A white and grey Ford F150 turned into the alley in front of me this morning. The vehicle immediately was suspicious.
1. I didn't recognize the vehicle
2. The driver was using turn signals in the alley (who does that, right??)
3. The vehicle had...um...distinct markings (La Ley 95.7 bumper tickers, rear window decals)
I followed the vehicle and snapped these 2 pictures with my iPhone. The driver eventually parked on Simond in what I believe to be getting out of the truck for a job site. I think it goes without saying we should take extra precautions with all the new construction in the neighborhood.
Quote: A white and grey Ford F150 turned into the alley in front of me this morning...
Is this a serious post?
I can't blame you for being vigilant, but I'm not sure what this guy did to deserve getting his picture and license plate posted to a community forum. Unless you're holding back on the "suspicious" behaviors or characteristics you observed, it looks like he's guilty of operating a motor vehicle on a public roadway. It feels like a privacy violation.
Yes, let's keep our eyes open, but let's also show some restraint. Or at least tell me which mattie alley you live on so I know where not to get lost or make a u-turn.
I find the original posting offensive. Maybe you should move to Arizona, where white people want native and indigenous Americans stopped by police and checked because "they don't look like they belong here". La Ley is a chain of Tejano music radio stations. The truck looks pretty nice to me. Giving turn signals is required by law (idiot!). And, many GPS systems do not have these new streets in their systems yet. I think you should apologize to all hispanics for your anti-latino posting.
I do not want to be labeled an alarmist, but I do endorse neighborhood vigilance in spotting unfamiliar vehicles. I moved back to Austin following Hurricanes Rita and Ike because of spiking crimes in Beaumont, Texas.
This increase was not due to the hurricane-displaced folks, but because of an influx of thieves posing as construction repairmen and tree and lawn workers. Driving through hurricane hit neighborhoods, these thieves would "case" potential for crime and then come back to rob and vandalize.
I know that neighborhood watchfulness is not paranoid nor prejudiced;it is just common sense and knowing we live in a neighborhood that practices responsible "neighborliness " is a blessing .
And can we remember that we are all neighbors and try to treat each other so? Of course, expressing being offended personally or for others is absolutely OK, but can it be done without name calling?
Brent is one of my neighbors and I'm reasonably certain that he's neither an idiot nor anti-immigrant. We (lower Mattie) have had several thefts that seem to be be crimes of opportunity occasioned by people driving through the alleys. So we're all a bit vigilant in this regard. (Funny, though, that none of these guys have taken any of the building debris that I'm paying to have hauled away.)
That being said, I agree that we shouldn't post pictures here unless we're reasonably sure that the person/vehicle depicted is involved in some kind of illegal activity. An unfortunate side effect of cheap digital storage is that data lives forever. This has happened often on citicite, and really shouldn't, because it is a privacy issue. Maybe as part of the site redesign we can have a mechanism to deal with it, but in the meantime I think a PM to the original poster should be adequate.
1. While the picture of you in the La Ley 103.5 shirt is cool, you must understand that you could not possibly arouse the same kind of suspicion as the Ford F-150 truck driver because you wearing Camo pants, which everyone knows automatically neutralize any T-shirt slogan no matter how subversive or vaguely ethnic.
AND
2. I agree, Brent should apologize to everyone for using this forum to peddle his unwarranted fear of:
a. Hispanics, b. alley drivers who are proud of their functioning turn signals, and c. anyone that eventually parks at a construction site and goes to work (including the architects, engineers, developers, and investors).
And so while you may hope that "we are done with this thread", personally I am still waiting for my apology. Brent, How about it?
I appreciate your vigilance, Brent. I'm thankful to have neighbors looking out for each other. I second what Mary said: "I know that neighborhood watchfulness is not paranoid nor prejudiced; it is just common sense and knowing we live in a neighborhood that practices responsible "neighborliness " is a blessing ."
