Posted on 07/10/2008 9:28:11 AM PDT by AngelesCrestHighway
SEATTLE -- A man in his 60s was critically injured in a fight in the city's south side on Wednesday night, according to police.
Spokesman Jeff Kappel said trouble began when the man began watering plants at an intersection roundabout at South Cooper Street and 61st Avenue South just before 8 p.m.
The man, who was using a garden hose, had set up cones to divert traffic during the watering, and his cones were causing traffic to backup.
Three young women in a car near the intersection confronted the man and demanded that he move the cones. When he refused, one of the girls got out of the car and began moving the cones herself.
Kappel said the man grew upset and sprayed the girl with the garden hose. Another driver then got out of his car, approached the older man and hit him in the head.
The older man was knocked to the ground and hit his head on the pavement. He was transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries. His name was not released.
The driver who had pushed the man fled the scene and remains at large. A description was not available.
Police are questioning witnesses.
If the guy wants to do something unnecessary which is going to disrupt traffic he can wait until 2 AM to do it. If it’s not important enough for him to be awake at 2 AM for it, it’s not important enough for him to take time out of other people’s lives for it either.
I suspect he was a city employee who was sticking to his assigned timetable. In Boston, I’ve seen guys watering plants on a median strip — in a downpour. Hey, the schedule says water the median on Tuesday at 3 PM, so that’s what he’s gonna do.
Why? These people can't wait an extra thirty seconds? Of course not--these people didn't care that this guy was just doing his job. No sir, it's all about ME. I have to wait an extra thirty seconds in traffic. The horror!
Here where I live they installed some kind of newfangled gadgets called sprinklers and they even put them on some kind of timer like thingy.
(said in motherly voice)...”I don’t care what the man did, that’s no excuse to hit him”
It’s kinda lame to hit a 60 year old man.
It doesn’t sound like the guy was being paid to do whatever he was doing.
I don’t care what the man did, that’s no excuse to hit him...
Thats leads to a sidebar....are hit and smack the same? When we were kids, my mom always said I’m going to smack you and we always said she hit us......
I’m sure the watering had to be done during rush hour traffic.
And to complicate things, a “hit of smack” is a whole different animal.
Another reason I stay away from liberal, “peace” loving Seattle. They just took away another 40 parking spaces downtown where parking is already scarce. Parking at a garage costs $12 an hour. They love the high gas prices. The place is nuts.
verbs are action words
nouns are people/ place/ thing ... you get the idea
;-p
Let’s say he’s not being paid. Let’s say he’s a volunteer. How does that change the evaulation of these people’s actions? Someone, because he couldn’t be troubled to wait thirty seconds in traffic, pushed a man down to the ground and inflicted life-threatening injuries.
Oh, but he’s not being paid to water the flowers. I didn’t know THAT. That changes everything. In that case, maybe he should have pushed the guy to the ground and ran him over!
Rush hour is around 8 pm in Seattle? Wow.
Eight at night is rush hour?
Ok, in that context...
FOR SMACK:
verb: have a distinctive or characteristic taste
verb: have an element suggestive (of something)
Example: “His speeches smacked of racism”
verb: eat noisily by smacking one’s lips
verb: deliver a hard blow to
Example: “The teacher smacked the student who had misbehaved”
verb: kiss lightly
FOR HIT:
# verb: drive something violently into a location
Example: “He hit his fist on the table”
# verb: cause to experience suddenly
Example: “An interesting idea hit her”
# verb: pay unsolicited and usually unwanted sexual attention to
Example: “He tries to hit on women in bars”
# verb: hit the intended target or goal
# verb: consume to excess
Example: “Hit the bottle”
# verb: affect or afflict suddenly, usually adversely
Example: “We were hit by really bad weather”
# verb: hit against; come into sudden contact with
Example: “The car hit a tree”
# verb: deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument
Example: “He hit her hard in the face”
# verb: cause to move by striking
Example: “Hit a ball”
# verb: encounter by chance
# verb: gain points in a game
Example: “He hit a home run”
# verb: make a strategic, offensive, assault against an enemy, opponent, or a target
# verb: hit with a missile from a weapon
# verb: produce by manipulating keys or strings of musical instruments, also metaphorically
# verb: reach a point in time, or a certain state or level
Example: “The thermometer hit 100 degrees”
# verb: kill intentionally and with premeditation
# verb: reach a destination, either real or abstract
Example: “We hit Detroit by noon”
Granted the other guy shouldn't have hit him, I still have a hard time feeling sorry for the guy. What the guy was doing amounted to a sort of tone deafness. For what he thought was a worthy cause, he was basically stealing time from other people's lives. It amounts to a lack of what I'd call a sense of propriety which you never used to see thirty or forty years ago but which is becoming common now.
I agree...outside of the Union of Socialist Republic of Seattle is great. Lots of great places to camp and fish and relax....
Considering the number of coffee shops in Seattle, I think they may rush around at all hours.
Rush hour is around 8 pm in Seattle? Wow....
The problem is it started at 4 pm.....
Thank you. That question has been laid to rest....
Why would anyone feel a need to water plants in Seattle?
I hate roundabout fleas.
From other articles, it was a neighborhood. The older man lived there and set up his own traffic cones; i.e. he wasn’t being paid to water the roundabout.
Too, the other articles mentioned that upon refusal to move the cones, one of the young women set about moving the cones herself. When she did, the older man sprayed her with the water hose whereupon the young man left the vehicle and hit the older man.
Really? He stole it? What did he do with it? These people have thirty less seconds to live now? Where else do people "steal" time? In line at the bank? Do I have the right to knock people to the ground who are in line in front of me at the bank? They are stealing my time! Don't they know how important I am?! Don't they know I can't be troubled to wait for their petty issues?
But you may raise a good point. "Stealing time" is a much more heinous offense than battering someone and leaving him for dead. I can see why you might not feel sorry for the old man.
never used to see thirty or forty years ago but which is becoming common now.
I tend to agree this behavior is becoming more common, but I would be describing the road-rage type behavior that we see described in the above story. This is a case of road rage.
If there is anyone out there that gets bent out of shape because they have to wait in traffic for what amounts to a trivial amount of time, then those people have anger management issues and really need psychiatric help.
So does it mean he deserved to get “smacked” upside the head? No, but I’m just glad I don’t live there amongst angry motorists and self appointed watering deputies.
Though I wonder why the cones were necessary. Couldn’t he have just let people run over the hose?
“TO SMACK =
noun: a blow from a flat object (as an open hand)”
Ahh, so that scene in Tommy boy was Farly getting SMACKED with the 2x4. Glad that’s cleared up.
;-)
As this older man had put up traffic cones, the watering he was doing was going to make it longer than a 30 second wait for the traffic backed up on the street. I don’t condone hitting the old man. He also assaulted the woman after a fashion with water, it could be argued. I guess they could have physically restrained him while they moved the cones that were obstructing traffic and called 911 to report a bizarrely acting man. The older man had no right to obstruct traffic on what appears to be a busy street.
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