From: Doc Bryant (rbhonk1@cox.net)
Date: Fri Aug 29 2003 - 14:39:49 PDT
Steve:
I think you are supposing too much here.
First off, the Mutt is a vehicle that is produced for the Military. Yes, by
a civilian contractor, but its a military vehicle.
Double standard? Yes, it is a double standard. The military procurement
standard and the various applicable DOT, NHTSA, et al as applied to vehicles
purchased by the general public.
We think the Suzuki Samurai, Ford Explorer, Corvair, Beetle, Izuzu Trooper,
Belchfire V16 Coupe, what ever is unsafe because we have seen a lot of them
wrecked. Yet, these vehicle have passed some set of standards that makes
them street legal. We may think they are absolute flaming deathtraps.
That's "We" may think that. But we did not pen the standards or even run the
tests. Oh, sorry, tell Consumer Reports otherwise, would you? Like it or
not, those vehicles passed the standards.
The Mutts did not pass any standards like that other than US Army
evaluations for acceptability into the service. Those standards are much
different, as you might imagine. One set of standards does not equal
another. And so, passing one set of standards does not mean that since they
passed that standard set, they could be used in other functions where
Standards Set B would apply. A does not equal B as A is not identical to B.
Oh my gosh, I finally found a use for set theory!
The Government (whomever they is) has a strong case. Just because they are
the Government. And they made up the rules. We can piss, moan and complain
about not being able to buy 25 dollar Humvees and Mutts till we are blue in
the face, but to no avail. Unless we find some way to change the standards.
As Muttguru has pointed out, inside the military, they knew there was a
problem. The military is not stupid enough to think that if they get rid of
the Mutts, the problem goes away. Only if they get rid of the Mutts in such
a way that there is no chance on God's green earth that they can ever be
made whole again does the problem go away.
It really is not irrational. Government acts rationally to eliminate a
safety issue. Can they eliminate safety issues in military operations? No.
People still have an alarming tendency to get shot up, shot down, blown up,
et cetera et cetera in mil ops. That is the nature of the game. Consider
it a cost of doing business. Military says, ahh, that is press we can deal
with, its part of life in the green bag. But causing Joe Sixpack to do a
transverse flip with a double endo and a twist on Interstate 20 with
resultant loss of life and limb, hey, we can prevent that. Crush those
little buggies, since they were not designed for civilian use. That's a
perfectly logical conclusion to make.
Now, our feelings are that we can buy or import other vehicles as dangerous
or more dangerous than Mutts and Humvees is just that...our feelings. Those
feelings, as Mr. Spock once said every Thursday night, are irrational.
Maybe we can do just that. But the fact remains that what we can buy,
import or trade lawfully has met some defined standard for acceptability,
where the Mutt was not designed nor tested to or for that standard.
The mafioso fellow is offering you a service for your money spent. You
might think it payment in tribute. Or even mere extortion. He is offering
you a service in exchange for a fee. He is also offering you an incentive
to pay his fees. He surmises that unless you are some martial arts expert,
and also good at dodging bullets, that the costs you will incur by not
paying are higher than the cost you incur by paying his fee. And his
service, whilst you may think is to provide protection against acts by him,
is actually to provide you protection against acts by persons maybe not him,
but kind of like him. And him is always better for you than the unknown
"them." Thems baddies out there, doncha know.
Now, lets let this issue whither away on the vine...we have hammered it into
the ground. We, collectors of things green that roll, go boom, or are just
green are not going to change things easily. Remember the acronym "FIDO."
Said repeatedly, it may bring true wisdom.
Doc Bryant
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