And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
I worked in Shanghai in the 1990s, as HMFIC of 2 construction projects (little did I know I was facilitating the hollowing out of the American middle class). We had a bus pick up employees including me and the rest of the ex-pat engineering staff every day. The route to the job side took us through an intersection sort of like this, a meeting of 2 wide thoroughfares, like 3 or 4 vehicle lanes in each direction plus a single vehicle-wide lane on the side supposed to be for bicycles only. They had a police officer standing on a podium in the middle - white gloves, whistle, looking very official to attempt to regulate the flow of traffic. The only problem was - the only people that stopped when they were supposed to, were the ones facing him. So the light would turn, the traffic cop would rotate 90 degrees on his platform, and those he faced would obey the red light. Behind him - complete chaos. It was hilarious, and always a traffic jam of nightmare proportions.
Just like ants.
ReplyDeleteChinese fire drill?
ReplyDeleteAmazing, no collusions
ReplyDeleteThe pedestrian is the crazy one
ReplyDeleteand just as abruptly, it stops!
ReplyDeleteOnce you accept that the only rule is that everything goes by Jungle Rules, then it all works out.
ReplyDeleteShows how effective govt rule under threat of death can be.
ReplyDeleteOr better yet, absolutely NO government rules and let the people decide.
DeleteNot that long ago, everyone in China rode bicycles.
ReplyDeleteI worked in Shanghai in the 1990s, as HMFIC of 2 construction projects (little did I know I was facilitating the hollowing out of the American middle class). We had a bus pick up employees including me and the rest of the ex-pat engineering staff every day. The route to the job side took us through an intersection sort of like this, a meeting of 2 wide thoroughfares, like 3 or 4 vehicle lanes in each direction plus a single vehicle-wide lane on the side supposed to be for bicycles only. They had a police officer standing on a podium in the middle - white gloves, whistle, looking very official to attempt to regulate the flow of traffic. The only problem was - the only people that stopped when they were supposed to, were the ones facing him. So the light would turn, the traffic cop would rotate 90 degrees on his platform, and those he faced would obey the red light. Behind him - complete chaos. It was hilarious, and always a traffic jam of nightmare proportions.
ReplyDeleteI should clarify that about 60% of the vehicles at that time were bicycles.
DeleteThe only rule is "every man for himself".
ReplyDelete