What happened to our community?

Jono said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

Nobody has given a valid reason to not wanting peeps to park on the road putside their house.

My cousin lives in a small street in Curtin where they’d started getting lots of people parking and walking to Woden. These people would happily park in front of their bins on garbage collection day, and a couple of times parked such that the garbage truck was unable to navigate the street at all. Not to mention the fact that one of his neighbours, who’s a tradesman, had people parking such that he couldn’t get his van and trailer out of his driveway.

To my way of thinking, that’s astonishingly inconsiderate and rude, but as a number of the posters have said, it was legal to do it, and they don’t care how much inconvenience that they cause for the residents.

Now they’ve had parking restrictions implemented (which the residents didn’t want) and they are no longer allowed to park in part of the street that they live in.

They’re just being community minded. If only we all were social enough to visit a different suburb 5 days a week.

I regret not living close enough to a town centre to enjoy the way super thrifty peoples motorised appliances could alter my vista.

Residential streets were designed for long term parking for frugal backward thinking commuters after all..

How is it possible that the OP pulls this hand-wringing ‘community’ rhetoric while at the same time justifying inconveniencing others to save himself a few bucks.

The irony fairy should smash you in the face with her irony wand for that one.

Gerry-Built said :

…continued parking in Power Street, Mawson, then?

Not as if most of the Rioters didn’t pick it.

Man: “All right, it’s a fair cop, but the community is to blame.”
Community Policeman: “Agreed.”
Man: “I would like another three on street parking fracas to be taken into consideration.”
Community Policeman: “Right. And now, I’d like to conclude this arrest with community singing”.

Masquara said :

The garbos can and do pick up bins across cars …

From his description, it’s seems that they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) when there was a large 4WD parked directly in front of a bin in a narrow street.

He’s told me that not getting their bins collected was a regular problem because of the parking. I do know that he was at home one day when the truck simply couldn’t drive down the street and the only reason that they were emptied that day was because he saw what was going on and wheeled his bin, and all of the neighbours’ bins, to the top of the street for the truck.

FormerlyCommunityMindedCanberrans said :

I’m disappointed that there has not been more constructive debate. At no point does my original post say whether I have been the subject of abuse or vandalism and yet a great majority of you automatically assumed that.

I think I owe an apology to myself for my lack of judgment in bringing this to a public forum for proper consideration.

It was fairly strongly implied.

If you are now saying none of this stuff has ever happened to you, then I have to wonder what purpose was served by your creation of a new thread on a fantasy topic.

Perhaps it happened to someone you know, but then why not just say so?

IP

Masquara said :

Jono said :

These people would happily park in front of their bins on garbage collection day.

The garbos can and do pick up bins across cars …

Even if that were the case and it could be done with zero risk to cars, its still an inconvenience for those that live there and the garbos.

‘My desire to park where ever overrides anything anyone has to say, even if you live where I’m parking. If you don’t like it… F*** you, bunch of whingers. My right to park is more important than utilising the street you live in.’

devils_advocate said :

Barcham said :

Tooks said :

It is assault to abuse someone

No it isn’t.

The rest of your rant I agree with, but I’ve gotta say, none of that has ever happened to me. Maybe move to a nicer neighbourhood 🙂

Actually it is, at least legally.

It’s been some years since I studied criminal law, but in my view the above statement is wrong.

As far as I recall, for assault to occur, the offender must cause imminent apprehension of harm to the victim. Generally speaking words alone won’t be enough to do this (for example, a 50kg unarmed woman threatening to kill a 100kg male is unlikely to constitute assault).

However I also recall that the precise legal formulation was subject to variation between jurisdictions, and in particular judicial interpretation. So it could be that the ACT magistrates/superior crts have adopted some kind of ridiculous, all-encompassing definition and laid at the feet of the executive (police) the burden of applying the common-sense test.

You are correct. I took the original comment of ‘abuse’ to mean ‘abuse with threats’, which is obviously not what was intended and so was my mistake.

FormerlyCommunityMindedCanberrans said :

Thank you to those people who made positive contributions.

And thank you to the rest of you as well – nice effort!

Jono said :

These people would happily park in front of their bins on garbage collection day.

The garbos can and do pick up bins across cars …

Thank you to those people who made positive contributions.

Barcham said :

Tooks said :

It is assault to abuse someone

No it isn’t.

The rest of your rant I agree with, but I’ve gotta say, none of that has ever happened to me. Maybe move to a nicer neighbourhood 🙂

Actually it is, at least legally.

It’s been some years since I studied criminal law, but in my view the above statement is wrong.

As far as I recall, for assault to occur, the offender must cause imminent apprehension of harm to the victim. Generally speaking words alone won’t be enough to do this (for example, a 50kg unarmed woman threatening to kill a 100kg male is unlikely to constitute assault).

However I also recall that the precise legal formulation was subject to variation between jurisdictions, and in particular judicial interpretation. So it could be that the ACT magistrates/superior crts have adopted some kind of ridiculous, all-encompassing definition and laid at the feet of the executive (police) the burden of applying the common-sense test.

FormerlyCommunityMindedCanberrans said :

I’m disappointed that there has not been more constructive debate. .

You have not been here long have you?

FormerlyCommunityMindedCanberrans said :

I’m disappointed that there has not been more constructive debate. At no point does my original post say whether I have been the subject of abuse or vandalism and yet a great majority of you automatically assumed that.

I think I owe an apology to myself for my lack of judgment in bringing this to a public forum for proper consideration.

Fair enough, Diddums, come back when you feel like discussing something other than cryptic hypotheticals.

I’m disappointed that there has not been more constructive debate. At no point does my original post say whether I have been the subject of abuse or vandalism and yet a great majority of you automatically assumed that.

I think I owe an apology to myself for my lack of judgment in bringing this to a public forum for proper consideration.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

Nobody has given a valid reason to not wanting peeps to park on the road putside their house.

My cousin lives in a small street in Curtin where they’d started getting lots of people parking and walking to Woden. These people would happily park in front of their bins on garbage collection day, and a couple of times parked such that the garbage truck was unable to navigate the street at all. Not to mention the fact that one of his neighbours, who’s a tradesman, had people parking such that he couldn’t get his van and trailer out of his driveway.

To my way of thinking, that’s astonishingly inconsiderate and rude, but as a number of the posters have said, it was legal to do it, and they don’t care how much inconvenience that they cause for the residents.

Now they’ve had parking restrictions implemented (which the residents didn’t want) and they are no longer allowed to park in part of the street that they live in.

Next time someone comes to shout at you FCMC you can tell them to call the police if they don’t like where you park your car. Or you can call them yourself.

Nobody has given a valid reason to not wanting peeps to park on the road putside their house. I don’t think op mentioned nature strips either.

Masquara said :

KB1971 said :

Rid your bike……..

I was only poking fun at Masquara, I could not resist.

‘cept your missing e backfired on you.

Seriously & on topic though, the OP’s attitude is what creates those hideous gated communities, used to be an American phenomenon and now they are all over eg the Gold Coast hinterland. Avoid the “no parking in front of my house” approach at ALL costs.

Call me crazy, but I think the OP is arguing the same point as you.

housebound said :

HiddenDragon said :

Your broader observation rings true to me. I see many people who look pinched, peevish, wary of anyone they don’t know, seemingly consumed by their own problems and obsessions, and for whom a friendly smile would be a monumental effort.

There’s entire government departments full of people like this.

And they all hated Skywhale.

KB1971 said :

Rid your bike……..

I was only poking fun at Masquara, I could not resist.

‘cept your missing e backfired on you.

Seriously & on topic though, the OP’s attitude is what creates those hideous gated communities, used to be an American phenomenon and now they are all over eg the Gold Coast hinterland. Avoid the “no parking in front of my house” approach at ALL costs.

FormerlyCommunityMindedCanberrans said :

The reason I posted this is to remind everyone one of how aggressive we have become. The point isn’t necessarily parking, it’s about the fact that we all believe that we are ‘entitled’ to something.

No the reason you posted this is to have a whine about how you think being part of a “community” means that people should be have in a way you prescribe. Really, this whole “community” notion is so redolent of “Blair’s Britain” of the 90’s. It failed there too.

This kind of attitude comes from the pendulum having swung too far to individualism over community, aka ‘the public good’. You get the same attitude from prisoners, who constantly bang on about their ‘rights’ but forget that their offending was, in essence, committed against the entire community and is being punished by the community.

If the parking spot allows you to park there legally, then I can see no wrong except for the vandalism. Maybe you should continue to park there with a video camera mounted in the vehicle whilst you are at work, record the next round of damage and get some justice and recompense. I have had the misfortune of having 2 tyres slashed in my own yard, on my own side of the property line [still don’t know who or why], and wish I’d had security cameras to capture them.
I wonder how many other people have had your experience parking there, or are you the only one?

Pork Hunt said :

KB1971 said :

Masquara said :

You don’t own the road outside your house! It belongs to the public, and you don’t dictate who parks there. Can I suggest that inner-city dwellers thank their lucky stars they can walk to work with their car safely in their garage, and NOT resent people who live in Belco and need to park where they can avoid astronomical parking fees – so they can walk into town too? Here’s a thought: the ACT Government could charge a fee to home owners like the OP who want to protect the little strip outside their house from parking.

I’m way more concerned about rat-race speeding through the inner north, and Gungahlin reprobates who speed up rather than let locals cross Officer Crescent.

You dont have to worry about parking you know……What? Belco is less than 10km from the city? Rid your bike……..Free parking, no rego, no fuel, good for your health. Win, win.

KB, I like most of your posts here and respect your opinion on a lot of things but your “ride your bike at any cost” thing is wearing a bit thin.
I work in construction (in the lift game) so have to carry tools from site to site. Also I start anytime from 0630 to 0700.
F#%ked if I’m getting on a bicycle at that hour in the dark and the cold to ride from Qbn to Cbr.
Having said that, I worked most of last winter at Nishi and rode the motorcycle most days (inc a couple of -7 mornings)?
I imagine there are no less than 1001 reasons why people can’t /won’t or never will consider a bicycle for commuting to and from work.

I was only poking fun at Masquara, I could not resist.

Point taken, but I was out at 6:30 yesterday morning riding to work 😉

I still drive to work on the days that I have to look after kids BUT I dont whinge at the price or parking/drive 1/2 an hour/walk 20 minutes into work. I dont see the point. I also ride from the last kids drop off point too rather than drive all the way, its free parking & saves me money on fuel.

So many people that are able to, discount riding to work, then when they start doing it they find its enjoyable. There are a few at work who have tried it & they found they love it. One guy asked me about bikes because he wanted to just get fit do he could race motorcycles quicker. He was adamant that all he wanted to do was ride his local hills for fitness, now he has overtaken me for fitness, is riding to work & hitting the mountain bike trails like a demon.

Its addictive.

Pork, I do realize that not everybody can ride to work but a good percentage who whinge about the cost of running a motor vehicle could do something different if they really wanted to. If they don’t want to change, don’t winge. (not a direct poke at you BTW).

Oh, my commute? 30km each way and it is the best time of the day when I can do it. I used to hate it on my CBR1000, it was freezing, foggy & full of dickwits in cars that don’t pay attention.

Masquara said :

KB1971 said :

Rid your bike………

I, of all Rioters, really liked your comment! ; ]

I, the least of rioters, really saw this as a pointless comment.

FormerlyCommunityMindedCanberrans said :

I would also like to add that I am Canberra born, bred, raised ( and except for times like this) proud to be Canberran. I grew up in Belconnen, lived in the inner north for 6 years- walking distance to the city and I live in the inner south with a park across the road from me. So I have seen and experienced all viewpoints.

Pffft. You’ve lived in Belco, the inner north and inner south so you’ve experienced ALL viewpoints. Ha!

Masquara said :

KB1971 said :

Rid your bike………

I, of all Rioters, really liked your comment! ; ]

Hahahahahaaha

HiddenDragon said :

Your broader observation rings true to me. I see many people who look pinched, peevish, wary of anyone they don’t know, seemingly consumed by their own problems and obsessions, and for whom a friendly smile would be a monumental effort.

There’s entire government departments full of people like this.

FormerlyCommunityMindedCanberrans said :

The reason I posted this is to remind everyone one of how aggressive we have become. The point isn’t necessarily parking, it’s about the fact that we all believe that we are ‘entitled’ to something.

The comments about whinging etc are actually a case in point. If people really believe that someone running out of their house to shout at you is not aggressive and threatening behaviour then what is? Similarly vandalising a person’s car is intended to be menacing – the intention is for that person not to park in that spot anymore. Would it make a difference if the person doing the shouting was a huge male shouting at a small woman who had a child with her? Have our standards really dropped so low as to actually believe that both sides in the context that I provided ie. car Parker vs resident are correct from a moral ( ignoring the legal for a moment) standpoint??

Err, no. You are ignoring that your original post even complained about someone putting a note on your windscreen. The verbal aggression from a resident probably reflects their frustration, but of course they shouldn’t be aggressive about. If it is only one person n a whole street, then maybe you should recognise the dozens of other tolerant, or at least non-aggressive people.

You also attribute keying and egging to the parking issue, but that could be anyone. Your car is at higher risk of getting keyed or egged while parked on a public street during working hours than in your driveway or a paid carpark. That’s a fact of life. There’s a possibility it is related to the parking issue, but it’s not certain.

If i had the resident’s problem, though, I would probably try to create obstacles or deterrents to parking in the morning, like parking my own car on the road overnight, witches hats, or lots of leaf litter or dog shit. Rioters can probably think of better ideas.

IP

FormerlyCommunityMindedCanberrans said :

Would it make a difference if the person doing the shouting was a huge male shouting at a small woman who had a child with her?

Yes. Absolutely.

If, on the other hand, it were a case of a grown man was being shouted at by a small woman, and were he to use a phrase such as “It is assault to abuse someone”, it would be every man’s moral duty to slap him and confiscate his man-card. He would also receive a life-time ban from men’s sheds and hardware stores everywhere.

So clearly more information is required about the parties involved so we can react appropriately.

FormerlyCommunityMindedCanberrans said :

The reason I posted this is to remind everyone one of how aggressive we have become. The point isn’t necessarily parking, it’s about the fact that we all believe that we are ‘entitled’ to something.

The comments about whinging etc are actually a case in point. If people really believe that someone running out of their house to shout at you is not aggressive and threatening behaviour then what is? Similarly vandalising a person’s car is intended to be menacing – the intention is for that person not to park in that spot anymore. Would it make a difference if the person doing the shouting was a huge male shouting at a small woman who had a child with her? Have our standards really dropped so low as to actually believe that both sides in the context that I provided ie. car Parker vs resident are correct from a moral ( ignoring the legal for a moment) standpoint??

The last paragraph of your orinal post was clearly justifying why you have a right to park in front of peoples homes for long periods.

After said aggression will you avoid confrontation and park somewhere more appropriate or use alternative transport?

I would also like to add that I am Canberra born, bred, raised ( and except for times like this) proud to be Canberran. I grew up in Belconnen, lived in the inner north for 6 years- walking distance to the city and I live in the inner south with a park across the road from me. So I have seen and experienced all viewpoints.

Well said FormerlyCommunityMin. I often wonder why people are more aggressive, aggrieved, and insensitive to other people’s posts.

The reason I posted this is to remind everyone one of how aggressive we have become. The point isn’t necessarily parking, it’s about the fact that we all believe that we are ‘entitled’ to something.

The comments about whinging etc are actually a case in point. If people really believe that someone running out of their house to shout at you is not aggressive and threatening behaviour then what is? Similarly vandalising a person’s car is intended to be menacing – the intention is for that person not to park in that spot anymore. Would it make a difference if the person doing the shouting was a huge male shouting at a small woman who had a child with her? Have our standards really dropped so low as to actually believe that both sides in the context that I provided ie. car Parker vs resident are correct from a moral ( ignoring the legal for a moment) standpoint??

fromthecapital said :

Residents only parking exists in many other cities and it will eventually be required in canberra due to the fact that people like the OP cant grasp why people wouldn’t want them to park outside their house for 40+ hours a week.

The OP clearly doesn’t give a rats anus about the rights of the homeowner whose property he is parking on. Yes it may be a nature strip or the roadside directly outside – but the home-owner of that particular piece of planet still has rights to use it freely, without those right being impinged by the tight-arse wanker brigade (TAWB’s) who would rather walk 30 minutes to work after a 20 minute drive, than suck it up and pay for the privelege of driving to work or catch a bus if the parking fees are too much for their tight-arsedness.

Home-owners in those inner suburbs infested with the cars of TAWB’s should be able to wash their own cars on their own nature strips, or have friends or relatives visit and be able to park in the street directly out the front. As usual, there are many pissweak assumptions made by those who would defend the actions of the TAWB’s. As usual, those assumption are not based on anything other than a self-serving attitude of ‘me first and FTW’.

Here is an assumption – the owners of these inner-city dwellings may well be aged and in need of regular care or meals or medical assistance or anything really – and the actions of the TAWB’s does nothing to ensure that the caregivers or the meal-deliverers or the medical assistance – can safely attend these residences and provide these services. There could already be cars in the driveway for starters, so there is no ‘automatic’ parking space available in the driveway.

Residents-only parking cannot come quickly enough for these residents.

When you’ve got 2 selfish people sharing a common geographic location theres bound to be a bit of friction. Whadayagonnado.

KB1971 said :

Masquara said :

You don’t own the road outside your house! It belongs to the public, and you don’t dictate who parks there. Can I suggest that inner-city dwellers thank their lucky stars they can walk to work with their car safely in their garage, and NOT resent people who live in Belco and need to park where they can avoid astronomical parking fees – so they can walk into town too? Here’s a thought: the ACT Government could charge a fee to home owners like the OP who want to protect the little strip outside their house from parking.

I’m way more concerned about rat-race speeding through the inner north, and Gungahlin reprobates who speed up rather than let locals cross Officer Crescent.

You dont have to worry about parking you know……What? Belco is less than 10km from the city? Rid your bike……..Free parking, no rego, no fuel, good for your health. Win, win.

KB, I like most of your posts here and respect your opinion on a lot of things but your “ride your bike at any cost” thing is wearing a bit thin.
I work in construction (in the lift game) so have to carry tools from site to site. Also I start anytime from 0630 to 0700.
F#%ked if I’m getting on a bicycle at that hour in the dark and the cold to ride from Qbn to Cbr.
Having said that, I worked most of last winter at Nishi and rode the motorcycle most days (inc a couple of -7 mornings)?
I imagine there are no less than 1001 reasons why people can’t /won’t or never will consider a bicycle for commuting to and from work.

Now if you made the mistake of parking outside Pitchka’s place having your car keyed or egged would be the least of your worries 🙂

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

fromthecapital said :

Residents only parking exists in many other cities and it will eventually be required in canberra due to the fact that people like the OP cant grasp why people wouldn’t want them to park outside their house for 40+ hours a week.

As long as the drive way is not blocked then who cares?

But is this nimby ism or first world problems?

I’d care if I could not have visitors, tradies, rubbish trucks, gardeners, and etc. access my property any working day.
I’d care if my quiet suburban street had been turned into high traffic parking garage.
I’d care if there was so much traffic I can no longer enjoy a stroll along it.

KB1971 said :

Rid your bike………

I, of all Rioters, really liked your comment! ; ]

Masquara said :

You don’t own the road outside your house! It belongs to the public, and you don’t dictate who parks there. Can I suggest that inner-city dwellers thank their lucky stars they can walk to work with their car safely in their garage, and NOT resent people who live in Belco and need to park where they can avoid astronomical parking fees – so they can walk into town too? Here’s a thought: the ACT Government could charge a fee to home owners like the OP who want to protect the little strip outside their house from parking.

I’m way more concerned about rat-race speeding through the inner north, and Gungahlin reprobates who speed up rather than let locals cross Officer Crescent.

You dont have to worry about parking you know……What? Belco is less than 10km from the city? Rid your bike……..Free parking, no rego, no fuel, good for your health. Win, win.

Deref said :

DrKoresh said :

Deref said :

What happened? Our politicians forgot – or igonred – the fact that Canberra was designed around the car and started reducing available parking spaces in the mythical belief that it would make people resort to our dysfunctional (as a result of Canberra’s design) public transport system.

A dose of reality is the solution, but don’t hold your breath.

That’s a pretty long bow you’re drawing there, though not as tenuous as some other posts I’ve seen.

Perhaps you could be a little more specific.

Jdazzle, FioBla and Masquara come to mind, but I can’t recall specific examples to give you.

DrKoresh said :

Deref said :

What happened? Our politicians forgot – or igonred – the fact that Canberra was designed around the car and started reducing available parking spaces in the mythical belief that it would make people resort to our dysfunctional (as a result of Canberra’s design) public transport system.

A dose of reality is the solution, but don’t hold your breath.

That’s a pretty long bow you’re drawing there, though not as tenuous as some other posts I’ve seen.

Perhaps you could be a little more specific.

And in relation to the OP, I maintain my usual stance of suggesting excessively violent retribution against your transgressors.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

fromthecapital said :

Residents only parking exists in many other cities and it will eventually be required in canberra due to the fact that people like the OP cant grasp why people wouldn’t want them to park outside their house for 40+ hours a week.

As long as the drive way is not blocked then who cares?

But is this nimby ism or first world problems?

First world problems is such an inane phrase. Anyone who has a problem in this country, be it cancer or cars on their nature-strip, has a first world problem by definition.

fromthecapital said :

Residents only parking exists in many other cities and it will eventually be required in canberra due to the fact that people like the OP cant grasp why people wouldn’t want them to park outside their house for 40+ hours a week.

“Residents only” parking exists in places where people don’t have parking available at their dwellings – like Redfern or Surry Hills in Sydney. It would be a nonsense in Canberra, where all dwellings have parking.

fromthecapital said :

Residents only parking exists in many other cities and it will eventually be required in canberra due to the fact that people like the OP cant grasp why people wouldn’t want them to park outside their house for 40+ hours a week.

As long as the drive way is not blocked then who cares?

But is this nimby ism or first world problems?

Residents only parking exists in many other cities and it will eventually be required in canberra due to the fact that people like the OP cant grasp why people wouldn’t want them to park outside their house for 40+ hours a week.

You don’t own the road outside your house! It belongs to the public, and you don’t dictate who parks there. Can I suggest that inner-city dwellers thank their lucky stars they can walk to work with their car safely in their garage, and NOT resent people who live in Belco and need to park where they can avoid astronomical parking fees – so they can walk into town too? Here’s a thought: the ACT Government could charge a fee to home owners like the OP who want to protect the little strip outside their house from parking.

I’m way more concerned about rat-race speeding through the inner north, and Gungahlin reprobates who speed up rather than let locals cross Officer Crescent.

Dilandach said :

caf said :

What does this fanciful story have to do with the original post?

I apologise for not being able to write it out in pop-up form for you.

So that’s “absolutely nothing”, then.

caf said :

What does this fanciful story have to do with the original post?

I apologise for not being able to write it out in pop-up form for you.

Deref said :

What happened? Our politicians forgot – or igonred – the fact that Canberra was designed around the car and started reducing available parking spaces in the mythical belief that it would make people resort to our dysfunctional (as a result of Canberra’s design) public transport system.

A dose of reality is the solution, but don’t hold your breath.

That’s a pretty long bow you’re drawing there, though not as tenuous as some other posts I’ve seen.

Dilandach said :

It is the standpoint that a lot of people have taken in this day and age.

Take this example, someone getting upset over someone else getting upset from parking in “their” street. To flip it over, Lets say People ‘A’ get all teary eyed over community sharing. It is their belief that everyone should be able to park anywhere they want in residential streets. Its public space / Free country (yada yada). Now People ‘B’ live there, they get all upset over their street becoming a carpark. People ‘A’ come to the conclusion that there is no legitimate reason why they should be upset, People ‘B’ are just jerks. Now at the same time People A are getting upset over cars turning up in *their* street. As they see it there are legitimate reasons for why they’re getting upset. Although they don’t extend that same thought process to People B, because well f*** people B they’re just selfish but People A are the beacons of free parking (just not in our street k?).

Its straight up cognitive dissonance.

There is little to no empathy with the people who live there besides ‘I’ll *try* not to park too close to a driveway’. The needs of the parker outweigh the needs of those that live there and be damned they’ll keep parking there until a car is towed, until then. Whining is just that.

What does this fanciful story have to do with the original post?

WTF has this got to do with “the community”?

Someone doesn’t like you parking outside their house, BFD, grow a set.

Nest thing you know someone will be dragging politics and politician into this…..

What happened? Our politicians forgot – or igonred – the fact that Canberra was designed around the car and started reducing available parking spaces in the mythical belief that it would make people resort to our dysfunctional (as a result of Canberra’s design) public transport system.

A dose of reality is the solution, but don’t hold your breath.

Barcham said :

Tooks said :

It is assault to abuse someone

No it isn’t.

The rest of your rant I agree with, but I’ve gotta say, none of that has ever happened to me. Maybe move to a nicer neighbourhood 🙂

Actually it is, at least legally.

This is a great example of how soft we have become as a society, Someone did something that made someone cry and now it’s everyones problem.

“Does someone make you feel bad? Here, have some cotton wool on behalf of the ACT Government to wrap yourself in and take a few concrete pills (Now with added HTFU to make you more resiliant to everyday boo-hoo’s).”

Instead of bitching and moaning anonymously, how about dealing with the problem directly? Did Buford Pusser bitch and whine about the Mafia and crims in his town on a blog?

No!

He dealt with that crap directly.

Do you work in a Guvmint job? Wear a suit and make sure your pass is visible but not readable and start taking photo’s of your new enemy from a high powered camera and I garauntee that it will have an effect.

Barcham said :

Tooks said :

It is assault to abuse someone

No it isn’t.

The rest of your rant I agree with, but I’ve gotta say, none of that has ever happened to me. Maybe move to a nicer neighbourhood 🙂

Actually it is, at least legally.

No it isn’t.

…continued parking in Power Street, Mawson, then?

bundah said :

Barcham said :

Tooks said :

It is assault to abuse someone

No it isn’t.

The rest of your rant I agree with, but I’ve gotta say, none of that has ever happened to me. Maybe move to a nicer neighbourhood 🙂

Actually it is, at least legally.

Are verbal threats considered an assault?

Threats to seriously injure, or kill another person is considered as an assault, but the threat has to create a fear that it would be carried out. Threats that are unlikely or impossible would not normally be considered as an assault. Threatening to kill or injure someone is a crime that is not taken lightly by the states. In Victoria for example, threats to kill as spelled out in s 20 of the Crimes Act carries with it a maximum of 10 years imprisonment if it is real, rather than fanciful.

Don’t look too far into the comment. The OP mentioned verbal abuse, which isn’t assault.

If I was to walk up to you with my fist cocked and said “I’m going to punch your head in”, then yes, it could be an assault. On the other hand, if I walked up to you and called you every unpleasant name under the sun – no assault. But we are drifting offtopic…

Your broader observation rings true to me. I see many people who look pinched, peevish, wary of anyone they don’t know, seemingly consumed by their own problems and obsessions, and for whom a friendly smile would be a monumental effort. To the extent this is so, it may be a reflection of a feeling that things aren’t as good as they once were, and are getting worse – for some, the loss of what were once easy, relaxed parking arrangements might be a practical reflection of this feeling.

Brings a new meaning to “Feel the power of Canberra” I guess.

Tooks said :

The rest of your rant I agree with, but I’ve gotta say, none of that has ever happened to me. Maybe move to a nicer neighbourhood 🙂

Actually you need to move to a neighbourhood that is no where near any office buildings or sporting facilities. Gunghalin seems to fit the bill…

Barcham said :

Tooks said :

It is assault to abuse someone

No it isn’t.

The rest of your rant I agree with, but I’ve gotta say, none of that has ever happened to me. Maybe move to a nicer neighbourhood 🙂

Actually it is, at least legally.

Are verbal threats considered an assault?

Threats to seriously injure, or kill another person is considered as an assault, but the threat has to create a fear that it would be carried out. Threats that are unlikely or impossible would not normally be considered as an assault. Threatening to kill or injure someone is a crime that is not taken lightly by the states. In Victoria for example, threats to kill as spelled out in s 20 of the Crimes Act carries with it a maximum of 10 years imprisonment if it is real, rather than fanciful.

Tooks said :

It is assault to abuse someone

No it isn’t.

The rest of your rant I agree with, but I’ve gotta say, none of that has ever happened to me. Maybe move to a nicer neighbourhood 🙂

Actually it is, at least legally.

Park somewhere else and quit your bitching.

It is assault to abuse someone

No it isn’t.

The rest of your rant I agree with, but I’ve gotta say, none of that has ever happened to me. Maybe move to a nicer neighbourhood 🙂

“Free parking everywhere! (just not in my street)”

It is the standpoint that a lot of people have taken in this day and age.

Take this example, someone getting upset over someone else getting upset from parking in “their” street. To flip it over, Lets say People ‘A’ get all teary eyed over community sharing. It is their belief that everyone should be able to park anywhere they want in residential streets. Its public space / Free country (yada yada). Now People ‘B’ live there, they get all upset over their street becoming a carpark. People ‘A’ come to the conclusion that there is no legitimate reason why they should be upset, People ‘B’ are just jerks. Now at the same time People A are getting upset over cars turning up in *their* street. As they see it there are legitimate reasons for why they’re getting upset. Although they don’t extend that same thought process to People B, because well f*** people B they’re just selfish but People A are the beacons of free parking (just not in our street k?).

Its straight up cognitive dissonance.

There is little to no empathy with the people who live there besides ‘I’ll *try* not to park too close to a driveway’. The needs of the parker outweigh the needs of those that live there and be damned they’ll keep parking there until a car is towed, until then. Whining is just that.

Hear, hear!

NIMBY rage!