brightfalcon522 said:Sean Brooks, tell me if you were parked in a spot reserved for a Department (those spots marked by traffic signs and usually a yellow stripe on the pavement)? If that's the case, the person who ordered the tow pays the bill, not the driver, so the parking lot owner just sues them for the costs later.
Parked 😉
Yeah, I parked on the yellow lines... I know I shouldn't have... but honestly, sometimes you just don't have an hour to sit around waiting... They handed me the ticket, so I'll pay it... since you're bringing up lawsuits, let's be real—you don't want to mess with Wall Street, and at the end of the day, I'm just a tiny American mouse against a giant... Thanks
So, I live right in the heart of the city, and I pay for a monthly permit for the red zone—which is supposed to give me the green light to park anywhere within those zones... But honestly, that doesn't mean a damn thing because, as I’m sure you all know, finding a spot in our beloved New York City is an absolute nightmare. Today, in a fit of pure rage (mostly because there wasn't a single open space in sight), I ended up parking near the Department building since it looked empty... only for them to be "kind" enough to call the Spider service. They towed my car straight to their lot and, of course, charged me an absolute fortune for the privilege.($167) So now I'm wondering—is there actually any way to fight this fine through an appeal? Look, NYC Parking is basically a godsend, isn't it? They’ve just claimed every single parking spot for themselves under the guise that they "built" all the infrastructure and laid down every inch of asphalt in all of New York City. Apparently, that gives them the divine right to shake down drivers and residents whenever and however they please... I assume the Department also pays (probably at a much higher rate) for monthly parking reserved exclusively for their staff. What I want to know is why us mere mortals—actual residents who pay our fair share—don't have even one single reserved spot available to us? Isn't it a bit contradictory to sell permits and take people's money for a parking space that, in reality, you don't actually have? You just park wherever and whenever you can get lucky... imagine if you built a house somewhere outside of New York City and a crew from NYC Parking showed up to charge you for parking in your own driveway. But hey, that's just another robbery in a long line of schemes by the Government and their local cronies. Most Americans see right through it anyway, so what's the point in talking? Better to just stay quiet, right?
Anyway, getting back to my actual question: is there any real chance I can get this fine overturned with an appeal, or am I just stuck paying it no matter what?
It’s exactly what the guys are saying... Is there actually a law that forbids you from carrying the United States Flag? Is there a law against displaying certain historical symbols, or a law against singing old songs? NO! What they use instead is some "disturbing the peace" statute—a way to file reports whenever someone sings those old songs or displays those specific symbols. It’s honestly pathetic, but hey, that’s just how things work in this beautiful country under these power-hungry bureaucrats! And then, when you try to point out how ridiculous this is—how there isn't even a legal basis for the report in the first place—you run into the slow-moving turtles in local government. They’ll just dutifully file a report claiming an "obviously intoxicated young man charged at a police cruiser and tried to smash the headlight with his head." Suddenly, they get to invoke laws about disturbing the peace and assaulting an officer... and just like that, the police find a way to justify spending taxpayer money.
This is exactly what our politicians want to see at our soccer stadiums—this kind of mess. Honestly, if we had actually hosted the FIFA World Cup 2014, it would have looked just like this. Thank God we didn't. The sad part is that there’s still some actual quality in handball, whereas soccer? It's just non-existent... I mean, maybe once they finally build decent stadiums and get rid of those terrible hooligans, people might actually stop to wonder why nobody is in the stands (you know, moms, dads, grandparents, kids...). But by then, it’ll probably be too late...🙄
boldhound8 said:I think you guys are talking absolute nonsense.🙂 Look, I get it, we all want the same thing, but let's stop wasting our breath on SF bullshit because honestly, spinning our wheels on that crap is a total waste of time. We should be talking about what actually works.
First off, let’s get real: no single group can pull off filling an empty stadium by itself during some random mid-week game against Indianapolis... Actually, forget just the stadium, forget even just one section, dammit...
And you people really think boycotting El Clásico would work? A match where 60,000 people would show up if Dodger Stadium could actually hold 60,000? Jebiga, even if the entire Ultras crew and every single local chapter stayed home, the stands would still be packed. Hell, people might even thank us for staying away because there’d be a few thousand extra tickets left over... Would there be cheering? Real atmosphere? No. But there’d be some half-assed noise and everyone would act like everything is fine... The wolves get fed while the sheep just get counted.😉
What would we actually achieve? Absolutely nothing. What kind of message would it send? Zero. Basically, when you actually stop and think about it, you'd probably just end up causing a massive backfire...
And what exactly would you do differently? Wave some damn slogans that nobody gives a single crap about? Light some flares as a protest? Or maybe try some "ultra-secret" mastermind move that only a few "inner circle" types know about, which inevitably turns out to be a complete waste of time—just like every other time before now? Or should we just lock ourselves away and "mind our own business"—which is exactly how we ended up in this mess today, both as a group and within the entire supporter scene?
It's all or nothing at this point... everything needs to be energized. Maybe focus on the players first, then the celebrities, then the regular fans... because this derby is going to have more media eyes on it than anything we've seen in years...
And that’s exactly where the issue lies—they’ve been sitting at the top for days now, just itching for a fight, totally wired 😁. It’s going to be just like when we faced Werder—the whole city was absolutely electric back then. On the flip side, look at us: we’re defending that top spot, and honestly, we’ve finally seen some decent competition coming from the North Side of Dodger Stadium lately (no offense intended), but aside from those two months of dead air, we are starving—for the football, for the atmosphere, for the derby itself...
But let’s be real, everyone has to make a sacrifice eventually... and for our supporters in this situation, the only move is a boycott. Nothing else works...
The real question is, do we actually have the drive, the passion, and the actual know-how to flip this media narrative in our favor? And I mean, I mean *positively* turning it to our advantage ?
Do we actually give a damn about the future of our supporters? The league resumes on February 22nd, and right after a two-month hiatus, we’ve got El Clásico. Everyone is hyped up—tickets are going to vanish within hours once they hit the market. Atlanta United is sitting just one point behind the leaders; they could take first place after years of waiting... plus, we're looking at the biggest media spotlight we've seen in ages...
Honestly, I’d be gutted (because I’m already wired for this), but is it worth sacrificing a high-voltage match like this—one that promises massive energy both on the pitch and in the stands after such a long break—for the sake of our future? For the supporter movement as a whole?!
If we want to actually achieve something, if we want our voices to carry weight in the media and ensure people finally hear our side of the story, then there's only one way: a boycott. An empty North Stand, an empty South Stand—a stadium stripped of its soul and atmosphere is the only way to draw attention to that Sports Fan Act... This is our shot—a total demonstration by everyone involved. No slogans, no silent protests, just a straight-up boycott or walking out together... because if we blow this chance and let this level of media attention slip through our fingers... well, who knows when or where we'll get another one, my friends...
God damn them—they’d sell their very souls just to suck up to Europe... In a few years, we can probably expect our local political filth (backed by the media, of course) to declare Hurricane, Flash, and all those other events as crimes... and then ban anyone from ever celebrating the anniversaries... Sanders doesn't care about being Prime Minister or President; he just wants a seat in the European Parliament and some fancy European office, no matter the cost... I work with people just like him—economic bottom-feeders who would trade their integrity for a single step up the ladder...
And this sports fan law? It’s nothing more than a smokescreen used by this incompetent US administration to fight their own battles... Nothing is going right for us in any sector. And then, the only people making any noise—the ones actually getting coverage in Europe (unfortunately, it's all negative)—are the fans. Every other sector is completely screwed (except for monetary policy and Rohatinski, whom they also tried to trash and push out, but couldn't because the man is actually competent). So, just to save face with Europe, they pass these "revolutionary" laws to prevent unrest, just so they can stop the damn negative press that the fans generate... No matter what they do or how they act, if it weren't for us, nobody would even know this backwater country exists... A country that clearly has no clue how to market itself despite its tourism potential... Total incompetence!!
(1) The police have the authority over any individual who identifies as a fan, wears team gear, or heads to a sporting event—if their behavior creates reasonable suspicion that they're under the influence of 9 alcohol or drugs, or if they're just acting out unlawfully—to identify them, search them for alcohol, narcotics, fireworks, weapons, or anything else capable of causing injury or inciting riots and violence, check for banners, flags, or symbols carrying racist or otherwise hateful messages, seize those items, subject them to a breathalyzer test using an appropriate device to measure blood alcohol content, remove them from public transit, ban them from the venue or the stadium itself, and hold them until two hours after the game ends."
So that's the deal, fellow fans... assuming Strasbourg doesn't strike this down first...👋
What a pathetic excuse for an edition... everything just keeps getting worse. It’s all so much playing it safe, so much fake acting, and such a total lack of heart—I haven't seen anything this limp in a long time. Instead, they just force things through and "rape" the whole concept... we’re going to destroy ourselves at this rate. We’re just garbage. Take that scene at the gas station: they steal every little thing they can, while the cops are looking for some non-existent bill... everyone's pulling stuff out of their pockets (candy bars, sandwiches, sodas)... and then comes that line: "Am I a fan or not?!" And after that, we just stop the repression? Another damn delay to the game... all because the organization is nonexistent... 😳 You people think you're doing so well, but I don't even know what to say for us... until we get back to some high-end European standard🙄
From my perspective, though, your production is actually pretty good (considering how everything else is going)... the cheering is consistently loud... and the messages👍
And what makes you think they’re actually "prominent" members?! As far as I'm concerned, unless people are using their real names—like some of those tight-knit Catholic groups—they aren't "prominent." When someone puts their actual signature behind their words, then you know they're being honest, that they aren't afraid of anyone, and that they aren't hiding their past or present. Only then will they earn respect from others... until then, let them hide behind various hooligan nicknames and praise absolute idiots for their "heroic" stunts... that's exactly why the whole scene is such a mess... Everyone wants to be a leader, a hero, or some kind of big shot... but nobody actually wants to take on the responsibility that comes with those roles.
And I don't get why everyone is suddenly attacking the Armada... why is everyone acting so clueless? Have they forgotten that in previous seasons, they might have had smaller numbers, but they were still there... They're the group I respect most in America, because unlike the rest of us, despite having their ups and downs and copying things here and there, they've kept their own spirit and originality—and they still have it today... The people who showed up at the stadium were there, and plenty of them were even detained... so why do you feel the need to justify yourselves to anyone? When there isn't a single protest sign or banner visible at a game because nobody bothered to show up—or made up excuses for why they couldn't—then you can talk trash about them. Don't complain just because they weren't cheering...
You guys have been fed this whole inferiority complex about our city—acting like we’re just some subset of a Mexican town, or nothing more than the Tornado basketball fans, or some unorganized "Indian" style mob like the old Torcida days... and then, miraculously, everyone suddenly changes. Suddenly, Cleveland residents are all huge nationalists or Ustaše (depending on how you want to label them), the Tornado crowd starts showing up to soccer matches, and Torcida has spent two years straight being an ultra-organized group... For crying out loud, why don't you try pushing some other kind of complex on us besides an empty stadium? (Since that clearly isn't working—if anything, it's doing the opposite)—maybe then we'd actually change... because things can't keep going like this. 😁
Kudos to you for stepping up and taking a stand... though I wonder if anyone else from our crowd would be brave enough to "describe" how they reacted when a nearly identical situation went down in these same stands just last month...😳