BOOM CARS: Boon or Scourge?

[Gringo]

There was a very contentious debate on boom cars, which devolved into accusations of racism, fascism and kitchen-sink-ism, and then the increasingly hypersensitive mods eviscerated the whole thing.

That aside, what do you think of the Boom Car phenomenon?

[jmm]

1. I voted for

They're no worse than noisy motorbikes going by. I hardly notice them.

but I live on the same street as a hospital, in an area with a ton of bikers, people love to race on my street, and my brother is the king of "boom cars" so it's easy for me to ignore the sound.

[Gringo]

2. I would HATE living in your neighborhood.

No offense.

[jmm]

3. None taken.

I like my neighborhood but the noise and my neighbors (especially my neighbors :grr: ) can drive me crazy.

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. They are a scourge

and a pox and all that is bad with humanity.

Anyone who thinks that they are great, acceptable, or appropriate is on my eternal feces-list.

[TXlib]

5. feces-list

I like the term, "fecal roster".

[Rabrrrrrr]

9. fecal roster is good, too!!

nt

[catpower2000]

6. Uh-oh...

I guess I'm gonna get real familiar with your poo, then. :)

I don't have a boom car myself, but they don't bother me at all. I like music, and I'm always curious what other people are playing in their cars. I like hip hop, and when one drives past as I'm walking down the street, I find my steps falling into rhythm with the music. :)

Cat

[Rabrrrrrr]

11. well, as long as you don't think they're not inappropriate

for tightly clustered living communities... we can still be in the jerk club together!

[matcom]

7. you need to EDIT YOUR POLL!!

you don't have a Matcom is a RACIST cause he doesn't like them so everyone who HAS a "boom car" needs to drive right by his house and teach him that his "white power" attitude isn't acceptable

:D :eyes:

[Bombero1956]

8. my problem with boom cars?

Ever come up behind one driving a 20 ton fire apparatus? The speakers drown out our siren and air horn. They have no idea we're behind them either. The siren was tested recently and measured 125 db. so that should give you an idea of how ridiculously loud their stereos are. They'll be deaf by the time they're 25.

[Rabrrrrrr]

10. yeah, damn right!

You racist. :hi:

Oh well - it's good company, I guess.

"No, I'm into MATCOMism - you know, a systemic ideology of music hating which targets mostly my own inability to understand new music, as evidenced by my race-based hatred of boom cars. You know, MATCOMism."

(/sarcasm)

[matcom]

13. "Matcomism"

its not just a Prejudice......

...It's an ATTITUDE!!!

:D

:hi:

[Rabrrrrrr]

14. It's the IN thing with all the bigots this season!

come on, join in! Now in new Fall colors!

[matcom]

15. you kidding me?

according to some.... :eyes:

i am the Grand Puhbah wearing the "fashion sheet" :D

[Rabrrrrrr]

16. with 40% more beer than your leading prejudices!

New and Improved MATCOMism for the 21st Century!

[PittPoliSci]

18. so THAT'S why the other thread was locked...

wow...that's really quite an awful accusation...

[DS1]

21. I drink to that!

/Tri Lam

[BiggJawn]

12. Depends on how many shares of Miracle Ear or Bel-tone you own...

Wish I had bought hearing aid stock when it was cheap and I had some money....If you're heavy, they're a BOON...

A few more years and all these pounder-geeks will be shopping for a hearing aid that doesn't clash with their backwards ball caps...

:7

[PittPoliSci]

17. i like them.

but i don't wish to disturb others. so get one that stays pretty well self-contained and you won't be a problem.

by the way...i checked the old boom car thread that matcom started a little bit ago...what exactly took place that resulted in the locking of it?

[BlueJazz]

19. Ever notice that the Brain-Dead Fuckers...

...that drive them have shit for taste?
I wouldn't even despise them so much if just once in a while I didn't
have to hear "I'm goona fuck my Ho and shoots me some Cops and kill the ,,,,etc, etc"
It's no wonder people hate the damn things...

I've thought about putting a nice sound system in my car but I don't want anybody to associate me with these idiots.

[Gringo]

20. Pleeeeease-

Let's not start with that again:

"...that drive them have shit for taste?
I wouldn't even despise them so much if just once in a while I didn't
have to hear "I'm goona fuck my Ho and shoots me some Cops and kill the ,,,,etc, etc"
It's no wonder people hate the damn things..."

I know where you're coming from, but to some people, railing agains profane rap=racism, even though a huge percentage of the kids booming rap are white. So just to avoid ruffling any ultra-sensitive feathers, let's stick to "booming music" period. If you want to rail against a particular genre or age group, please start a new thread about it, I don't want this thread all redacted or locked.

Anyway, I don't care if it's rap or rock or Benny Goodman, I don't want to be boomed at, period. It's the intrusion of noise into my space that I'm mad about, not backwards ball-caps or profane lyrics. I liked crappy music when I was young too. I didn't force everybody within 5 blocks to listen to mine, though.

[Gringo]

22. To whoever checked "anyone who criticizes boom cars is a racist"

You are either a smart-ass liar, or an idiot. A person who has that little respect for the sanctity of other people's homes is not a democrat, or even a decent human being.

There may be a few people whose problem has to do with the "music" sometimes being "rap" or profane, but for most of us the issue is the overwhelming, unbearable bass thud. It is a very unnatural background sound and sensation, and causes all kinds of stress that can manifest as real health problems.

Several weeks ago, here in Miami, a man shot several people to death at a party because they refused to turn down their booming (latin) music at 4 am. Though I would never ever do something like that, I could NOT feel ANY sympathy for the partyers, and I do hope the judge hands down a relatively lenient sentence in light of the insanity these noisy revelers undoubtedly caused this man. When and if he gets out of jail, he really should move away from Miami!

[catpower2000]

23. Why did you feel the need to point out it was latin music? nt

[Gringo]

Because some people here seem to think its only rap music

The offenders play all types of music. Why do you feel the need to point out the fact that I noted a genre of music? Why are you so quick to jump in and imply "racism!" when that is NOT what this is about?

[catpower2000]

36. I think it is, and the longer this thread goes on, the more I think so nt

[LynneSin]

59. I've called the cops on people playing classic rock at 4am on a weekday

And I'm a classic rock fanatic.

But I also had a job to get to at 8am in the morning.

The type of music isn't the issue or even who is playing it. My neighbor was a white trash redneck that I called the cops on (and mind you, I had discusses this issue with him THREE times with the 2nd and 3rd time mentioning that I would get the cops involved).

The guy was trash, he moved out a month later trashing the apartment and not paying his rent. New management came into our building and my next neighbor was a quite single working mom with a small child.

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Rabrrrrrr]

37. And before anyone jumps on the racist bandwagon

I'll have you note that, while I lived in my hometown, 99% lily white, I lived under a white couple with two young white kids, both theirs, whose record collection was basically the same as mine, and even though we're all six of us white (my white roommate included, whose record collection also basically the same as mine, and the upstairs people), the loud parties of our upstairs neighbors, playing the same music I listen to, brought me also to murderous thoughts, and that also was before subwoofers and supercharged stereos.

[Gringo]

38. The new "home theatres" can also be a problem

esp. in an apartment setting. Just so that we can make sure and include white guys in this rant - I'm pretty sure white guys are the biggest aficionados of these things.

The problem with the home theatre is that you don't realize at all how loud the things sound from OUTSIDE your apartment. They're not quite as annoying as boom cars, becauuse they lackthe repetitive thudding, but they can make up for it when an "action scence" comes on, and the volume of explosions and music is suddenly amped up.

I find that when watching DVDs, I have to have the volume up pretty high to hear the conversations, and then when any sort of action ensues, the volume gets REALLY loud and I have to turn it down. Anyone else have that problem?

[Rabrrrrrr]

43. Yes - I love the dynamic range of the DVDs (and CDs)

But it does mean, especially now in summer with the air conditioner adding it's noise to the mix, that I must either a) have it loud enough to hear dialogue, and then vibrate the buiding during the action scenes, or B) quiet enough not to vibrate, and then read the captioning since I can't hear the talking. :-)

Bloody hell.

It would be easier ifI had a remote for the stereo, but I don't, so it means lots of getting up and down, because the people on top of us, and the people below us, and most of my building, are very nice and quiet, and I see no reason to offend them with loud noise.

Frustrating, though.

Even symphonic music is a pain - especially Mahler, going from ppp to fff in one shot.

[Loonman]

24. Ehhh, let the kids have their fun

Too soon you're an adult and fun is strictly regulated.

[mac56]

27. "Fun"?

What if their "fun" deprives me of the peace and quiet of my home?

Bollocks.

[Loonman]

29. You never listened to loud music as a teen?

:wow:

[mac56]

30. Believe it or not: no, I didn't.

And my friends that did, over audio systems nowhere near as assaultive as those available now, got their asses in a sling.

[Rabrrrrrr]

31. I listened to loud music, but my parents had the decency to teach me

it can't be loud enough to hear outside the walls of the home, and I could only be that loud when they weren't home, so here I am, a person of good age, who managed to survive and live without loud music. I like my music loud at concerts. I don't like my music loud in my apartment, especially when it's music coming from a car on the other block, or an apartment halfway down the block.

Yes, we had loud music as teens, but thank God, I had decent adults around me who told me it was wrong, because it is wrong. Just because we did it doesn't make it right - I can sympathize and empathize, but it's still wrong, and stereos of today are far more noxious than before.

[mac56]

32. HEADPHONES.

How freakin' complicated is that?!

[catpower2000]

33. Uh, it's illegal to wear headphones when you're driving nt

[mac56]

35. And violating a noise ordinance is also illegal.

As if the boom car drivers care!

[Gringo]

39. Well geez, then I guess they have no choice

but to blast their boom car as loud as possible then, and the rest of us have to eat it up because if we don't, we're "racist".

If you're going to generalize like that, how about this; the boom car drivers are racists, and committing a hate crime against people who are turned into nervous wrecks by booming noise.

It makes every bit as much sense as your argument that anyone who hates noise is a racist.

[catpower2000]

40. Uh, I never said any of that, but thanks for your misplaced rage nt

[Rabrrrrrr]

41. and it's also illegal to have your music so loud

you can't hear an ambulance or firetruck or cop car, etc.

[Rabrrrrrr]

34. damn right!!! When I feel the "need" for some loud music,

I always go for the headphones.

Of course, ni my neighborhood, I'm forced to wear headphoens a lot of the time, because it's the only way to stop the assault of stereo noise from my neighborhood (which is rarely of the super-subwoofer kind, but is always loud enough to still hear the damn drums pock-pock-pock-pock or the damn bass lines or the shhh-shhh-shhh of whatever the hell it is).

But yeah - if you want loud music, put on some damn headphones. I have the decency to do it.

And just becuase you have headphones on, doesn't mean you can be as loud as you want outside your home. I'm sick adn tired of these assmunches on the subway blasting so loud, I can hear their headphones, on a full subway, from the opposite end of the car. That's just as bullshit as the boom cars and the loud home stereos.

Christ, show some respect for people. (not you Mac, the loud people)

[Gringo]

42. If they insist on doing it they need to do it where it will not disturb

others. I would say out in the country or woods, but then there would be an adverse impact on the wildlife, which would be stressed by the noise as much as humans.

The best solution is to go their ass to a soundproofed nightclub and party on. And don't tell me they can't afford cover, they can afford stereos that would cost a month's pay for me.

[Rabrrrrrr]

28. Screw their fun

If their idea of "fun" is assaulting everyone within half a mile, screw 'em.

I want kids to have fun - I think too often, we take the fun out of kids' lives and make 'em study and "excel".

But their fun should not involve assault. We let them have fun, but we also have to teach them what it means to be part of a community.

[mac56]

25. I hate them.

And I will continue to do every legal thing I can to make them stop.

And I don't care what people think of me for saying so. I know I'm not a racist, fascist, whatever-ist. Like Gringo said in another post: I don't care if it's rap, rock, or Benny Goodman. I don't care to be boomed at.
If others choose to believe that I'm racist, etc., for taking this stance, I can only conclude that there's a bit of projection going on.

"Projection": Attributing one’s own unacceptable or undesirable impulses or thoughts to someone or something else.

[Gringo]

44. Where are the Chrisssstianza!?

They think Jayzzus can cure all of society's ills. Why don't these boomers' parents, no doubt mostly "Chrissstian", teach their kids the family values they need to have to respect others.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Today's Christianity is all about sapportin' the President, killin' ay-rabs, and puttin' f**gots in jail for expressing affaction. Sorry Jesus, they don't need yer teachings anymore.


I know I'm off on a tangent - just wanted a little relief from the seriousness of this thread. Back into the fray.

[catpower2000]

45. I'm sure all of you think that you're not racist...

But really, look at the issue. You are RAGING, FOAMING AT THE MOUTH, about some loud music! It's ridiculous! The reaction here is totally out of proportion to the "problem". That's what starts me (and possibly others) thinking, there must be another motivation for all this screaming anger, so what could it be? I honestly thought it was a big jump to conclusions when I read the initial post to say that people who hated loud cars were racist. I scoffed at that. But the longer this thread goes on, the more I wonder. Where is all this rage coming from? It's MUSIC, for cripes sake!

Cat

[mac56]

47. I'm surprised you think it's just about music.

And air pollution is just about a little smoke? And water pollution is just about a little silt in a stream?

This isn't about music. It's about noise pollution, rudeness, and quality of life. To say otherwise is disingenuous.

[catpower2000]

49. Well, I grew up in South Philly...

I can peacefully sleep through sirens and gunfire. A little bass from a car is not noise pollution in my world. When you live in the city, you develop TOLERANCE for other people, their smells, their sounds, their color, whatever. You have to, it's a survival trait. When I lived above an Indian family, did I WANT my apartment to smell like curry every single day? Well, maybe not, but I learned to get over it. Did I WANT to smell the homeless man who came into the convenience store every day? No, but I learned to get over it. Tolerance is a very important trait, especially if we want to get out of our McMansions in the suburbs and actually, oh I don't know, INTERACT WITH THE WORLD.

Cat

[mac56]

52. A very good point.

There are times when one chooses to interact with the world. There are other times when one chooses not to, and shouldn't have to.

Obviously, Cat, you have determined that the curry aroma is an acceptable consequence of living where you live, and dealing with the odor of other people is an acceptable consequence of shopping in a public place. I would reach the same conclusion. Sirens are a necessary evil in urban life; gunfire an unfortunate but brief disturbance. But I don't accept persistent audible and physical intrusiveness of other people's personal entertainment as an acceptable consequence of...of what? Trying to enjoy my own personal entertainment and personal space?

Tolerance, I think, is a two-way street. I would be more willing to tolerate the occasional boom car if their drivers would display any tolerance of my desire, and that of my neighbors, for peace and quiet. To date, they haven't.

It's possible to dislike boom cars without being racist or intolerant.

Peace.

brief edit

[Gringo]

56. Again, I can only speak for myself, but I live in the city

downtown Miami, and I'm quite happy to enjoy the panoply of colors and peoples in this city. The vast majority of people of all colors are considerate. It is only a tiny percentage that make this racket and make it a hell for everybody else. And of all the problems you mentioned, the boom noise is the only one that invades EVERYONE's home for blocks around. That's why it's different. You don't have to invite the smelly homeless into your house. You can shut your windows and run the AC to keep out the curry smell. Even the worst neighborhoods don't have CONSTANT gunfire, and sirens do not vibrate the house - I never notice them, or the elevated train a half-block away.

You're crazy if you think we're suburban McMansion dwellers. Those people don't have to deal with this noise in any real way, so I'm sure most of them don't care. I'd wager most of the anti-boom posters are longtime city dwellers who love the city and would like to stay. It's the boom that is making it increasingly hard.

[Rabrrrrrr]

57. Cat, would you be so tolerant if the smelly homeless guy

Taped himself to you, and forced you to be near and smell him for hours at a time while you try to do your normal life?

That's what intrusive music/noise is like.

The boom car that drives by? He's an asshole, but it least it's temporary. Just like the smell of the homeless guy, or my partner's fondness for fermented soured bean curd (stinky!!!!) or the times when the guy upstairs moves furniture or pounds in nails to hang pictures.

The boom car that sits outside - or the loud stereo from the apartment next door? That's like being taped to a smelly guy.

[catpower2000]

58. LOL!

This is a great post. :) I still disagree, but I do understand what you're saying.

Cat

[LynneSin]

63. I grew up in Rural PA and we had boom cars there and it's still wrong!!!

Seriously!

Beat-up Camaros and Fire-birds where the car was held together with duct-tape but had $5000 worth of stereo equipment in it. Or better yet old beatup panel vans with nothing but a stereo and a mattress in the back (that was suppose to be a hot date in Perry County - I was the school snob because I refused to go out on a date with someone who drove trash like that)

I'm sorry - there is no excuse for boom cars no matter what part of the country you grew up in. These are people that who think they are impressing people with their loud music. I would have been more impressed if they spent that $5000 on something better than an old junker camero/fire-bird and got something that could run without the aid of duct-tape and WD-40

[Rabrrrrrr]

48. doesn't matter that it's music, Cat

the fact is, once it's invading my space, it's noise.

That's why we have noise ordinances so that the guys with jackhammers can't be outside on your street at 2 am, etc.

But unlike street repairs, or factory noise, which has a certain necessity to it, loud stereos are unnecessary, and they force themselves on others and invade their space.

Ever try to watch a movie, or listen to the radio, or even listen to your own music, but you can't because some asshole is blasting his music for hours on end? Woo, I have. It sucks.

Doesn't matter if they're booming music or the sounds of steel stamping plants or whale song, it's wrong. Just wrong.

And I bet if you look at the regulations of every city in the country, you'll find noise ordinances, because those communities decided long ago that invasive noise is just that: invasive. And that it needs to be limited, monitored, and stopped when out of bounds.

[catpower2000]

50. See my post #49...

I guess I just don't understand what all the fuss is about. The reaction here seems totally disproportionate to the cause. I don't value total silence so much that I'm willing to deny other people their right to move through the world, at whatever volume they choose.

Funny story: when I moved to the country (well, it was the burbs, but to me it was the country), I couldn't sleep because it was TOO QUIET and TOO DARK. I guess it takes all kinds. :)

Cat

[Rabrrrrrr]

54. Cat, I'm totally happy with normal noises of living

I have a fire station across the street. The sirens don't bother me at all. They're temporary, and for the most part, I hardly hear them.

People walk on the sidewalk, and also hang out a lot - I can hear them talk, laugh, etc. I don't care about that. That's normal life.

But when I can *feel* someone's stereo, and when I can't hear my own music, the TV, the radio, etc., because of someone else's music, that's bullshit. Especially when it hits if second, third, fourth, and eighth hour. We had a party a couple weeks ago - started at 1 pm, went until 4 am, and I could feel it the whole time. That's bullshit.

I'm in NYC - we have cars, people, buses, semis all the time; I'm on the approach to LGA, so we have planes over all the time. None of it bothers me. Even when con ed was working on the street, and they shoving giant steel plates around and making noise, never bothered me.

Bullshit needless useless noise is intolerable, and should be fined.

I don't want to hear other people's goddamn music over my own, ESPECIALLY when I have headphones on! It's uncivil, it's unnecessary, and it's an act of violence.

And I read your other post, and responding mostly to that one in this post. I'm not looking for total silence - I'm looking for people to treat each other with respect.

[Gringo]

51. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RACE

For me, anyway, I cannot speak for others on this. I am very sensitive to this noise, especially when I want a good night's sleep. It is that simple. I know some people that hardly notice this, and I envy them - maybe there is some difference in our ears, seriously, but that booming is very annoying and unnatural, and I have the right to live in my home without being subjected. Period.

Anything else about race either came from someone else's post, or is something that you read in that is not really there. The only mention I made even approaching race was "latin" music, mertely to make the point that it's not strictly rap. Any bass-laden music at high volume is offensive. Any bass-laden music at high volume is offensive. Any bass-laden music at high volume is offensive. Any bass-laden music at high volume is offensive. Any bass-laden music at high volume is offensive. Any bass-laden music at high volume is offensive. Any bass-laden music at high volume is offensive. Any bass-laden music at high volume is offensive. Any bass-laden music at high volume is offensive.

If I repeat myself enough, does it make sense to you?

[catpower2000]

53. No.

IMO you need to learn to tolerate other people living on the planet.

Cat

[Rabrrrrrr]

55. I would put it this way - people need to not push their shit on others

Not up to me to accept their uncivil behavior - up to them to learn how to live in society.

It's not about "learning to tolerate other people", that's pure crap.

It's about living in a way that other people don't NEED to learn to tolerate you. That's what being in community is about.

Just like I would never say to you "Cat, it's up to you to learn to tolerate children poking you and screaming and running around at restaurants. How intolerant that you want quiet when you are at a restaurant or a theater."

[mac56]

60. Rabrrrrrr, you hit it right on the head.

Thank you.

[catpower2000]

61. Aha! Touche!

You are right about the children thing, I find that totally intolerable. I can't equate in my own mind how a loud car can possibly be as annoying as a screaming child, but I respect the fact that you find it so. Maybe I have to revamp my opinion.

Cat

[Rabrrrrrr]

65. Thank you!

And sometime, we'll go out to eat together, and take little cans of mace and pepper spray for the kiddies... "Sorry ma'am, thought your kid was gonna kill me the way it stabbed me with the fork. Perhaps next time, you ought to train it before taking it in public."

I'm glad you are rethinking your position.

I have often considered that the loud stereo music is every bit like having someone poke you every second for hours at a time. It's just damn annoying.

Cheers!

[catpower2000]

68. LOLOL...

"The way he flung that sweet potato mush at me, I thought it was a TERRORISTIC THREAT, ma'am! I HAD to take him down!!"

Take you up on that dinner offer next time you're in the DC/VA area. :)

Cat

[Liberal Veteran]

46. I don't care if they playing Pat Boone or Gangsta rap or...

...Toby Keith or Metallica.

Any car audio that causes my walls to vibrate in my house is too fucking loud and you should be ticketed for disturbing the peace if you do it.

[slackmaster]

62. Sound abatement laws not being enforced

In San Diego the municipal code makes it an infraction to play a radio, boom-box, etc. at such a volume that it can be heard more than 50 feet away. Citations are almost never issued.

[mac56]

64. Call, and call, and call again.

You have the ordinance on your side. Become a major pest. Keep careful records of all incidents, when you called, who you spoke with, and the responses. Get other neighbors to do the same, so you won't be written off as a lone crank. It helps immeasurably to establish a pattern.

[GOPisEvil]

66. Can I boil this down for y'all? (Yes, I'm being diplomatic again!)

There is a time and place for just about anything.

If a vehicle is in an area with lots of night clubs, etc, and the streets are full of people in a celebratory mood, then I think a car with a loud stereo might be considered OK.

If that same vehicle is in a quiet residential area, particularly after 10pm or so, then that vehicle is a nuisance.

I'm just using my own standards...if I'm down on Austin's 6th St, or in the Warehouse district, loud cars don't bother me at all. They seem to add to the festive vibe. But, if I'm at home trying to enjoy a quiet late night movie, it bugs the living crap out of me.

[catpower2000]

67. Well, I'll say this, as the main proponent of loud cars on this thread...

I listen to my stereo in my car very, very loudly. However, I have Pioneer 6X9's in the back, and an amp and subwoofer. That's all. It's NOT a boom car. I could turn it up all the way, it wouldn't rattle anyone's windows.

But still, when I turn into my neighborhood, and it's after 9, I turn my stereo down.

So even though, I'm preaching tolerance, I do practice consideration in my own life.

Cat

[mac56]

69. If all drivers were like you, cat -

We wouldn't be having this discussion.

Thanks for your tolerance of others!

[GOPisEvil]

70. A little consideration is all I would ever ask...

...the problem with some folks is that they never consider that their actions have possible negative consequences for others.

Talk about loud stereos: I was borrowing my mom's Infiniti. Her's has the Bose system. Yeah, baby! :thumbsup: I wonder if her stereo would fit in my (old-ass) Infiniti...:think:

[Gringo]

71. Sounds "common-sensical" to me.

Woe to the people living in the "festive" area, though. Miami Beach/South Beach has always been the festive, clubby part of Miami, but in the last couple years, my neighborhood near downtown has seen a few trendy clubs move in (4 blocks away, by the river) due to the increasingly astronomical costs of property in SoBe.

Mostly it hasn't been a problem, but occasionally they host very loud outdoor parties on the patio, until 4 am, and I have to call the cops. I'm sad to see my neigborhood going in this direction.