Our cousin Allan has bought Teslas for more than ten years. Last May, he bought a Cybertruck, paying extra for autonomous driving and a scratch-proof vinyl cladding that changes colors in different light. It is a comfortable ride, although the massive tires are quite noisy. Autonomous driving makes a cross-country drive easier. He is enthusiastic about his toy and proudly shows it off at local auto shows to many curious folks.
But in one short month, pride of ownership gave way to fear. He has been subjected to considerable road rage. Allan does not engage in political activity. That he loves his truck is now seen by some as a political endorsement of the man. Suddenly now, Cybertrucks are being set on fire, deliberately scratched, or covered with graffiti. This is personal for me — I was a passenger in his truck in February.
I have written about civility in the past when I saw college graduations become raucous affairs rather than respectful recognition of accomplishment. Call me old-fashioned, but I do not see why Blackhawk games should be marred with whoops and hollers during the National Anthem. But when criminal damage is seen as speech, it still crosses the line.
Ford’s Edsel was seen as ugly (although I’ve seen two lately and I like them!), but people did not try to destroy them. It’s true that some people won’t buy German cars because German industry was complicit in Hitler’s regime – but that is a purely personal decision. Are their drivers the subject of road rage and vandalism? As my son-in-law, who works for the police, says, “A crime is a crime.”
Criminals should be treated as such – and having a strong opinion is no excuse.
Allan is not going to drive his truck back to his home in the Midwest as he usually does. Instead, he’s hiding it in his Arizona garage until fall.
Let’s hope some civility will have returned by then, to benefit us all. And the practice of civility is on all of us.
