Monday, April 9, 2012

The craziness........


It happened again today, the craziness of some people who are allowed to drive on the road. So many people, and none watching for anything on the road other than what might damage their vehicles, holiday makers these are. They travel to other places, usually the quiet, calm places so they can make all the noise they want and and race their motorbikes round the area and tear up the ground. Because they're not allowed to do this in the city where they live. They think they can do it in the countryside where they holiday. Their kids shouting and fighting out in the rural and forested areas, they are on holiday and think this is all right. Not once thinking of the people whose lives they disturb.

They drive the country roads like they have been designed and built for their use alone.

Two magpies on the side of the road, one lying on the gravel at the very edge of the tar, the other standing close to it alive and well, but obviously wondering why it's mate isn't getting up. Possibly even mourning. A fast travelling four wheel drive, a big flash thing that demonstrates the driver needs something to compensate for a lack in lower abdomen body part, mows it down. It lays on the road side, 300 mm on the tar, off the gravel. Still alive, but badly hurt.

We're coming up the other way to this slaughtering traffic, on this straight stretch of road and come to a screaming halt with traffic hazard lights flashing. My partner with “Wildlife Rescue” orange vest in hand is already out of the car, and we watch as another of these compensatory giants come toward the birds. The driver must have seen us come to a stop and the hazard lights screaming for caution right in front of them, while it was still a good 400 metres away. The driver has seen my partner leap out of the passenger side of the car and wave the orange vest and the person slowed not even a little. They must have seen the magpie struggling on the road, and should have stopped, or at least slowed and moved a little to one side to indicate caution to the cars behind. It ran straight over the magpie, crushing it to death.

Our jaws had no time to drop, as they poured vitriol after the driver, who just sped up even more, as my partner raced across the road and moved both bodies out of harms way to where other cars would not run over their already crushed bodies again and again.

If that driver saw none of this with all that time to spare, they should not have been driving that car. If they completely ignored the stupid people who were indicating that it should slow, they are culpable and if they killed that bird to show just how omnipotent they are, they have deluded themselves and should be flogged and jailed.

Some say the world is not a good place at the moment. We say the world is wonderful, but people are starting to become more callous and sick than ever before. There are some, like that driver who are degenerating more and more all the time. They are the sad dregs of our society, they care for nothing but themselves.