Better Ideas

[ashnistrike]

As I get older, I've learned to appreciate people who actively work on their shit--as opposed to ignoring potential problems and pretending everything is just fine.

The extremely diverse DC suburb where I live is planning a series of community discussions about whether we have any cop-civilian tension, and what to do about it if so.  I haven't noticed any, but I'm female and pretty white-looking--I plan to sit in the back of the room and listen.

Apparently our police department did receive a humvee through that horrible military-surplus-for-police program.  The city council had just said no to a bunch of things that cost money, and felt like "free equipment" was an easy thing to say yes to.  We use the humvee for snow removal, so we don't just want to get rid of it.

One of the proposals on the table, therefore, is to repaint the humvee as an art car in order to reduce the potential for testosterone poisoning.  This, explained the neighbor who's planning to host one of the discussions, would "better reflect community values."

Which is true.  I do love this town.  It's far from perfect, but it's actively working on its shit.

Comments

[erik]

10 years from now when that artcar Humvee is being used for riot suppression, the photos will make your community Internet Famous.

[ashnistrike.livejournal.com]

Cynic. :)

Ideally we'll also be working on other initiatives to keep the police answerable to the rest of the community. But from a psychological standpoint, I do think that less military-looking equipment will actually have an effect. Humvees afford aggression. Art cars, less so.

[page-of-swords.livejournal.com]

Actually a Humvee with the Diesel Engine and the geared hubs would make a great Plow Truck. As long as you don't have to pay the initial cost.

Which also means making it an art car takes away from the utility of it.

[tricksterquinn.livejournal.com]

Wait, the paint affects the engine and gearing? I'm lost.

[ashnistrike.livejournal.com]

Yes--part of the appeal of the proposal was that regardless of shiny non-military colors, it would still make a good plow. Is there something we need to bring up in the meeting after all?

[page-of-swords.livejournal.com]

Plowing really beats up the finish on a truck. It's one of the reason the big plows are some easy to sandblast off and repaint in one day paint color. Not a two or three step process like a modern automobile.

The art is going to get trashed pretty fast once it goes into service unless they are mindful of keeping it simple and not interfering with the utility of the truck.

Or it's just accepted that every 2-3 years the thing gets sandblasted and they start over. Like the watertower in a town that keeps getting painted Seniors 20XX.

[redbird]

That might be an argument for some cheerful and non-military-looking undercoat color or pattern: say, bright green on part and lavender on the rest. So when the plowing beats up the finish, they'd still have something looking less fierce or military.

[ashnistrike.livejournal.com]

Given the frequency (or lack thereof) with which we actually need to do any significant plowing, "sandblast and repaint every few years" seems pretty doable. And will make the arts district folks happy, too.

[tricksterquinn.livejournal.com]

Weirdly, considering the discussion of making this an art car and the mural someone I knew did on a restaurant downtown, I don't actually know any Burners who live in your particular suburb.

Which frankly seems deeply unlikely.

[ashnistrike.livejournal.com]

I don't know if we have burners (though it seems likely), but we do have art cars. Have we driven you by the house with the steampunk-y trucks? The guy who makes them insists that they aren't "steampunk" as he was doing it before the term came into use. (Hipster steampunk?)

[tricksterquinn.livejournal.com]

I don't think so! That sounds fun.

Sounds like the hipsterest steampunk. I like it.

[ashnistrike.livejournal.com]

Remind us to make the side trip next time you're visiting. Which you should totally do soon--it's been a while.

[tricksterquinn.livejournal.com]

Yes! I miss you guys. I am on a bus back to town from Boston now and don't plan to travel again for a few weeks, so that should be a little easier now. Things got a little hectic in there for a bit.

What might work for you? I perform Fri, and otherwise will need to check my schedule to confirm, but definitely want to work something out.

Did you see Smitten's sunken apple and honey cake this week? I might try it in the next few days; it looks awesome.

[page-of-swords.livejournal.com]

He was ok with being called Steampunk when I walked by and talked to him for 20 minutes that one time. I networked him to someone else I know but in NJ but I don't think anything came of it.

I still can't decide if I want a house that looks like that, or dread a house that looks like that. "Keeping up appearances and all that."

[ashnistrike.livejournal.com]

Either he likes you better than he likes us, or hurricanes put him in a bad mood.

I think he keeps up a pretty excellent appearance. And improves the quality of the neighborhood: I know of at least one person who took a look and decided they maybe didn't want to live here after all, which I suspect of being a good filter for people we'd like to have around. Like telling schools about our family structure right at the start, and walking away if they freak out.

[robling-t.livejournal.com]

Donovan says "Barbie Pink and glitter!!" But then you could probably have predicted that. :)

[ashnistrike.livejournal.com]

:)

[ashnistrike.livejournal.com]

The glitter probably does make them go faster, too.