Vermin Control

Wow, is there anything more disgusting than the hit-and-run that happened on Granville Street on Tuesday?

Stephen Harper was making all sorts of headlines earlier this month with his plans to create specific laws that target street racing, but wouldn't the existing traffic laws deal with the problem if they were enforced and prosecuted with any degree of seriousness? I can't even imagine how frustrating it must be for the police officers and hospital staff who have to deal with these situations on a regular basis, knowing full well that the person responsible will likely be back driving in no time.

As far as I'm concerned, every person on the planet has the right to be treated with basic human decency. Treat people the way you want to be treated. The fact that you're you doesn't mean that you're more important than the next guy. Don't agree? Fine, go ahead and live your life as a selfish asshole. But realize that that amounts to a voluntary forfeiture of your right to the same humane treatment. If you've been given a driver's licence, you have the mental capacity to realize what you're doing and to take responsibilty for your actions. Xiao Zhang made two decisions on Tuesday. First, he drove in an idiotic and careless fashion through an area of the city where he knew there was heavy pedestrian traffic. And second, after he'd knocked a pedestrian out of his shoes and he'd bounced off his windshield, he decided to flee the scene and leave the man to die in the street. By his actions, Xiao Zhang has clearly shown how he feels about other humans, so why treat him any differently than he would prefer? Burn these pigs, they wouldn't think twice about doing the same thing to you, your mom, your best friend, your little brother, or your two-year-old niece.

But realistically, gross traffic violations involving speeding, alcohol, and running red lights and stop signs are so common and committed so habitually by so many people that we probably won't see harsh prosecutions anytime soon (look at our own premier for christ's sake... nobody seems to care that he'd happily drive when he's too drunk to even walk. And the swine got elected again!). If I dare to dream though, maybe perpetrators of such cut-and-dried cases of deliberate vehicular homicide could be:
- prohibited from ever having a drivers licence again
- prohibited from ever owning a motor vehicle of any kind
- instantly deported (or exiled for homegrown trash) to a hard-labour camp in Siberia
- kicked in the crotch by Ronaldo every day for one month

Photo courtesy of SideLong