burn for freedom
Torch My Ride: Arson for Hire
"Because of the way the economy has gone, the gas prices skyrocketing the way they have, we started to see a peak" (in arsons), Rowe said. "People that had the gas-guzzlers that got eight miles per gallon, they started to get hit hard. They didn't want those cars anymore."
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Vehicle arson has had a long and occasionally humorous track record over the years. In Texas, a car salesman was arrested after offering his customers what he called a "rotisserie program." He would have their cars torched; then, after they collected on the insurance, he sold them a new car. In another part of the state, two students were arrested after they torched their high school teacher's car in exchange for passing grades.
The hilarious summer hijinks of Americans! One can almost imagine a Soccer Mom finding an unexpected taste for burning gasoline as she lobs a molotav cocktail at her hunk of Detroit steel.
Just remember, though, context is everything. If you eat granola and burn an SUV, you might find yourself doing hard time... (you questioning our way of life, boy?) Keep it funny, yo.
Why a 22.5 Year Sentence?
Many people have asked "Why a 22.5 year sentence for burning 3 Sports Utility Vehicles?" In a society where murderers and rapists with prior convictions get out of jail in 4 years, a 22.5 year sentence for a property crime seems out of wack. We believe that Jeff received such a drastic sentence because of the political nature of the action he took. While the damage was moderate ($40,000) and the trucks were later resold-the Judge with the backing of the city and state of Oregon opted to throw the book at Jeff to not only punish him but to send a chilling message to the local Eugene community that dissent will not be tolerated.
posted by JMS @ 11:42 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Arson and stealing gas from gas stations or siphoning from someone's tank. The interim way of the future.
It really astounds me to see Americans resorting to theses extreme measures such as torching SUV's in the face of high prices at petrol stations.
As a European living in Dublin, Ireland, we pay prices for our petrol, or gas as Americans call it that are more than double that of the US. You do not see us or any other Europeans burning our cars, which makes this behaviour altogether more strange.
Surely, as a solution, people could car-pool in workplaces and schools to cut fuel costs. Failing that, Americans could surely have their cars reengineered to make their cars more efficient. Added to more sustainable driving practices such as driving slower, Americans could offset the effect of what, in my eyes, are very low fuel costs.
A friend of mine, living in Los Angeles, recently discovered that someone had stolen her credit card information and was using it solely to purchase gas in New York State.
wht - if you are saying the way of the future is increasing crime, I'd have to agree. Desperation being what it is.
Cathal: You forget that americans often take on the aspect of selfish retards, as brilliantly exemplified by their politicians.
"You do not see us or any other Europeans burning our cars...."
I guess all those French Muslims aren't Europeans, eh? France isn't the only country with regular protest car burnings, either. Oh, but that's different I guess...
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