[4chandaily]

More like 100s of cops have abused their authority to harass a middle aged artist.

At even just 10 minutes a stop, that is over 30 hours of this poor man's life he has spent staring at the berries and cherries just because some entitled cop thought he deserved a photo op.

[petcat]

> harass a middle aged artist

This man is driving a homemade banana car across the continent specifically because he wants the attention it garners. It's the whole point.

[4chandaily]

Wanting to attract attention and wanting to be constantly interrupted by law enforcement are not the same thing. This is the "well if she didn't want to be raped, she shouldn't have worn that skirt!" argument, and it doesn't look any better here.

[petcat]

He said that he enjoys it. Why not just let him have fun in his banana car if he wants to? HN commenters seem to be the only people upset about this. He specifically said that he enjoys the banter and photo-ops with the police.

[lazide]

Because no one is allowed to have fun, obviously.

[rozap]

Yea, he should be driving the state sponsored crossover suv like the rest of the country.

[Arodex]

Yeah, the attention of armed people with the authority to order him around. See how ridiculous that sounds?

[petcat]

I would advise you not drive a homemade fruit car around your town if you are this terrified of the attention it will bring. He clearly said in the article that he enjoys the encounters. He is doing this on purpose.

[nicbou]

I got a lot of attention on a trip of mine. People would walk up to me at gas stations to ask about mt my trip and it was super cool.

However we interacted as equals and I was free to refuse the conversation or end it when I wanted. I was free to set boundaries.

I would not feel the same if stopped by cops.

[4chandaily]

Him enjoying the attention doesn't make the actions of the police right or just. He enjoys the attention, they are abusing their authority, Both things are true.

[petcat]

> they are abusing their authority

It's perfectly reasonable to question whether that vehicle is street legal when it passes by on the road. It would be my first thought. It looks like it's mounted on a boat trailer chassis, and the windshield appears to have questionable effectiveness at high speeds. Pulling him over to ask about it seems like they are doing their jobs. Especially when I am also a driver on the same road.

[wat10000]

Is it legally reasonable? Does the local law make "that looks funny, might not be street legal" a primary traffic offense?

[kube-system]

Attracting attention does not vindicate others in violating that person's rights.

[sixothree]

You seem to have misunderstood the reason this country was founded in the first place.

[aardvark92]

The police are human too and often bored on shift. The world needs more whimsy!

I understand your perspective, but viewing police as solely as a potential threat is not spreading whimsy.

[loloquwowndueo]

> but viewing police as solely as a potential threat is not spreading whimsy.

What a privileged point of view. For a lot of people police are indeed nothing but a potential threat.