Ocean Beach, San Francisco

Tourists following non-tourists

Ocean Beach is like Atlantic City without the Boardwalk or casinos. With a better ocean. In a better state.

Big metal boxes

"Lodi Man" (see earlier post for two paragraphs of sketchy details)

I do not know them

Bob was morose--the sea spat him out

Hurry, Spot

British bikes are cool, but one should not place trust in their electrical systems

© Pseudocognitive

Fan violence: Out of control hedonism and the frivolous use of oxygen

This isn't a thoughtful commentary or a well constructed essay. This is a disorganized spew of disgust haphazardly composed under a fog of caffeine-deficiency, and not a very coherent one at that. 


What the HELL is it going to take until NFL and MLB owners wake up and decide to start valuing decent fans over the worthless, waste-of-oxygen scumbags who seem to increasingly control the fan culture in stadiums, parking lots, and the immediate vicinity? I am as imbued with tradition as the next guy, and I do like a beer now and then, but until these money-grubbing owners decide that the safety of true fans and their families is more important than catering to drunken, shit-for-brains thugs, this will continue to escalate. Until they spend a little more on security and a little less on the contracts of multimillion dollar prima donna players, there will be more Bryan Stows lying in comas, more beat-downs in stadium bathrooms, and more brawls in parking lots documented by chanting idiots with cell phone cameras.


These issues have existed for decades, but they are exacerbated now by a societal celebration of immaturity and self-pleasure and by a legal system that seems at times to go out of its way to target and punish people who act in self defense. Whereas California's Penal Code specifies a more reasonable standard for defining self defense than some states (there is no legally mandated "duty to retreat" here), in practical applications, if you severely hurt or kill someone who presented a lethal threat to you or your family, you'll be confronted by a pretty high hurdle to jump in order to prove you were justified. And spare me the "presumed innocent, burden of proof on the prosecution" stuff. It sounds good, but vote-hungry, political wind-sniffer DA's have a way of doing what's expedient. Sure, such a situation can definitely threaten your life, but your response may come down to what you fear more: the effects on your family of your death or of your incarceration. Having a decent life insurance policy may tip the scales.


The latest violence at Candlestick Park isn't going to change my behavior; I have no time for attending games anyway. I'll continue to do what I've always done--take every possible step to avoid potential problems. I won't hesitate to defend my family and myself should that become necessary. In other words, I won't go looking for trouble. I'll behave in a civilized manner.  

Civilized...remember that?

© Pseudocognitive

Two-paragraph picture: Lodi Man

This guy can’t possibly think that the woman he met a few hours ago can actually see him from the cargo container she’s hiding in. He has to know that even if she could see him, she wouldn’t bother to acknowledge his solitary presence on that gray beach. Look at him–his posture saying nothing so loudly as “defeat,” his bag full of whatever physical hooks to his history he considered important enough to pack when he fled the basement room back in Lodi. This guy should be tacked up on the office walls of high school guidance counselors everywhere as an example of how not to carry yourself if you want to avoid being bullied.

For God’s sake, man, you were nothing but a means to her end anyway.  Straighten your spine, throw away the cracked, useless condom you’ve been carrying in your wallet since 1984, and walk the hell out of there!  Start a new life. Get a boat and take people fishing for leopard sharks. Set up a fire-walking franchise on Mt. Tam; there are still plenty of harmonic convergers willing to part with some cash for the chance to believe in totally bogus bullshit. Something, anything besides staring at that ship. I can’t watch you any longer.
                               

Post and photo © Pseudocognitive All rights reserved, forever.