The moral implications of a brake-lever
When you think “brake-lever” moral questions of right and wrong aren’t typically where you go next. As I mentioned yesterday, I don’t feel it is “right” of me to ride the scooter since it’s morally sold. But, I ran into a problem. After four days of waiting, the company I’d ordered the replacement from didn’t seem inclined to actually ship it to me. So, needing to start practicing on it this coming week, so that the following weekend I can ride it to see Gabriel, one had to be procured locally. Which, you’d think not a big deal: just hop a bus after work, except for the fact that banks keep better hours than motorcycle stores.*
So, on the one hand, I simply can’t make it to a motorcycle store to get the part on a bus, unless I did it Saturday morning but there’s a good chance I’ll be dropping off the scooter Saturday morning. And that implies I have need to use the scooter that I’m trying to avoid driving. On the other hand, if I ride it, I put more miles on it, and something could happen to it. On the other other hand, if something happens to it I’d likely get more money from insurance than from this sale because I’m selling it way under-value. So what’s the “right” thing? I think not riding the scooter would have been the “right” thing, but then that would have meant I’d need to get a late night ride home from the friends I visited tonight, and that would have been a burden (minor, but still…) on them. So it’s not 100% right. Then there’s the fact that the most practical answer is to ride it, because it gets me what I need, it barely touches the odometer, and it doesn’t burden friends. But riding it when it’s morally sold already, isn’t really “right”.
Like I said, “The moral implications of a brake-lever.”
*Motorcyle shop hours: Think about this. A motorcycle dealer, is essentially the same thing as a car dealer, only more seasonal. People want to walk around, see the shiny new vehicles, kick the tires, sit in the seats, and imagine themselves driving entirely too fast on mythical stop-light free roads. But, motorcycle shops don’t seem to give a shit. If you want to check out a motorcycle, you’re probably going to have to take some time off of work, because they open around 9:30 AM and close around 5 or 6 PM. If you’re lucky they’ll be open “late” (7PM) one day a week. Saturdays they work half days and Sundays they don’t even bother. Pfft, these vehicles only go for $8,000-30,000 it’s not like a missed sale actually costs them anything…
Banks at least have the excuse that staying open later wouldn’t primarily just help customer morale, but not the bottom line. What excuse do motorcycle dealers have?
