An Observation of a New/Old Problem

I've been mulling over a situation for the last couple of weeks that continues to irritate, enrage, and puzzle me all at the same time. That situation seemed to first take root in Crestwood, of all places, about 6-7 years ago. This was not long after 9-11 (The Great Lie!)

I was driving around Crestwood, wasting time before my wife got off work, when I started noticing all of the cameras at just about every light along Watson Rd. I thought, "what the fuck is this all about?" I decided to do a little research. What we 'citizen's' were being told was that this was MODOT putting these up for better traffic control at intersections. That these cameras were to facilitate shorter lights for those waiting at intersections where no one else was proceeding at right angles to said drivers. This would of course make for much smoother traffic flow and fewer 'snarl ups'. Of course what they didn't tell us initially, was that the money to do this came mostly from DHS (Department of Homeland Security)! I thought this rather quizzical. What the fuck does DHS have to do with "better traffic flow"? I smelled a rat! Name: G.W.

The thing that, over time, really started to get my goat, was that I could see no discernible difference in wait times at these lights. Even more noticeable to me, the fact that when stopped at these lights and no one could be seen in either direction, I still seemed to sit just as long as at the old pressure sensor driven lights! Albeit, there were of course some instances of a quicker light change. So I decided to try a little experiment.... ;-)

I started flipping off every light I came to! I'm not talking a quick flipping of the proverbial Bird. I mean sticking out my entire arm through the sun-roof! Full extension baby!! Except in cases where someone in the oncoming lane might be peering my way. I wasn't looking for a fist fight with my fellow 'Citizen of the Republic'. 

"Well what the Hell were you doing?", one might ask. I wanted to see if there were actually any humans behind the Cyclops staring down at me! As opposed to some A.I./computer algorithm making possible life or death traffic decisions. You know what I found more cases than not? The process of thrusting my mock phallic statement at the camera seemed to make lights, that I had been to many times before and not done this, change quicker!! I know, I know... You may be saying all sorts things. Coincidence; The person on the other end finding it humorous/enraging and pushing the button for me; The A.I. program (possibly) seeing it a threat? You know, like if you call a 1-800 number and don't want to push 3 trillion buttons to be able to talk to a human, and instead yell TERRORIST or BOMB! You'll get a real human quickly! You may not get what you're looking for though.... Anyway, that's just been my experience, with the stop lights mind you, not the former. 

This goes deeper than just cameras at the lights, not to mention the cost of each camera and the installation. Look it up sometime! Trust me, we're not the only city with the Goddamn things! Do the math!! How many schools could be built or teachers hired or pavements patched. For instance in Rockhill, on Rockhill RD. at Manchester. You know, where they bulldozed the "Black" section of Rockhill to build a strip-mall that is still largely unoccupied! Yet they couldn't even fix the fucked-off, bucking Bronco ride you get if you are so inclined to experience that! This again, is an example of just how fucking apathetic we as a nation have become! We don't care what our government does in our name or to us! As long as we get our Gucci-Gucci Goo hand bags and our Fall schedule of whatever Reality drivel you people watch, isn't interrupted! Fuck! Pretty soon, we'll have cameras in our undergarments! Or maybe Net-Cammed into our neural pathways! Keep drinking that Pepsi (Kool-Aid)!! You're worth it America!! Hell! Study your history! Rome, and many other have already traveled this path.....