Going back to Lien's actions at the time of the brake check, Lien had AN OBLIGATION to slow down regardless of the ***** MC's mental state. Whether he could have pulled that off is another matter altogether. The bikers participating in the melee should all hang for sure. Mies put himself in a bad situation with a panicked cager even if he is alleged to simply trying to calm things down. I don't care what Mies's past record was because that irrelevant to the events leading up to him getting mowed down. Mies alleged intent to resolve the situation ultimately brought about bad decisions to park your bike in the middle of the street even if you're trying to help if that were the facts and end being part of the problem.
You say Lien had AN OBLIGATION to slow down. The video clearly shows that he did slow down. The only real obligation he had was to protect his family. I'd say he tried to do that in the only way he could. Since none of us were there in the SUV with Lien we don't know how we would have reacted or what Lien actually was thinking. I am thinking I would have attempted to run over as many of these cockroaches as I could fit under my wheels.
Regarding the "Past Record" of the thugs involved, it may have had no bearing on what Lien was thinking. Certainly we can judge that he was acting the part of a man with that sort of record and Lien could not have helped but seen what he was dealing with. It most certainly allows us to judge in hindsight. I judge him very deserving of a life spent in a wheelchair and a diaper. It is a fact that he was no benefit to society for the first part of his life, he may as well continue as a parasite. At least he will be a harmless parasite now.
I fail to see how anyone has an obligation to slow down and let these criminals play in the road. What you advocate equals cowardice. It may work for you, I'd rather be remembered as a brave ******* than a coward.
First off, avoiding a collision is part of protecting your family. You seem to accept the blanket idea that he made every effort to slow his vehicle. I beg to differ and my reason is this: In the video, if you check out the relative speed difference between the two as Cruz began his deceleration. To me it looks like it's about a 5MPH or so. If Cruz's rate of deceleration were leaving skidmarks, then there's no question Lien couldn't stop his SUV in time. Now what is the reason Lien's SUV was unable match that speed and even effect a greater difference in deceleration? Was Lien measuring his braking response so that a rear tap of the wheel to teach Cruz a lesson were inevitable?
I've heard no word yet that Lien was being pursued by the mob prior to Cruz brake checking Lien. At the point weapons were drawn in the tire slashing that's alleged to have occurred, so they were too bad for bikers blocking his exit. But Mies is guilty of participating in an illegal activity but he didn't assault LIen's family directly. So that goes back to the question I have: Did Lien turn from being the protagonist into the antagonist in response to Cruz blocking him? Did Lien follow suite in a ***-for-tat?
Nobody is exempt from the law. The bikers will be doled out their respective punishment. Lien was defending the life of his family after he was stopped but was there a ***-for tat situation between Cruz and Lien is my bone of contention.
My "Bone of Contention" is that none of us actually know what Lien was thinking and whether he hit Thug 1 on purpose.
You assume he could have/should have stopped before he tapped Thug 1.
We have a man surrounded by what was definitely a hostile crowd and his attention was diverted in all directions. Add to this what I am sure was a hysterical and upset wife. Now the term we keep using is "Brake Checked". Instead I'll use "Forced to Stop" by a hostile group of thugs. It does not matter what took place prior to the video. The man was being forced into a stop by a group of thugs. In that situation I say he had no obligation to stop. He should have hit Thug 1 hard enough to take him completely out of play. As for Mieses, (Thug 2) he was running with the wrong crowd. He was a thug, he was part of a group of thugs and he suffered a thug's fate.
Now you want to assign blame to Lien because he broke the law by tapping Thug 1. Odd for a man with a criminal mindset to not tear off at a high rate of speed and or start swerving and taking out thugs as he went. For a man you say deliberately broke the law by hitting Thug 1 he sure behaved like a law abiding citizen for the rest of his little joyride. Was he so frightened that he lacked consistency? It has been documented that Mrs. Lien made numerous 911 calls during this attack. I have not seen any of the Thugs desperately seeking help from the law on their cell phones.
I say that when any of us look out the window at a group of "bikers" we are all guilty of making assumptions. It is easy to tell the difference between The Hell's Angels and a group of regular guys even though both groups are riding Harleys. I would not worry for my safety if I were surrounded by a large group of GoldWings, FJRs, or even BMW GSs. I could probably dodge any BMW oil slicks. There is a noticeable difference between your typical "spirited" sportbike rider and a group of law breaking thugs.
My attitude, my driving, and my mindset all change depending on the danger or lack thereof outside my window. While I might smile and wave to a group of GoldWing guys a group of young thugs might make me feel for my knife. We all react to what we see. That is part of surviving.
I say that Lien would have been completely stupid to stop for Thug 1. I will go further to say that even though I have complete respect for the law, I also have complete respect for courage. A man who will not be bullied, a man who does what he has to do in defense of his family is to be respected. A man who rolls over and exposes the soft underbelly of cowardice gets gutted by the wolves. I say that a man who makes a stand should be afforded the full protection of the law. I further say that to sit behind the comfort and safety of our computers and attempt to pass judgement is worse than foolish. It exposes what I have long believed. In this world there are 3 kinds of people. There are sheep. There are wolves. There are sheepdogs. Some folks lack the honesty to admit which group they fit into.