Trip conclusion:

"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
12/18/2018 at 20:11 • Filed to: None

What I learnt in this trip is that I always need to be open to new things, and to understand other cities exist outside Mexico City. It was mostly a reminder that there’s a whole nation out there that I often don’t understand, and that no matter how much I read, or research I will never understand fully.

When my president criticized someone for “not being hood enough” I think he did have a point aftera l.

I guess that my entire trip was me questioning what Federalism really means in this country, can people define themselves even with a central government ? or do they need their own government to define them, even at a lower level?

I don’t know... I just know that the division of powers is a lot more clear in states; and municipal governments have a huge effect on the people they serve. The feds seem far away no matter how dire the consequences of their existence is. So I need to understand it, specially when I think about politics here.

I also learnt that American drivers (with all due respect) don’t know how to drive in this country. Specially truck drivers. Not because they’re bad, but because this country doesn’t really have a driving law.

DISCUSSION (12)

ranwhenparked > Spanfeller is a twat
12/18/2018 at 22:22

Its questionable whether many of them know how to drive when they’re up here, they won’t magically get better because they crossed the southern border.

Just Jeepin' > Spanfeller is a twat
12/18/2018 at 22:54

Growing up with order (wrt driving) certainly would seem to place us at a disadvantage when that order is removed and replaced with...I assume it can’t be true chaos?

Figuring out how to balance government at the federal and state levels is something we struggle with, obviously. State governments are better at recognizing and prioritizing their local needs, but they’re often terrible at prioritizing basic human rights or fighting corruption .

If your top priority is restoring order, I think it makes sense for the states to take the lead, but you really need a central government capable of monitoring and dealing with corruption. States can too easily turn into fiefdoms.

Anyway, random ramblings without any knowledge of how Mexico works. I’m glad you had the opportunity to explore and learn.

Just Jeepin' > Spanfeller is a twat
12/19/2018 at 01:10

Somewhere in the chaos that is Kinja I have a comment here. It’s partially visible through my profile but I don’t see it here.

Kinja, wherefore art thou Kinja’d.

Future Heap Owner > Spanfeller is a twat
12/19/2018 at 03:00

Heh, I totally believe what you say about American drivers. The USA has much more orderly & regimented traffic than just about anywhere else I’ve been.

EngineerWithTools > Spanfeller is a twat
12/19/2018 at 09:56

“...or do they need their own government to define them, even at a lower level?”

Oh gawd I hope not.

While I completely agree with Just J eepin’ about local government being tempted by fiefdom-ness (I live in IL, so I understand), central governments suck at understanding and accommodating reality at the local level. For example, i n the US, California should be free to be California and Texas should be free to be Texas. Trying to turn CA into TX, or vice-versa, is a guaranteed failure.

Anyway, on the definition thing: I strongly feel that the decline of the local institutions that people have previously used to define themselves and their lives, and the not-very-effective replacement of those by government, is a huge part of the epidemic of dissatisfaction, depression, loneliness that is facing the western world.

O/T: What’s up with the resevoir in your picture? Is it empty? Stagnant and green? The downstream works look pretty dam dry . (I used to work for a company that work on Huites Dam.)

Spanfeller is a twat > EngineerWithTools
12/19/2018 at 10:43

Wintet is a dry season here; but it is flowing (albeit very slowly)

Spanfeller is a twat > Just Jeepin'
12/19/2018 at 11:06

It isn’t total chaos it’s just that it’s more of an autobahn than a US highway; virtually every car is doing 130-160km/h and every truck is doing 100-120 (when the respective speed limit for both is 80). It probably makes judging how far a car needs to be in order to safely pull to the left lane harder.

Also (and I see this in every country) Why do truckers overtake on uphill sections? I mean... I don’t want to judge them for doing that since every single one of them does it... maybe there’s some method behind the madness.

Just Jeepin' > Spanfeller is a twat
12/19/2018 at 11:14

I assume momentum is hard to recover when you’re pulling that much weight , so slowing down is seen as the worse option, but that’s just speculation.

Just Jeepin' > Just Jeepin'
12/19/2018 at 11:14

ah, it finally appeared. yay.

Spanfeller is a twat > Just Jeepin'
12/19/2018 at 11:15

But at the same time, accelerating in an uphill must be terrible for what little fuel economy they do achieve.

Just Jeepin' > Spanfeller is a twat
12/19/2018 at 11:20

Are they accelerating, though, or just maintaining speed while the cars around them don’t ?

Anyway, yeah, while I did briefly look at a book recently about CDL licensing, I’m in no way competent to talk intelligently about driving a big rig.

Spanfeller is a twat > Just Jeepin'
12/19/2018 at 12:04

I think TheBastardNamedKurtis has a CDL license... maybe he’d know