Frazz by Jef Mallett for August 22, 2021

It’s a very well-known saying called “Hanlon’s Razor”, and is attributed to one Robert J. Hanlon of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

I have never seen it attributed to Napoleon. Mr. Mallett must be thinking of something else.

…pickup trucks, especially if they have a gun rack in the back window of the cab.

The adage still stands. Whether or not people are malicious, most harmful acts are done because of stupid ideas, not because it’s meant to be harmful.

I agree with that quote, having spent (too much) time doing tech support, among other ways I’ve interacted with people in general. Though there’s a special category of people who are stupid AND malicious.

I associate malus with apples. Wait, what?

Well you stepped in that with both feet didn’t you Mallett.

And a queue of such vehicles is a pickup line.

The quote is from science fiction author Spider Robinson. ( brainyquotes.com )

Most everyone in rural America is malicious? There’s a few Pluggers who’d like a word with you.

This strip is getting pretty heavy. Someone needs to take a Mallett to Jeff!

It’s the pickups’ fault. They used to be nice. Time was, if you saw a pickup coming toward you, the front would say “Dodge”, so at least you knew they didn’t want to hit you. Nowadays, you see a pickup coming toward you, the front says “Ram”!

Mice, birds, and rabbits, among others, never attack and always withdraw from conflict. They are true pragmatists. If you can’t physically compete, you can assure your continuity by other means.

Most big things (up to a freezer) can be hauled with one or other model of a cargo bike.

But I have to admit, that many of the monstrous vehicles that still are called “PickUp” in America are considered flatbed trucks in Europe. And need a special drivers licence. And often are illegal to park within cities neither fit in parking garages.

You cannot compare those to bikes. But it’s way cheaper to rent a truck or delivery van for the few occasions where a freezer is to be hauled. And ride a bike and public transport in every day routine.

Is it malice when a Peloton of bike riders blow through red lights on their ride?

Down here in the south (Houston) there are a very large percentage of trucks driven in the non-commercial market. As a truck owner, who uses his truck, it’s really shameful to see a truck that has no blemishes, scratches, wear and tear in the bed…they just never use it!

It’s the Suburbans, Denalis, Explorers driven by soccer Moms, late to pickup their children, on their phones, sipping a latte…that one needs to give wide berth.

Some places I’ve lived, pickups were a status symbol.

The reason I carry a gun while cycling is because of 2 rednecks running me off the road. They turned chicken when I pulled out my knife.

Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo had a corollary that John Scalzi dubbed Trump’s Razor—“ascertain the stupidest possible scenario that can be reconciled with the available facts and that answer is likely correct.”https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-scythian-slice-of-trump-s-razor

How ‘bout an SUV that’s never been more “offroad” than running over the curb in the Walmart parking lot?

I was working near Raleigh and worked weekends. I took a twisty back country road to the plant and every Sunday got stuck behind 2 bicyclists who thought they could ride side-by-side in the middle of the lane and block traffic on this 55 mph highway. They sometimes turned my 30 minute commute into an hour. If I got directly behind them I’d toot my horn, they’d flip me off, and then I’d lay on the horn until I could pass them or they finally pulled to the side. It was very tempting to get my pickup in front of them and then hit the brakes but I really didn’t want to hurt them. I wonder how long it took before some good ole boy did try to hurt them.

Perhaps we could all speak easily, in a language that everyone can understand.

I go by a similar razor that doesn’t have a name to my knowledge: “Never attribute to bigotry what can be adequately explained by other factors.”

I’m a cyclist, so what some see as Mallett’s clumsy digression into pickups and cyclists, I found cute… enjoyed every last panel of this strip, sorry Scherz… P.S. I especially like Caulfield’s final remark, I don’t own a pickup, so when I need to pick up plywood, I have to be real nice to Yvan, my neighbour, who is not at all a cyclist…

If he needs a pickup owner who’s well disposed towards runners and cyclists, he might look for someone with a subcompact pickup.

Pickups and guns….something MAGAs and Taliban have in common.

• Someone needs to teach Caulfield about bike trailers.

The whole country is nuts. There, I am being inclusive. lol