Garbage in - garbage out

As life is, nothing is black and white. Everything is relative and perspective dictates that we will probably see things in a different way. But some things are just wrong, plain and simple. No matter from which angle you perceive it.

Allow me to illustrate this with a simple example (which is also the motivation for this rant):

This morning I was driving to work. It was nice weather and I had my car window down. All of a sudden a candy wrapper flew past me, which came from the car in front of me. I assumed he must have had his window down as well and the candy wrapper accidentally caught the wind and flew out of his window... It happens.

Not much later a second candy wrapper came out the passenger side and before it hit the ground two empty soda cans followed its path. I automatically cancelled out the possibility that the wind caused this and concluded that the people in front of me decided to start the morning off with a neat and tidy cabin by throwing their garbage out the window!!!

I'm generally a nice guy and not much gets me angry.........but this did.

So at the first traffic light I got out of my car, walked over to the car in front of me and "tapped" on the window like any normal angry guy would do and to my surprise a really average office-clerk kinda guy rolls down the window. Beside him an equally average office-clerk kinda guy, nice ties, good suits, clean teeth.....you know, just normal people on their way to work.

I asked them, redundantly, if the two candy wrappers and soda cans, that just flew past me, were theirs. I guess the two average office-clerk looking kinda guys held some job where they have to be familiar with legal issues because their first concern was if their garbage had made any damage to my car...

I replied that it did not.... What followed was a simultaneously facial expression from the two office-clerk looking kinda guys that could only be described as puzzled. I continued by questioning if they consider it normal behavior to just throw one's junk out of the car window and if they also did this at the office or at home.

Since they were in no mood to start a conversation with a tree-hugging-hippy environmentalist (which I am not!!) they prepared for the light to turn green and ignored me by looking away. To which I replied that I would be prepared to follow them to their office and place my complaint with their boss since I really would like an answer to my previous question. (I know, I can be pretty irritating )

With a condescending tone he answered that he really didn't care and that there are people who get paid to clean up that kind of junk........

We ended our conversation with me threatening him that if he ever did it again I would drag him out of his car back to his junk and I would shove it down his throat. It was a nice morning indeed......

But the whole point of this story is, the biggest challenge we, as a society, face today is the indifference for the consequences of our actions. If it doesn't effect us personally, we need not bother to worry about it. Just throw it out the window......

Peace

I have to agree with you, many people aren't learning the fact that actions do in fact have consequences. Having sex could equate into a child, and the only 100% guaranteed way to prevent that is to not have sex in the first place. No reporting your child dead or missing for 30 days could get you arrested, and if found not guilty, you could have everyone hate you. It's a shame though that bad actions don't always have bad consequences, as evidenced in your case. Did they learn their lesson? Probably not. Did the people who were greedy learn their lesson when they couldn't pay off the loans they shouldn't have gotten in the first place? Probably.

People need to learn that actions have consequences, some good some bad, but not all of them are right.

I agree most people nowadays have total lack of regard for others. To many people are selfish and self righteous and only think about themselves.

While he did not damage your car he still managed to damage yours and all of ours planet.

The lack of respect people show for themselves and others is disgusting to say the least.

Originally posted by XJMatt
I agree most people nowadays have total lack of regard for others. To many people are selfish and self righteous and only think about themselves.

While he did not damage your car he still managed to damage yours and all of ours planet.

The lack of respect people show for themselves and others is disgusting to say the least.

At first I thought it was the educational level of people that made them throw entire bags of McD's packaging out of their cars. But a couple of weeks ago I was confronted with a brand new BMW Z4, behind the wheel a CEO type with his toupet firmly attached (as it is a convertable) and enjoying his midlife crisis.

He was literally cleaning out his car while doing 90 down the highway. At the next gasstation I approached this individual and confronted him with his behaviour like he was a three year old. He clearly wasn't used to being spoken to like that but atleast he admitted that I was right and thanked me for pointing out his error.

It has become a sort of personal obsession of mine and I swear the next time I'm following somebody home and dump their entire lawn full of junk. I'll ring their doorbell and tell them I did it and assumped that they would not mind....

Peace

Excellent rant!
I couldn't agree more.

I was at a drive-thru one time with my daughter and the asshole in the car directly in front of us threw an empty soda bottle out of their window.
I was soooo pissed that I got out and picked up the bottle and approached her window. When she opened it I proceeded to throw the bottle right back into her car and told her exactly what I thought about litter bugs. What disgusted me more than anything was that she had 2 kids in her car. What a great example she was setting for her kids, huh?

I think people who toss their trash out of their cars should be made to live and work at a local land fill for a month.

I live in the sticks and people are always dumping their full trashbags onto the side of my street. I just put on my gloves and go thru it until I find mail with their home addy and call the cops. I always find either mail or bills or applications for government aid of some sort. The cops make them come out and pick up their mess.

Even birds know not to # in their own nest. Litterers are scum!

Hey mindcrime
I was wondering if you had ever read a book called Sick Puppy by Carl Hiiason?
His main charactor is following a litterbug for several miles on the highway and gets so furious that he follows him to a bar. While the asshole is inside the main charactor bribes a garbage truck crew to let him borrow the truck for 30 minutes and he dumps the entire load into the guys convertable.
Priceless!

reply to post by Neysa


I live fairly close to the sticks aswell and I swear I see more trash dumped on the sides of the roads out there then you can imagine, whenever we find an illegal dumpsite we do the same and look for identifying documentation and turn them in.

reply to post by operation mindcrime


I do understand why you got upset....who wants trash flying at their car while out driving..I think no one. However....they threw trash out of their window.....but you threatened them with bodily harm....how does your threat help the situation?

Originally posted by caladonea
reply to post by operation mindcrime

 

I do understand why you got upset....who wants trash flying at their car while out driving..I think no one.

I don't know if you misunderstood the message that I was trying to convey but it certainly wasn't about the possibility of my car getting hit by trash. Read it again.....

However....they threw trash out of their window.....but you threatened them with bodily harm....how does your threat help the situation?

There is no moral or ethics when it comes to the issue of littering. Their is no "perceived" right or wrong. Maybe the threat doesn't help the situation (which I am willing to argue with you) at least it's justifiable!!

Peace

reply to post by operation mindcrime


high five man!
I love getting into it with people who litter - I'm not shy about it either
You absolutely did the right thing! (just glad you didn't get shot for it) ♥

reply to post by Forevever

Thanks man.

just glad you didn't get shot for it

Dying of old age certainly is preferable but when one has to die defending what he believes to be right, wouldn't it be great to know that believe is 100% accurate?

Hey, I might take up the task of becoming "Captain Litter", defending clean roadsides everywhere.

Gotta find me some cool superpowers!!

Peace

reply to post by operation mindcrime


completely agree! luckily I also have not been shot for it

since everyone else is sharing - I don't actually drive - but I once saw a woman throw a soda bottle into the street while walking - I picked it up and chased her down and handed it to her with a smile and said "you dropped this"


There really is no excuse for that behavior where I live. There's a trashcan on every corner - the burough put them in about 20 years ago. The area I live in is a full 1 mile by 1 mile.... its not like they'd have to carry it very far.

Thanks for putting a Slipknot song into my head in a loop (a line from one of their songs goes "your garbage in is garbage out", couldn't help it)

I agree though, how hard is it to put stuff in the trash or wait until you find a place to deposit instead of just tossing it willy nilly? Should've thrown your trash into the car window.

reply to post by curious7


ooo slipknot!
better than what was going through my head
the cheat code for simcity 3000
garbage in, garbage out

reply to post by Forevever


Absolutely amazing how people can justify their behavior to themselves.

From a weird perspective it always intrigues me what is going on inside the head of somebody who just throws their trash where they stand. Are they really not aware....??

I mean, if somebody would asks me why I blink my eyes every 30 seconds, I would respond that I am not aware of this process and it just happens. Does it work the same with people who litter? Are they not aware?

These same people usually know how to use a toilet if they have to relieve themselves of other garbage. They don't just drop their pants in the middle of street and "be done with it". It can't be that they are not aware....

Peace

reply to post by operation mindcrime


omg don't get me started on the bathroom habits ... I'm amazed these people can even find a bathroom sometimes, to do what they do to it

is it apathy? is it denial? is it a mental illness? freak if I know but I hope they get some help

Bathroom habits are the worst.

I'm a guy but even I'm annoyed when guys leave the seat up especially, how hard is it to put it down after use?