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There was a man who was pushed too far once, by the local government. He used his free time to build a bulldozer, covered in armor, and do millions in property

There was a man who was pushed too far once, by the local government. He used his free time to build a bulldozer, covered in armor, and do millions in property damage. I'm not saying he was right or wrong, but there is a serious cost associated with this kind of injustice, and its not entirely unpredictable.

JadeNB 7y ago
> I'm not saying he was right or wrong I'm going to go ahead and say he was wrong.
bliteben 7y ago
If I as a tourist get an unreasonable/illegal parking ticket (looking at you oakland), I am likely to spend less money in your city if I have a choice in the future, esp if I submit proof that I wasn't parked where you said I was for the amount of time and you deny the appeal.
- cannonedhamster 7y ago
  VA Beach for me. I paid to park. The meter was broken do it didn't properly register the amount paid. Still got a ticket even after explaining. They told me my only recompense was to spend more than the ticket to fight it, in person only, at some unspecified date in the future. We spent nearly nothing we didn't have to for the rest of the trip. Hope you got your parking money.
matheusmoreira 7y ago
The local people and government antagonized this man so he made composite armor, converted his bulldozer into a tank complete with mounted guns and started demolishing the buildings of his enemies. Explosives and bullets did nothing so they actually thought about deploying anti-tank weapons and attack helicopters against this guy. One civilian in a bulldozer! There is no doubt he was wrong but the fact is he built a tank. Can't help but respect his achievement.
planteen 7y ago
I think you are referring to Marvin Heemeyer in Granby, Colorado and he was absolutely wrong. I can't believe you think he was somehow justified in an attempted mass murder. A concrete plant was being constructed on vacant land adjacent to his shop. He originally agreed to sell his land, but then backed out. He was angry the concrete plant cut off his shortcut access through their vacant land (he had no easement). So he decided to try to murder anyone who he viewed as standing in his way. It is very lucky that he got stuck before he could fully execute his plan. "Investigators later found Heemeyer's handwritten list of targets. According to the police, it included the buildings he destroyed, the local Catholic church (which he did not damage), and the names of various people who had sided against him in past disputes." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer "He drove the machine out of his shop through the wall, then plowed through the concrete plant, the Town Hall, a newspaper office, a former judge’s widow’s home, a hardware store, and other homes. Authorities realized that every business or home that had been bulldozed had some connection to Heemeyer and his plight against the zoning committee." https://allthatsinteresting.com/marvin-heemeyer-killdozer https://allthatsinteresting.com/marvin-heemeyer-killdozer
- AcerbicZero 7y ago
  I think you are misinterpreting me. I am not suggesting his actions were justified. I am saying an opaque Kafkaesque bureaucracy with questionable motives dehumanized and at times, harassed this person to the point where they spent 18 months of their life plotting revenge. Revenge they executed without the loss of any life besides their own, which in my mind, does deserve to be recognized as "less bad, but still bad".
  - planteen 7y ago
    It was good luck nobody was killed - he was not trying to spare lives. I see him as a mentally ill man who was upset when he didn't get his way. The zoning on an adjacent lot to his business changed in a way he opposed. He then said God told him in a hot tub to exact revenge on those on the wrong side of this ruling. It's akin to something like the Oklahoma City bombing if the terrorists had blown themselves up in the process. But people think it was "cool" that he built his own tank and ignore the rest.
marcoseliziario 7y ago
Interestingly enough, Heemeyer has some kind of a cult following in Russia. I believe that Russians think that it is far more likely that he was a victim of a corrupt government. I find this interesting because it goes to show how differences in personal experiences lead people to have wildly diverging interpretations of the same facts.

JadeNB 7y ago

> I'm not saying he was right or wrong I'm going to go ahead and say he was wrong.

bliteben 7y ago

If I as a tourist get an unreasonable/illegal parking ticket (looking at you oakland), I am likely to spend less money in your city if I have a choice in the future, esp if I submit proof that I wasn't parked where you said I was for the amount of time and you deny the appeal.

cannonedhamster 7y ago
VA Beach for me. I paid to park. The meter was broken do it didn't properly register the amount paid. Still got a ticket even after explaining. They told me my only recompense was to spend more than the ticket to fight it, in person only, at some unspecified date in the future. We spent nearly nothing we didn't have to for the rest of the trip. Hope you got your parking money.

matheusmoreira 7y ago

The local people and government antagonized this man so he made composite armor, converted his bulldozer into a tank complete with mounted guns and started demolishing the buildings of his enemies. Explosives and bullets did nothing so they actually thought about deploying anti-tank weapons and attack helicopters against this guy. One civilian in a bulldozer! There is no doubt he was wrong but the fact is he built a tank. Can't help but respect his achievement.

planteen 7y ago

I think you are referring to Marvin Heemeyer in Granby, Colorado and he was absolutely wrong. I can't believe you think he was somehow justified in an attempted mass murder. A concrete plant was being constructed on vacant land adjacent to his shop. He originally agreed to sell his land, but then backed out. He was angry the concrete plant cut off his shortcut access through their vacant land (he had no easement). So he decided to try to murder anyone who he viewed as standing in his way. It is very lucky that he got stuck before he could fully execute his plan. "Investigators later found Heemeyer's handwritten list of targets. According to the police, it included the buildings he destroyed, the local Catholic church (which he did not damage), and the names of various people who had sided against him in past disputes." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer "He drove the machine out of his shop through the wall, then plowed through the concrete plant, the Town Hall, a newspaper office, a former judge’s widow’s home, a hardware store, and other homes. Authorities realized that every business or home that had been bulldozed had some connection to Heemeyer and his plight against the zoning committee." https://allthatsinteresting.com/marvin-heemeyer-killdozer https://allthatsinteresting.com/marvin-heemeyer-killdozer

AcerbicZero 7y ago
I think you are misinterpreting me. I am not suggesting his actions were justified. I am saying an opaque Kafkaesque bureaucracy with questionable motives dehumanized and at times, harassed this person to the point where they spent 18 months of their life plotting revenge. Revenge they executed without the loss of any life besides their own, which in my mind, does deserve to be recognized as "less bad, but still bad".
- planteen 7y ago
  It was good luck nobody was killed - he was not trying to spare lives. I see him as a mentally ill man who was upset when he didn't get his way. The zoning on an adjacent lot to his business changed in a way he opposed. He then said God told him in a hot tub to exact revenge on those on the wrong side of this ruling. It's akin to something like the Oklahoma City bombing if the terrorists had blown themselves up in the process. But people think it was "cool" that he built his own tank and ignore the rest.

marcoseliziario 7y ago

Interestingly enough, Heemeyer has some kind of a cult following in Russia. I believe that Russians think that it is far more likely that he was a victim of a corrupt government. I find this interesting because it goes to show how differences in personal experiences lead people to have wildly diverging interpretations of the same facts.