It is times like that that I am forced to wonder why people have to suck so much.  Over the weekend, someone backed into my Fusion.  This left a bunch of paint scrapes, and a few chips on the bumper-cover, chipped the tail light, and broke the rear tray of my bike rack. All of this, and the perpetrator didn't even have the courtesy to leave a note.

    Now clearly, with the amount of damage they left, they most clearly would have known they struck something.  The sound of the bike rack alone snapping would have been quite loud.  Now granted.. I understand that sometimes, this stuff happens.  We are all human, mistakes happen.  We call them accidents for a reason. All you have to do is leave a damn note or something. 

    The thing that bugs me is the fact that people can't ever take responsibility for their actions anymore.  Yeah, we all like to think we are perfect, but guess what, we do make mistakes sometimes.  I always hear parents rambling on about having to take responsibility, but guess what they never want to do it themselves.

    I believe this damage occurred while at Knoebles, so guess what; I'm willing to bet there were kids in the car when they struck my Fusion. Now what sort of virtues are these parents teaching these kids? That it is okay to hit-and-run as long as its "minor"?  That when they grow up, they don't have to take responsibility if they won't get caught?

    Well guess what buddy, Now you stuck me with a $400 - $500 bill to get my car fixed.  And on top of that, the cost of a new bike rack, which unbeknownst to you costs around $300-$400.  I hope you feel good about yourself.  I didn't do anything to you, I've never met you, you have no idea what sort of person I am, yet you felt it necessary to cause just shy of a thousand dollars worth of damage to my vehicle.   I sure hope you can sleep well at night.

    When I was getting my estimate done, they told me about how often this happens.  It seems, the person who does the hit almost always ends up with more damage in this type of accident. Well I hope you didn't end up with a scratch on your beautiful white SUV (Estimator said its almost certainly a white SUV) I wouldn't want you to have to go to work on Monday with a messed up car.  God forbid your co-workers have to see you drive in with dark gray paint on your car.  They might think less of you! 

    No matter, I am sure you already had an wonderful story cooked up by the time you left the parking lot that day.  Something about how some guy swung out of control  in front of you, and you had to heroically swerve into the path of the gray car to save a disabled gentleman walking a three legged dog. How you sacrificed your front bumper to save the world, and when it was all done you let the guy off without getting his insurance information.   Yes of course you would have a story like this, because you would never admit that you are the sort of person who would flee the scene of an accident.

    Well buddy, the next time you watch the news, and hear the story about some guy who hit and killed a pedestrian and drove off, just remember you are no better than that guy.   Sure the severity of the crime is much different, but it is the same crime.