Parking Wars
July 20, 2009
Time Warner Cable just added a slew of new channels in high definition, and since I rarely venture outside of the 400-range channels, I've probably been missing a lot of good stuff that's out there. Nevertheless, I recently discovered a show that I find hilarious (whether or not that's the show's intent, I'm not sure): A&E's Parking Wars.
The premise of the show is a camera crew that follows around employees of the Philadelphia Parking Authority as they issue tickets, boot cars, and tow vehicles all over the city. Of course, the true entertainment value of the show comes from the people who are in violation of the law and wish to put up a fight on camera.
For that matter, I'm still fascinated by the attitude that surrounds vehicular crimes. A few months ago I suggested that most average people appreciate police protecting their neighborhoods, but the cringe at the sight of an officer with a radar gun on the side of the road. Likewise, A&E's program shows the tendency of people to get pissed off when they get caught breaking the law, refusing to pay fines and using language to suggest that parking enforcement people are the absolute scum of the earth. What other kind of criminal could get a show and sympathy from the viewers?
The premise of the show is a camera crew that follows around employees of the Philadelphia Parking Authority as they issue tickets, boot cars, and tow vehicles all over the city. Of course, the true entertainment value of the show comes from the people who are in violation of the law and wish to put up a fight on camera.
For that matter, I'm still fascinated by the attitude that surrounds vehicular crimes. A few months ago I suggested that most average people appreciate police protecting their neighborhoods, but the cringe at the sight of an officer with a radar gun on the side of the road. Likewise, A&E's program shows the tendency of people to get pissed off when they get caught breaking the law, refusing to pay fines and using language to suggest that parking enforcement people are the absolute scum of the earth. What other kind of criminal could get a show and sympathy from the viewers?
I'm sure that show is amusing, I'll have to look it up sometime.
I don't really understand that attitude either.
Just this past weekend I got my car towed for parking at a grocery store to go to the beach. Totally my bad, right? I was bummed, obviously, because for one, it sucks, and also because I had parked there many times before and not been towed. (My mistake this time around was parking there on the weekend when parking authorities were on the alert.) But not once did I raise my voice with the few people at the police station I called or the men at the towing company. They were just doing their jobs, and I was the jerk who parked where I wasn't supposed to. If anything, they should be rude to me. (They weren't. They were all very kind.)