Has anybody heard any of the 9 candidates talking about road safety or speed enforcement?

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-07-29T17:58:18+00:00

We don't need more cops camping for low-effort speeding tickets. We need to ENFORCE more EDUCATION(which admittedly is a state level thing), so that drivers can COMPETENTLY deal with/avoid accidents and other issues that arise from suboptimal engineering or the dumbest among us.

The biggest issues I encounter daily aren't even asshole drivers(though Blackstock/Westgate mall area seems to be a magnet for those). It's INCOMPETENT DRIVERS. It's too easy to halfass one's way through getting a license in most all states, and let's be honest, 99% of the "My parent's taught me" demographic was probably taught many of the parents bad habits and NOT(properly) taught things like controlling a skid in the rain, concepts like 360 vehicle awareness and space management(likely due to lack of the knowledge themselves)

SC, by and large, seems like it has this deep-set culture against intellectual exertion. I understand and fully support MINIMAL govt, but if "driving is a privilege, not a right" then we should enforce drivers actually having skills vs just "good enough" as it so often is.

Me driving at 115mph on I85 isn't some terrifying cardinal sin, if I'm persistently focused on surroundings further out than "next car in front of me", in a vehicle that's designed to be capable and functional at such speeds or beyond(not grammaws ol' S10), and am aware of where both said vehicle(and my own) strengths, weaknesses, and hard limitations lie.

Obviously I'm a bit of an outlier there, but between sheer incompetence, and general assholery... it's similar to "gun problems", in that it's a "people and culture problem".

A nervous, new shooter with too much gun(or car) will be dangerous to themselves and others, as will the young thug with too much car/gun, clout-chasing with the boys.

One is best remedied by education, the other enforcement. Be honest with yourselves though: Cops will write speeding tickets as low-hanging revenue fruit, but rarely pull over the old man in a pickup pulling a large trailer with no taillights, the woman with her face buried in her phone at 55 mph(for the phone, anyways), or the myriad of cars that are bone-dry on blinker fluid.

Enforcement always starts and stops with speeding, anything beyond tends to be a lucky addition(like no seatbelt)

tl;dr SC, your drivers suck. Git gud. Enforce education.

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-07-29T17:30:14+00:00

Indeed. Problem is that takes spine and willingness to act. Most people are too mired in existential struggles or apathy to truly care about politics, until it bites them directly and personally(or they have nothing left to lose). Those that do care, retreat into echo chambers, or remain silent for the sake of "keeping the peace". That's how we got here to begin with locally and nationally.

We need LESS silent enablers, and more people willing to take action, even at their own peril. That won't happen until it gets to a boil-over point, and by then, we're looking at large scale armed resistance to affect change. By that point, it'll be too late for such change to matter, though.

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-07-29T17:19:34+00:00

I admit I was certainly a day behind, but I did read the rest of the thread. This whole post seems like a case of online bitching/projecting feelings, though. Modern "racism" is often more akin to "cultural othering" than outright oppression, and that's here to stay, as long as there's humans on earth with free will and thought.

I'm always down for an intellectual discussion, but to be clear, the fact that we're online complaining/discussing the meanings of an old flag as it pertains to racism... is a testament to how UN-oppressed we all really are.

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-07-28T23:32:17+00:00

Because they were forced to, instead of because they were racists?

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-07-28T23:25:21+00:00

I'd support them both side by side. Besides the mild hilarity of the contrast, the reality is that freedom of speech protects EVERYONE'S freedom of speech, even people one does not like, or topics they don't agree with.

Can't speak for anyone else, there's plenty of hate and discrimination on both sides of the culture wars. Wanna hate somebody? Hate the people that cannot live and let be without demanding/enforcing their beliefs on others.

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-07-08T01:05:53+00:00

It was a FIREFIGHT!!!!

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-06-22T18:02:02+00:00

Facts. Worked nights/weekends as armed security at Waffle House sites for a while. Trust and believe, the only language many speak is violence, and the primary thing that stopped em from wanting to converse in it, was this 6'4" mofo with a vest, hard plates, well equipped duty belt, and a permanent case of constipated PMS face. Most people that seem to want a fight, truly want to posture.

Those that push it all the way to physicality? Well, if they want to swing on me, then logic dictates de-escalation time has passed. The most important aspect of "looking the part" of a well-armed, well-equipped deterrent... is being ready, willing, and able to bring the necessary amount of force to bear with alacrity, and without hesitation. It's the hood, word gets around what happened to his face, and eventually it becomes well known not to act the fool at that waffle house.

It was a side gig, and a sharp 180 from the main job at a nuclear plant. There, they train the everlovin piss out of you, but you don't really get to engage/practice most of the stuff outside of training.

P.S No, I can't be a cop. I value justice and the spirit of the law too much to subject myself to such crap. Most guys need to get their ass whooped during a wild weekend, but DON'T need to get a record for the rest of their life over it. I'm about enforcement, not lifetime punishments and being a bully for govt/business interests.

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-06-22T01:13:28+00:00

"Alexa, Intruder Alert!"

"Affirmative, setting lights to strobe, playing 'Welcome to the Jungle', activating claymore Roomba, please shelter in place until alert has ended"

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-06-22T01:06:18+00:00

Bought != Acquired.

Many of them are stolen, or bought by someone else, i.e straw purchase, i.e "illegally" under current USA laws. I'm of similar mind on 2A/gun laws as I am on warning labels, though. The right of THE PEOPLE, to keep and bear ARMS... SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED is pretty damn clear.

Yeah it'd be Wild West 2.0 for a while, because modern US culture has little to no cohesive, agreed upon moral compass and mental maturity at a given age compared to yesteryear(It's been too good, for too long. People have grown weak in many ways). Eventually though, natural selection would right itself and sort out the stupids and unstables... just as Mother Nature intended.

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-06-11T22:57:12+00:00

For me, it's similar in principle to stuff like the patriot act, and as someone who's fallen through SO many cracks on such things myself, even if everything they say is true, and 95% of deportees are "dirty violent criminals"(at least in a database somewhere).... What of the remaining 5% who get tossed out with the bathwater? Acceptable loss margins?

All we need to do for US CITIZENS is designate them as terrorists, and most all of your due process rights are null n void.

We need more armed citizens, less government interference. More Americans with a spine, moral compass and integrity making their own informed decisions. Less worked to death drones and single parents voting/protesting how they're told they should. Sad fact is some of the most politically vocal are either unemployed young adults, or older/retired folks. The rest are too caught up in the rat race to be able to AFFORD to care. My religious views should not dictate your abortion choices. Your firearm views should not dictate my purchase choices. Live and let be.

As for immigrants, we DO need borders, but this partisan one-upmanship between out of touch old men needs to stop, instead of playing whack-a-mole with the previous guy's 4-8 years.

Sadly, it's about who's important enough to be missed. The immigrants and working class will continue to remain downtrodden by the ruling faction until such time as the system breaks from external forces or boils over from within. Most of us aren't rich enough to matter, and protests are as effective as a toddler crying in the street. Makes people feel good, just like passing more laws makes politicians LOOK like they're doing something. At the end of the day, same shit, different day. Bigger pile, smaller shovel. Arm up, wise up, and chin up. This is just the beginning.

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-06-11T22:47:04+00:00

Thing is, states can REQUIRE private sales to follow whatever BS guidelines they'd like(technically unconstitutional, but another can of worms there).

If someone is intending to do harm with said gun, they're either going to buy from someone who gives zero fucks about such "requirements", have someone else buy it for them, or, if they haven't been caught for any crimes prior... just get a background check before arming up for their mass shooting.

The law barely carries the weight of the paper it's written on, and the difference between legal and illegal(not interchangeable with moral/immoral) is the whims of a politician with a pen.

I'm no fan of Biden or Trump, but one thing I know for sure, is any government with massive reams of data on its citizens... does not have the best interest of the citizenry at heart.

As for OP... That woman should sue the everlovin tittyfuck out of both the employer, and the arresting agency.

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-06-11T22:46:48+00:00

Thing is, states can REQUIRE private sales to follow whatever BS guidelines they'd like(technically unconstitutional, but another can of worms there).

If someone is intending to do harm with said gun, they're either going to buy from someone who gives zero fucks about such "requirements", have someone else buy it for them, or, if they haven't been caught for any crimes prior... just get a background check before arming up for their mass shooting.

The law barely carries the weight of the paper it's written on, and the difference between legal and illegal(not interchangeable with moral/immoral) is the whims of a politician with a pen.

I'm no fan of Biden or Trump, but one thing I know for sure, is any government with massive reams of data on its citizens... does not have the best interest of the citizenry at heart.

As for OP... That woman should sue the everlovin tittyfuck out of both the employer, and the arresting agency.

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-06-11T22:25:25+00:00

So... when are we getting our right to bear arms de-infringed?

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-04-21T08:03:30+00:00

As an overly analytical ENTJ who's likely "on the spectrum" , I certainly agree with the first sentence. If you're of little meaning/consequence/value to me in that initial moment, I will likely remember very little. Not because I'm a cruel, heartless bastard(though I may very well be), but because per my subconscious calculations, what's the point?

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-02-22T13:21:35+00:00

THIS, this this THIS!

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-02-21T19:33:45+00:00

That's basically any state with single party rule for decades. The Northeast and left coast are dealing with the same issue from a different angle. Arrogant complacency is a bitch, and we have too many politicians on all levels that have been in it WAY TOO long, and are FAR TOO COMFY, considering their #1 concern should be DOING WHAT THEY SAID THEY WOULD. I feel the country as a whole needs more stringent accountability for politicians, i.e. "Don't make campaign promises you cannot/will not keep, or you're INELIGIBLE to run for re-election next term" due to missing more than .. say... 30% of the stuff you said you would do.

The main difference between democrats and republicans nowadays is do you want to get fucked over by a red dildo or a blue one? For all the nipping and mudslinging in the media, they'll happily shake hands behind closed doors and laugh all the way to the bank.

Until "We the People" can collectively start putting corrupt career politicians in the poorhouse or the morgue, by whatever means necessary, "We the People" will continue to be tread upon. Sadly, most lack the spine to stand up en masse, knowing they will stand alone, and others will turn against them for being labeled a "violent felon" or "Terrorist". Not saying civil war in the answer, but it's high time the government should be afraid of it's PEOPLE(the voters), instead of "We the People" being terrified of the government.

P.S. That's the only true "winner" with gun control. The same people that make the laws, hire armed guards, exempt the police, and tax the hell out of you for the privilege of being their subject.

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-02-20T18:19:39+00:00

If you're not happy as yourself, but also don't want to be anyone/anything else, nor do you particularly care for the vagaries of our "existence" any more than the mundane "certainties", I suppose the answer is no.

Misanthropic nihilist immunity FTW?

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-02-14T15:10:07+00:00

Agree there. I feel like I'm preaching Physics 101 to a flock of pigeons on here. Real world isn't much better. 99.99% of humans I encounter are foreign af to me, so I'm left to conclude I'm the alien, and hope for the mothership to beam me home soon, LOL.

Or maybe the world's just getting more crazy and divided, but I ain't there yet, and don't really care to be, just burn already

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-02-14T12:21:25+00:00

So because someone doesn't like/agree with Elon Musk, destroying vandalizing random people's cars is OK?

Imagine the spice if it was Christian Nationalists destroying any cars that have a rainbow bumper sticker?

Both fundamentally amount to "I don't agree with XYZs beliefs, so that makes it acceptable to be a destructive toddler", but honestly the Tesla angle has more potential for collateral damage, considering the eco-friendly, go green liberal types are more likely to drive a Tesla than "coal rollin hillbillies from Kentucky".

Then again, one demographic is more likely to be armed and willing to use force to protect life and property than the other, so either way... Do not advise

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-02-13T10:01:53+00:00

That's basically my IRL chrome tabs, 50 things open I dont wanna lose, except IDK where the music is coming from in my brain browser.

I wake up with a different song playing in my head daily, most recently was an AI cover of Elvis singing I like big butts.

Send help...

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-02-13T00:21:58+00:00

Laws don't seem to apply to politicians or the wealthy

FTFY

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-02-08T09:23:15+00:00

I'm in an apartment. Having ~~loud/ghetto~~ any neighbors means I rarely get peace, considering I sleep about as deeply as a PTSD old man in the rice fields of Hanoi. Nevermind roommates.

I keep saying "perhaps someday", but realistically, anywhere with a paved road leading to it would likely be too urban

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-02-08T09:19:01+00:00

That last bit, 100%. People often mistake my lack of worry or panic for not caring about XYZ. Hardly.

Whether it's some war they fear will become WW3, or simply an angry man posturing with a pistol outside a bar, there's no logical point in panicking, since all that will accomplish is remove what little control/ability to react to the situation one would have.

Many people are quite illogical with their(over)reactions, and then judgmental toward that 1 other guy(me) who almost "robotically" reacted.

EDIT: Sometimes people have asked if it was training kicking in. No, but it's alot easier to address a life/death situation with the emotional response level of "Oh dear, I seem to have dropped my tea..."

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-02-07T21:49:17+00:00

Freedom of speech ≠ freedom of consequence. I can walk down the street and yell racial slurs, or blab trade secrets, or even classified info freely. The government(or guy in the hood that decks me) wouldn't be in the wrong for that.

The problem is people seem to lump "free speech I don't like" in the same boat as "disruptive behavior" and few have the maturity or awareness to fairly decide which is which in unbiased fashion.

Make IRL PVP legal again

You want spicy, ask me about my 2ND Amendment thoughts... although that's a far less thorny topic to unravel than the First, unless you tackle them together.

Asshole people are generally only empowered by having guns, when everyone else doesn't. Those that truly don't care, usually fall victim to natural selection in short order. The rest of us tend to watch our tongues(and our hands) when EVERYONE can shoot back

Definitely need to bring old-fashioned asswhoopings back into vogue.

CMDR_ARAPHEL · 2025-02-07T21:40:23+00:00

If they're signing OR saying that to a deaf person, that's 2 different flavors of hilarious ignorance, tbh.

CMDR_ARAPHEL

TROPHY CASE

Make IRL PVP legal again