Who was the biggest arsehole?

[TheReal_ND]

What's going on in this thread. I tried to look at the poll, but it's a hot mess. All I got out of it was,

Some people, did something

The lesson is pretty simple -- socialism breeds discontent and childish rivalries. Who can be the best stool pigeon?

Think locally, act locally.
The car park is a public good and helps to support the local high street.
Lowestoft council currently has a Conservative majority and Labour hasn't been in control since 2002.

Think locally, act locally.
The car park is a public good and helps to support the local high street.

Thank you Montez 2020

[Montegriffo]

The lesson is pretty simple -- socialism breeds discontent and childish rivalries. Who can be the best stool pigeon?

Think locally, act locally.
The car park is a public good and helps to support the local high street.
Lowestoft council currently has a Conservative majority and Labour hasn't been in control since 2002.

Think locally, act locally.
The car park is a public good and helps to support the local high street.

Thank you Montez 2020

What if I told you they were both Jewish and that the driver wanted 50p for the ticket?

[TheReal_ND]

I would keep calm and carry on.

[Montegriffo]

A guerrilla war against the German invaders? That's what the poster was produced and distributed for. It was never displayed because they never set foot on British soil. ''Carry on'' meant continue to resist.

[BjornP]

You were the greatest asshole. The other two were responding proportionally to your level of assholery.

The car you describe is taxpayer funded, at least in part. The point, the meaning, the motive and purpose of a public good is that it is something the community give to each other. A gift from the public to the public, a payment in taxes to have a cheap carpark.

The first guy's attempted gift was offered in a spirit no less different. A citizen offering to cut the costs for a fellow citizen. If you disagree, fine, but pontificating about his offer being "theft" was extremely rude. If you, in even the calmest voice you have and without swearing, are being disrespectful to others, they don't have to be as "polite" as you in their reply.

[Montegriffo]

You were the greatest asshole. The other two were responding proportionally to your level of assholery.

The car you describe is taxpayer funded, at least in part. The point, the meaning, the motive and purpose of a public good is that it is something the community give to each other. A gift from the public to the public, a payment in taxes to have a cheap carpark.

The first guy's attempted gift was offered in a spirit no less different. A citizen offering to cut the costs for a fellow citizen. If you disagree, fine, but pontificating about his offer being "theft" was extremely rude. If you, in even the calmest voice you have and without swearing, are being disrespectful to others, they don't have to be as "polite" as you in their reply.

I was merely informing him that it was illegal, he didn't appear to know that. The car park is surrounded by cameras so not only could I have been nicked for displaying a transferred ticket but he could have been nicked too. We were both in our cars and were therefore identifiable.
It was the bystander that I used the word theft to after he had butted in and used insults and swearing. He didn't seem to know it was illegal either. He thought it was ok because the driver wanted to give me the ticket.
If everybody did it then more council tax would be used to maintain the car park and that could cut money from some other public service.

[Montegriffo]

The car park is also right next to a council building which contains the traffic department amongst others, anyone in that car park or walking past it could have been a council worker.
People have even been nicked for flashing their lights to warn others of speed traps in this country.

[BjornP]

You could have smiled at him and said: "I appreciate the offer, but there's a camera watching us both and we both risk fines if I accept your ticket, so I'd rather just pay..".

Simply saying in reply: "You know that that’s illegal, right?", which he probably did but he just didn't notice the camera, would naturally feel offensive to someone who simply thought he was helping a fellow citizen with a small favor and that that was more important than the law. The bystander probably didn't know the law or notice the camera, but did you, and how well did you, explain that to him?

Needs to be said that I only occasionally keep my cool in such situations, but I'd like to think that my post-confrontational analysis done when being calm again are usually right.

[Montegriffo]

Yes I was aware of the cameras. He should have been too. It's not exactly a secret that Britain is a surveillance society. I wasn't sharp with him at all and was smiling when I told him it was illegal. He could have said thanks I didn't know it was illegal (it's on the ticket and the ticket machine though). The next person he offers a ticket to could be a council worker or even a copper.
I never lost my cool with either of them. Even after they got abusive.

[Haumana]

"surveillance society"

Reminds me of the story of how they train fleas. You put them in a container with a lid for a few days, the fleas hop and hit the top of the container, sooner rather than later, they learn to jump just shy of hitting themselves on the lid. After that you can take the lid off of the container and the fleas won't jump out of the container, even though they easily could, because they have been conditioned to accept what has been imposed upon them and confuse that as their physical limits.