this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2025
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

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Street racers aren’t criminals. To me, being a criminal means intentionally hurting people, scamming, stealing, or exploiting others. Street racing is illegal, sure, but most people do it as a hobby because they love cars and racing and just becuase you break the law doesn't make you a "criminal". I hate how games like Need For Speed always paint racers as villains when the reality is way less black-and-white.

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[–] Baphomet_The_Blasphemer@lemmy.world 26 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Street racers aren't just criminals, they're also extremely selfish people who put their "hobby" above the safety and well-being of the general public.

If you want to race a car, go find a track.

[–] r0ertel@lemmy.world 4 points 5 hours ago

I came here to say just this. I used to belong to a hobbyist group that would reserve track time for races. They were timed trials for safety and had tow trucks and medics on standby. The best was when they watered the track in the winter and let it freeze overnight. Those were the slowest races I've ever seen. In addition to being safe fun, they taught how to handle your car in extreme situations.

Here's an example race: https://www.onelapofamerica.com/#!HOME

[–] MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world 4 points 7 hours ago

STFU, moron.

[–] ianhclark510@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 5 hours ago

I want this random internet stranger to preside over the trial when my backyard Bald Eagle cloning/ fair trade human meat grocery business comes to light, not to mention the homemade SMR powering it all

[–] db2@lemmy.world 14 points 10 hours ago

Shower? Maybe. Thought? Not so much.

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 23 points 12 hours ago

I look forward to your changing your opinion when a member of yours family dies because of street racers loosing control of their car and smashing into them while standing at a set of lights waiting for the lights to change.

[–] helpImTrappedOnline@lemmy.world 24 points 12 hours ago

In Need for Speed, how many other cars did you hit or do you play with traffic off? In a video game there are no consequences, so you end up hitting dozens and can keep going as you learn the game. In real life, you hit one car and someone is either dead, wishes they were, or incredibly lucky.

How about hitting the trees, the road barriers, going through grass? All that stuff costs the community money to fix.

Let's say you're the best (or luckiest) player in the world and never hit anything, how much did your little cousin hit when you first gave up the controller?

Street racing is a crime because its dangerous to other people. You are intentionally putting other people's life at risk for your own personal entertainment.

[–] Cevilia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 8 hours ago

Username checks out.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 5 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

This is just from an initial search, with strict query:

Known Cases in 2024 of Bystander Deaths or Innocent Victim Deaths in Street Racing-Related Crashes

St. Louis County, Missouri – April 2024 Construction worker killed in work-zone by street racing crash Two 18‑year‑olds racing; one lost control and struck construction workers. One, Christopher Johnson (34), was pronounced dead. https://www.wdtv.com/

Portland, Oregon – Fatal crash killing innocent bystander Young mother (Ashlee McGill, 26) killed She was struck by a vehicle that lost control during an illegal street race while she was a bystander (had no involvement). https://hoodline.com/2024/05/portland-man-sentenced-to-3-years-for-fatal-street-racing-crash-that-killed-young-mother/

Grand Prairie, Texas – August 10, 2024 Family killed by alleged street racer Four family members (parents and two children) killed when their car was struck by alleged street racer returning from Six Flags. https://people.com/four-family-members-killed-after-street-racer-slams-into-their-car-8695681

Kansas City, Missouri – December 2024 Two innocent people killed in street racing crash A street race (Chrysler 300 vs Charger) resulted in collision with a Honda HR‑V turning onto another road; both people in the Honda died. These victims were not part of the race. tonyskansascity.com

As someone who grew up in the racing community (at tracks designed for it), I've watched the safety improvements dramatically improve over my lifetime, and the number of attendee injuries drop to near zero and yet we still have crashes that exceed the math of safety engineers.

I'll add my personal experience. A couple jackasses were racing on a residential street in a major US city. Where 2 cars can barely squeek past each other at a walking pace.

One of those jackasses sideswiped my parked truck, and hit it so hard it bent the lower control arm. You know, things that are designed for major forces. $5000 in damage to my parked vehicle that my insurance paid because the prick ran off (not sure how they did that).

Imagine the smear that would've made of a human body.

I work very hard to not insult people here and rather to critique their statements. But in this case, get fucked with your selfish bullshit.

[–] De_Narm@lemmy.world 65 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Endangering others for your entertainment makes you a criminal too.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 5 points 9 hours ago

And an all around asshole

[–] harrybo93@lemmy.world 55 points 14 hours ago

Er, A&E nurse talking here. They are. They knowingly endanger other people. You can’t always guarantee clear streets. I still wake in the night from dealing with the aftermath of the Bristol Middleway incident. Half of the deaths were innocent bystanders.

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/local-news/full-story-horror-crash-killed-1625468

[–] nimble@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Next time you're in the shower, consider where the line is for what is called intentionally hurting people. As a thought exercise, pretend someone has a fully automatic weapon and for 10 seconds at midnight every day they will discharge the weapon across the public road next to their house. They don't want to hurt anyone, this is just their hobby. Ask yourself:

  • How long before someone gets hurt or killed?
  • If no one gets hurt after 100 nights, was it harmless?
  • If someone does get hurt, does the shooter's lack of intent matter?
  • Does calling it a "hobby" change the moral calculation?
[–] squaresinger@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago

"My hobby is breaking and entering. I don't do it for the money, I do it for the thrill. I don't intend to hurt anyone, but I carry a gun. You know, for safety. Sometimes someone dies, but that's just an accident. Most break-ins go just fine. I only kill people maybe one out of 100 times. It's totally harmless fun."

[–] TheWeirdestCunt@lemmy.today 20 points 13 hours ago

If you want to race take it to a track. I understand the urge, but if you want to do that stuff go somewhere where you're supposed to do it instead of endangering others.

[–] Madrigal@lemmy.world 38 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Putting other people at risk through deliberate or careless action is also considered to be criminal, in many cases.

[–] f314@lemmy.world 12 points 14 hours ago

Rightfully so

[–] markz@suppo.fi 4 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

I hate how games like Need For Speed always paint racers as villains

I recently played NFS Heat, and that somehow twists it into street racers being good (at least relative to the corrupt cops). I haven't played all of them, but the only one I remember where the racers just unapologetically villains is the BMW Driver Simulator, aka NFS Most Wanted (2005), and I absolutely loved it for that.

That said, if you do that shit irl, you're a pos.

[–] cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 12 hours ago

Are they speeding? Then they are committing crimes, ergo they are criminals by the definition of the word.

Even if you ethically limit crime to harmful behavior, the risk to pedestrians and other traffic still paints them as criminals.

There are reasons they aren't racing at a track, and part of it is the thrill of someone potentially getting hurt, or arrested. So even by your definition, they are criminals.

Now skateboarding is not a crime. Public nuisance, perhaps, at worst, but not a crime.

[–] ricdeh@lemmy.world 32 points 14 hours ago

"Street racers" are some of the worst people to exist. They have no empathy and regard for the lives and well-being of other people. Most of the time, their fatal accidents kill entirely unrelated people (including children!) that were just going about their business. Having "street racing" as your "hobby" is the ultimate display of unlimited egoism; you do not care at all about the actual humans you kill through your actions and the decades of connections you sever and memories you eradicate. And defending this abhorrent practice is almost as shameful as participating in it.

[–] cloudless@piefed.social 22 points 14 hours ago

I never said this on the fediverse, but FUCK YOU!

Yes you are the fucking villains.

[–] remon@ani.social 27 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

Street racing is illegal, sure

Exactly, it's a crime. And people that engage in crimes are criminals.

This isn't a showerthought, you just need a dictionary.

[–] sadfitzy@ttrpg.network 8 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Criminals are anyone who is breaking the law.

It's why I never liked the term as it applies to drug users, but it is true.

[–] squaresinger@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago

Not exactly. Most countries differrentiate between different types of laws, and criminal law is just one subsection. That's why e.g. parking in the wrong spot is breaking a law, but it's not criminal.

Street racing is in most countries part of criminal law, because it's something that's especially bad and dangerous.

Drug usage is in many countries in the realm of criminal law, and it's quite controversial whether it should be there, thus many countries move it out of criminal law.

[–] TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works 19 points 14 hours ago

Being a criminal doesn't mean that someone did something unethical, just that they did a crime - ie something illegal. However, in this case they are also doing something unethical.

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 14 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

I hope you don't hurt anyone else when you inevitably remove yourself from the gene pool though your own stupidity.

[–] Lembot_0004@discuss.online 17 points 14 hours ago

What about drunk people on the road? I'm sure most of them don't want to hurt anyone...

[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 11 points 14 hours ago
[–] Darkcoffee@sh.itjust.works 3 points 12 hours ago

A crime is contravening to a law or set of laws/bylaws, as prescribed by a state or municipality.

Think of jaywalking, in a place and time where no cars are going at all. You can still get fined for that even if nobody was hurt or even remotely impacted.

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 1 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (1 children)

It's not a crime, it's an offence. It's only a crime when you crashed into someone, injuring or killing them, but it remained an offence for driving dangerously, and it's illegal. To a lesser extent, it's a public nuisance.

[–] NABDad@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Do you have a reference to the particular definition you're using?

All my searching indicates "offense" is either synonymous with "crime" or at the very least a subcategory of "crime". I couldn't find anything suggesting that an "offense" was not also a "crime".

[–] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 1 points 8 hours ago

Huh. I swear i read somewhere that define crime as in something like assault or murder or battery or robbery, something that cause harm to others, while offence is when you break the law. Like while littering or parking somewhere you shouldn't might be a punishable offence according to the law, it isn't a crime per se.