We recently noted China [2]'s aggressive embrace of the pathological, dystopian car culture [3] first pioneered by the West. Now comes another sign of this cultural retrogression. From RTTNews [4], Sept. 16:
China Detains General's Teenage Son Over Road Rage Incident
The teenage son of a famous Chinese army general has been detained and sent to a government correctional facility for one year in connection with a road rage incident which sparked outrage across the country, state media reported Friday.Fifteen-year-old Li Tianyi, son of General Li Shuangjiang who frequently appears on Chinese television singing revolutionary songs, was charged with causing disturbance, according to the Beijing Public Security Bureau.
Li and his eighteen-year-old friend Su Nan are accused of assaulting a couple in a road rage incident which happened on September 6. State-run media said police have applied for an arrest warrant for Su Nan on the same charge.
Li and Su reportedly assaulted a middle-aged couple in front of their five-year-old son at a Beijing residential neighborhood in an apparent case of road rage. They then warned the shocked onlookers not to call the police.
Li, though underage, driving a customized BMW and Su an Audi when the incident occurred. The incident was triggered when the teenagers were forced to stop their cars as the couple's car slowed to turn into a complex.
The couple suffered injuries in the attack by the enraged teenagers. State media reported Friday that Li had accepted responsibility for his actions, but did not provide further details of his detention. Also, the boy's father is said to have offered compensation to the couple.
"Revolutionary songs"? Mao would have sent this punk off to a re-education camp. More of the daily casualties of the global car culture. From the New Orleans Times-Picayune [5], Sept. 9:
Bicyclist hit by three vehicles and killed in New Orleans identified as Nicaraguan
A bicyclist hit by three vehicles, including a police cruiser, as he pedaled across the St. Claude Avenue Bridge one week ago was identified as a 42-year-old man from Nicaragua. Byron Orlando Sandoval-Lopez died of multiple blunt-trauma injuries, John Gagliano, chief investigator for the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office, said Friday.
From EFE [6], Aug. 24:
Mexico City Motorists Should "Flatten" Cyclists, Analyst Says
Mexico City motorists should take it upon themselves to rid the capital of cyclists by "flattening" those that get in their way, economic analyst Angel Verdugo, commentator for the Mexican radio program Reporte 98.5, said.Mexico City's government, which has sponsored programs aimed at increasing bicycle use for the past four years, immediately fired back at Verdugo and termed his remarks "backward."
Um, thank you. From Reuters [7], Aug. 21:
Three generations of family die in car crash
Three generations of women from one New York City family died after their SUV flipped several times on I-95 in eastern North Carolina, authorities said on Sunday.The 22-year-old driver of a 2000 Ford Expedition lost control after the back right tire blew out on Saturday afternoon, said North Carolina State Highway Patrol Sergeant R.E. Westbrook.
The SUV came to rest upside down on the right shoulder of the highway. Driver Rosanny Marte was killed, along with 46-year-old Angela Marte and 71-year-old Rosa Marte, according to Westbrook.
Local media reports said the two older women were Rosanny Marte's mother and grandmother.
Where is the outrage? These are not "tragedies." These are crimes, with political roots. When will this be recognized?
See our last post on the global car culture [8].
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