I would like to apologize for using “potty” mouth. I do realize that some people find certain words offensive. I don’t, but some do and I respect that.
A few thoughts:
Most SUV’s burn more gas per mile than smaller cars.
SUV’s are much more practical for many families than smaller more efficient cars and larger less efficient private jets and helicopters.
Driving an SUV does not equate to having a lack of social conscience or equate to
Conservative politics. The same can be said about big old Lincoln town cars, country squire wagons and old Cadillac’s.
Automobiles, not just SUV”S, are considered by many to be a major contributor to global warming.
Cold engines, regardless of size or the vehicle they are in, are much more harmful to the environment than hot engines. (Something to do with the effectiveness of the cad converter)(Saab has a plan to capture the cold engine emissions in a “bag” and redirect it into the cad converter once it warms up)
Statistics, math and intellect can be dangerous when not used properly.
Stereotypes are very bad, and sometimes very hard to avoid.
Whining as a child does not mean you are conservative.
Being born a Muslim does not make you a terrorist.
Not all people from India are “super smart”.
Studying does not make people smart.
There is a difference between “book” smarts and “street” smarts.
A professor of psychology is not necessarily smarter than a practicing psychologist.
Education and learning are unique to every person. College isn’t the answer for everyone. College is not the only way to become a “liberal elite” or “smart person”.
Some conservatives are inquisitive AND smart AND disagree with pre-emptive war, torture, outing CIA agents for political gain, illegal wiretapping and permanent tax cuts.
People have very different criteria and very different weightings on those criteria when buying a house, a car or even food at the store or a restaurant.
The type of vehicle you drive does not define you.
The size of your home does not define you.
Your appetite does not define you.
The number of years you spent studying in school does not define you.
Your skin color does not define you.
not all politicians are liars.
not all Americans are evil.
not all Muslims are good.
not all drivers of small hybrid eco-friendly cars have a social and moral conscience.
If ever someone tries to define you simply because of the type of car you drive, the size of your home, your appetite, your educational history or your skin color please explain to them that Chris Hempstead has made that mistake in the past and is asking that they learn from his mistakes by reconsidering how they define you.
so in the end what would i like to see?
I would like for conervatives, liberals, elitist, meatheads, independents and moderates from both sides come together and agree that each person in this country is an individual with unique individual characteristics. Judging a person based on anything other than their personal unique characteristics can lead to trouble because you will always run the risk of being wrong in your assertion. Anytime you take that risk and group people together beacuse of one or two or even three or more common characteristic you can be assured that someone is going to disaggree with you and quite possibly voice their opinion.
Add Jim to your del.icio.us network
Some goddamn shit-kicking good points in those mother-fucking titty-sucking thoughts of yours… Keep it real, my honkey.
Chris,
I agree with many of your points. I pointed out your reliance on profanity in the heat of argument to say that I think you rely too much on your passion in many posts and resort to ad hominem attacks when you do better to argue facts. This post was intelligible and balanced, and I appreciate that.
It doesn’t change my argument that there are still choices in vehicles for families of 5 or more. A big SUV isn’t necessarily the best choice for a wide range of reasons including safety (for the occupants or others) and fuel efficiency, and it certainly isn’t the only choice. And I hope one day we have many more and better choices, perhaps some that run on fuel cells or some sort of renewable energy that doesn’t prop up dictatorships in the Middle East or Africa (see Nigeria, a supplier of 25% of our oil).
I also still think that certain choices one makes absolutely does define oneself. I know that there are many people who don’t fit certain stereotypes, like the socially conservative Christians who vote Republican but who are also very “green” environmentalists and believe we should protect God’s creation. Likewise, there are liberals who agree with the invasion of Iraq. But I simply can’t imagine a liberal who would drive a Hummer. When I see one of those, I immediately think “asshole.” (Please forgive my pottiness. :-)
ky
ken,
check out this suv.
http://www.navistar.com/site_layout/xtfamily/cxt.asp
my suv could fit in the cab of this one.
on a side note,
liz and i chose to get the ml320 because it was smaller, less obnoxious than the large suv’s, got much better gas mileage than the larger ones and had the safety rating that was so important to our decision making process. we had narrowed our field of choices down to the volvo wagon, subaru vdc wagon, the audi a8 we couldnt afford and the cheapest of the benz SUV. one of a few reasons the benz won was the fact that everyone else drives a god damn suv and liz did not feel comfortable in the fact that she couldnt see anything in front of her. she wanted to be higher up and was 100% against driving a suburban or expedition. she felt they were ridiculous. another reason was the fact that liz had a c-section with jack and experienced considerable discomfort for some time after jack was born. getting in and out of a low to the ground car with an infant child was becoming very hard on her. when the twins were born, we were lucky to have a car big enough to hold three infant seats, a large triple stroller and the diapers and other stuff we would take home from costco once a month. also lucky because liz had another c-section and now had to maneuver three tiny kids in and out of the vehicle.
we did not want a mini-van at the time. that i can say was simply because we didnt like them, for no scientific reason other than taste.
over the past year we have discussed the next car choice. it isnt time yet but we are planning ahead. i am pushing once again for the subaru wagon. i wish i could afford the audi a8 wagon. the volvo wagon is nice too but i heard the cost of maintanence, like the mercedes, is high. slowly but surely the word minivan has come up several times. we are still not there yet but it might happen someday. vehicles that are not being considered are suburbans, expeditions, hummers etc etc etc.
we are comfortable with our decision to drive the ml320.
oh yeah, and on the decision to live where we live: we chose the house we could afford larglely in part because of it’s proximity to the food store, dry cleaners school(when they are old enough) etc etc. it is nice to be able to walk to the store and run errands without the car. liz likes to walk. i like to ride my bike to the store. i can fit a thirty pack of bud in the kid seat when i go solo. i can even buckle it in.
we are looking forward to getting a mini van, sounds strange I know, but i figure i’ve got my cool car in the garage, so who cares what the functional family truckster looks like.
good god. please don’t get a minivan beedge. there’s gotta be another option. like a hybrid midsized SUV or something. honestly! my stomach is curdling at the prospect of seeing you and the fam cruising town in a friggin minivan. I’m sorry. too many CCD trips with the Sawyers scarred me for life when it comes to minivans.
first off: i want to give massive editorial props to hempstead for writing the above post. true, it reads a bit like a cross between free verse poetry and the ranting of the unabomber with a pinch of overly moralistic haiku, but it’s heartfelt, thoughtful and attempts to make forward motion. so, rock on my brother.
secondly: i can tell by the general distaste of mini-vans in the above comments that none of you are seeing the organic continuum between the VW camper and the modern mini van. This poor judgement is worthy of an exploratory essay which will be forthcoming.
I managed to raise my family without resorting to a station wagon - the minivan of its day - mostly for the reasons that jer mentions. Admittedly, car seats in those days were less La-z-boy sized than the current ones, and were considered OPTIONAL by kids and parents alike! My younger cousins, at the beginning of the minivan years, all had them, and were appropriately mocked by yours truly for it.
And so I was totally anti-minivan until a year ago. But since Tricia got one - and I’ve driven it - I have to admit that it is the ideal vehicle for young families, and not bad to drive at all. So I guess old dogs can - if not learn new tricks - at least understand them.
if there is one thing i have learned from these writings it’s that there is not one contributer of the WB that agrees that Hummer’s are a necessary or practical means of transportation for the american family.