- Joined
- Dec 16, 2010
- Messages
- 45,481
- Reaction score
- 11,194
- Location
- Stellenbosch
- Bike
- KTM 690 Adventure
There is currently a upheaval on this forum over my apparent lack of respect for a fallen journalist. 1st of all, I do not wish death upon anyone, and realise the grief his family is going through.
At the same time we live in a situation where taxi's simply ride over and kill people on a weekly basis, where the public is outraged over attempts to catch them speeding, where a lot of bikers fit no number plates in order to blatantly break the law, entitlement to our own set of broken traffic laws are becoming a huge issue.
Here is a world renowned journalist, on a heavy and cumbersome motorcycle, doing well over the national speed limit on a public road. All of you have seen the "Darwinism at work" remarks made here when reports come on about speeding/law breaking superbikers/scooters,etc. Now this is my take, most of us have seen illegal speed sometime or the other, but I for one live by a code that if I do stupid, I live by the name stupid. IOW, if I fly at 160 on gravel on a 250kg machine, and the act kills me, I will not hold anyone to paying me respect.
In fact it is quite allright to then call me a law-breaking, selfish and outright dangerous doos.
So explain to me again why this journalist deserves respect? Just because he died?
At the same time we live in a situation where taxi's simply ride over and kill people on a weekly basis, where the public is outraged over attempts to catch them speeding, where a lot of bikers fit no number plates in order to blatantly break the law, entitlement to our own set of broken traffic laws are becoming a huge issue.
Here is a world renowned journalist, on a heavy and cumbersome motorcycle, doing well over the national speed limit on a public road. All of you have seen the "Darwinism at work" remarks made here when reports come on about speeding/law breaking superbikers/scooters,etc. Now this is my take, most of us have seen illegal speed sometime or the other, but I for one live by a code that if I do stupid, I live by the name stupid. IOW, if I fly at 160 on gravel on a 250kg machine, and the act kills me, I will not hold anyone to paying me respect.
In fact it is quite allright to then call me a law-breaking, selfish and outright dangerous doos.
So explain to me again why this journalist deserves respect? Just because he died?
