Breaking Stuff

 I am not a big fan of vandalism. Tagging and sideshows and the destruction of property is not uncommon here in Oakland. The vast majority of these crimes are not directed at any specific person or institution. The stem from the anguished cries of the oppressed. 

Perhaps that is overstating it, but these kinds of crimes fall into a bin that is not exactly "victimless." Somebody's got to clean up the mess. The paint. The broken glass. The hours spent doing what needs to be done to get things back into working order. I feel the frustration and pain on the end of a school that gets its fair share of abuse over the course of a year. We're not a particularly well-guarded institution. It's part of the business of being a public school. 

And so, it seems, is owning a Tesla. Lately the news is full of shocked owners of electric vehicles that just happen to share the same initial as the convicted felon who had his presidential election paid for by the world's richest man. Not content with the plummeting stock of Elongated Mush's car company, some miscreants have taken to the streets to disrupt the sales of any more of what was once seen as a liberal accessory. Then there are those who would be happy to take the next step. 

Recently U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has referred to the attacks on Tesla vehicles "domestic terrorism." Local law enforcement has been kept busy investigating all of the incidents involving what seems to have become America's least favorite carmaker. San Jose's mayor insists, "Keying a car because you don’t like the person who designed it is like breaking a clock because you don’t like the time it shows. If this crime was politically motivated, our residents can’t be held accountable for something Elon Musk is doing three thousand miles away." He finished up with this: "voice our opinions where they matter—at the ballot box, not in a parking lot."

And there's the rub. Nobody voted for the guy who bought everything without giving anything back. Elongated Mush is hurting people without the benefit of being held in any way responsible. The idea that some of those people are lashing out at objects that he hopes will further his position as the untouchable DOGE czar makes sense. Not to your average Tesla driver, of course. They're the ones left cleaning up the mess. 

Such are the wages of civil disobedience in 2025.