter one another, have your camera recording.

Personally, I think it's more important to avoid an accident than to be "in the right".

I've tried to teach my kids that their safety is always their responsibility. Responsibility isn't fun. It means you must pay attention and do what others won't.

When I'm walking or on my bike, I watch out for cars. I assume they don't see me, and I expect them to do their best to run over me. I'm grateful when they don't but I always make it my responsibility to avoid being hit.

When I'm driving, I still take the responsibility to avoid hitting anyone or anything and to avoid being hit by other cars. One trick I use is pretending that every vehicle I see is driverless, moving at random without anyone behind the wheel to control it. This usually works out well for me.

The responsibility is always one-hundred percent mine, whether I'm driving or navigating the world of cars. That can get tiresome, and I'm not claiming I pull it off perfectly. I have been in accidents when I failed to do what I know it is my responsibility to do.

Sure, the other people are also one-hundred percent responsible, but how are you going to make them accept it? Can you make them pay attention? You can only control yourself, no one else-- regardless of what politicians might believe. So which way will have better results for you?

It's also possible for a car to do something completely unexpected and hit you no matter how closely you're paying attention. Sometimes you just can't move fast enough, in the right direction, to get out of the way. Accidents will never be eliminated, but they can be minimized if you don't wait for other people to save you.

I don't care what traffic "law" dictates you to do; get out of the way even if you have the right-of-way if that's what it takes to avoid an accident. Always pay attention to your surroundings. Your life depends on it.

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Flying a US Federal flag-- Holy Pole Quilt-- in Texas, alongside a Texas flag, is like flying a Nazi flag in Israel, alongside an Israel flag. Kinda bizarre.

Should bans be banned?

Whenever ANYONE says something should be banned, they've lost my support, and often, my respect. 

If you don't like something, don't own it. But otherwise, it's not your business. 

Many political criminals say "ghost guns" should be banned. (A ban will fail to eliminate them.) Much of the public, being ignorant and afraid, go along with it.

I recently saw another guy saying to ban expandable batons, but what he was actually talking about was forbidding their use by government's aggression goons while on the "job". The problem solves itself if you fire all the goons-- or at least allow people to opt out of paying them if they (like me) don't have any use for the parasites. Let the tool either succeed or fail to defend, and let people choose.

I feel the same about drugs, cars, Crocs, Pit bulls, and whatever else someone might suggest banning. If someone misuses something, defend yourself (and others) but don't call for a ban-- the ban would just empower your Ancestral Enemies because they would be the ones enforcing it. 

Banning is just so stupid.

Stop forcing me to subsidize other people's choices and I don't care what you have.

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Don't forget about the fundraiser comparison, 

It's still nothing to nothing, but neither has been flagged. Yet.

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