Truckers Say They Will Refuse To Enter Cop-defunded Cities

A vast majority of drivers responding to a CDL Life poll stomped down hard on the brakes and declared they will not enter cities that have defunded their police departments.

Truckers say they will refuse to enter cop-defunded cities

I think doing some research into the crime ridden city of Camden, NJ would be a good follow up to this article. As long as we are actually searching for solutions and trying to make our country better. If we're just going to stick our heads in the sand like ostriches, then it really doesn't matter. But me personally, I'm going to make sure I'm informed because I would like the country to be a better place for my kids and grandkids. I don't think this is a buck we can pass down any longer. One way or another, things are coming to a head. Everyone on both sides of every issue currently facing our nation is reaching their boiling point. We have to step up as Americans and solve this so our children don't have to, and provide an example that our grandchildren can follow. Decisions being made this year are going to outlive all of us. 2020 will be the legacy that we adults will leave behind. If it is a good or bad legacy is up to us...

In any case - Camden, New Jersey. They completely defunded their police and replaced them with a more community law enforcement program. I think there is a great case study in there. Camden is very large, diverse, urban area - much like the cities that are considering "defunding". No matter how you feel about the police, that is information you need to know so you can be informed and not just be another clueless yahoo screaming your opinions into the wind.

Skip this below if you don't want to read my opinions on 'Facts'

If we are being honest with ourselves, and we want all of this craziness to end, facts are better than opinions. We can all agree on that, right? Facts don't have a political party, facts don't lie, facts* don't have personal agendas. We may not like the facts, we may think the facts are counter-intuitive (Why does a pot of cold water boil faster than a pot of hot water, anyways?), we may greatly dislike what facts seem to imply about some of our own deeply held, personal beliefs, but denying facts is an exercise in futility. We used to say when folks were crazy that they "lost touch with reality", but somehow in 2020, we are all falling victim to the crazy. We all seem to be craving the nice warm hug of an echo chamber, a place where we can hear/read other people echoing our own comforting opinions that we already believe. That is the easy, comfortable thing to do. Everyone does it from time to time.

Sometimes though, we need to get out of our comfort zone and do the hard things. Whether that's fighting for our country on the battlefield, having a tough discussion with an aging parent or rebellious child, or telling someone that you care about that they are doing something wrong. It's never easy, its almost always scary, and it is then when we are truly honest with ourselves about who we are.

Another hard thing to do, and something that we all need to take responsibility for, is honest learning. We are wired to seek out information that seems to confirm what we already believe. (I believe the technical term is "Confirmation Bias"). For example. Take any major carrier in trucking. If you hate that company and think they are terrible, its not that hard to Google up thousands of other drivers with that same opinion to help confirm what you believe. The reason all of us that come here to Trucking Truth is because Brett has set up a wonderful place where we don't let people slide with excuses, justifications, and opinions that are not factually based. We aren't here for eacho chamber BS. We are here because we want the truth. We want the facts. There are many drivers out there that feel like TT or Brett is biased because they can't get their 'fix' of confirmation bias about why it was so unfair that they got fired, or why 'Giant Carrier X' is run by Satan himself. Most people, by default, have the ability to take information, remove the parts they don't like or the parts that make them look bad, and still manage to present it as the whole story. "My dispatcher took away my good load and gave it to one of his buddies because that whole company is terrible and filled with jerks."

Now how often do the Veteran Pros here at TT let uninformed drivers slide with disparaging remarks about a company without the facts to back them up?

Usually, after a few probing questions, we find out "OK Yes, I was late, and so he gave it to the other driver so that load wouldn't be late too, But it was only by 25 minutes and I still could have taken that load and its BS they way they treat me just because I was late 3 times this month...".

We know that never flies around here. We deal in facts and reality, and the reality in trucking is: It's performance based and you (the driver) are the single most important factor in determining your success or failure.

So back to facts.

Facts typically aren't that hard to find IF you actually want to find them. There is some truth behind "Ignorance is bliss".

Honest learning is tough. It can be unpleasant. It can make you question yourself and things you believe. But its always better in the long run to have the ability to anchor yourself in reality as often as possible when there is problem solving to be done. If you want to be able to be 'right', if you truly want to be on the side of 'right', you have to seek out facts, no matter how they make you feel. Facts don't take sides, they just... are. If you want to do honest learning about a trucking company, perhaps "XYZtruckingIsaRipoff.com isn't the best choice, and neither is "XYZTruckingCorporateWebsite.com. Even though one of those is gonna probably make you feel really good depending on your bias going into it. It'll tell you exactly what you want to hear, but its not providing any new facts or helping you take in new information.

Everyone has a personal bias. Companies are made up of people who all have personal biases. But good companies, good organizations, good people can recognize this and remove leading statements. They don't try to manipulate or spin reality by adding opinions or removing facts. And we need those types of good people to step up now more than ever. They exist, they are out there, but they are the minority of people, and you have to seek them out. As Robert Frost one said, and as I take completely out of context, sometimes you have to take the road less traveled (by the people you want to be a part of). No matter your affiliations, facts aren’t biased. Intentional disinformation is biased. Assumptions are biased. Even drawing conclusions based on partial information is biased, even if it can’t be helped.

The fact of the matter is, there are a lot of things that we don’t always have all of the facts on because new information being gathered in real time. There are people who may be more knowledgeable in specific areas, but even if that person is unbiased, they can only give you their best ‘educated guess’ or ‘most likely’ result based on their experience until the subject is fully in the past. Situations happening in real time are the most dangerous of all because of that fact. Real time scenarios are when you need to be the best version of you, seeking to educate and learn honestly so that you can make the best choices. Seeking out confirmation bias during these times is detrimental to everyone.

That’s all – I’m not going to try to convince anyone the protesters are rioters and rioters are protesters, or that the Libs are evil or that the Republicans are evil, or that all cops are bad or only some cops are bad, or that no cops are bad.... We are beyond politics right now. This isn't about choosing sides or splitting into teams. We need to do the right thing for our country, and in order to do that, we must figure out what the right thing is, based on what facts we know. We can’t omit facts that contradict our beliefs, we can’t assume facts that aren’t in evidence.

History has its eyes on us right now. You know it, you can feel it. Its not even about 'winning'. Let’s not make this a chapter where we come off as foolish to people reading about this 100 years from now. Let’s not become the folks who burnt witches at the stake because our beliefs blinded us to the facts. The witch burners technically 'won', but how do they look to us now? What is their legacy that they left behind?

Let’s be that bright beacon of idealism that we all believe America should, and can be, for the rest of the world. Let’s set the example that we want future generations to learn from.

LEARN GOOD AND DO GOOD! Drive Safe and Stay Safe.

*("Alternative Facts" is where this administration lost my support, and I lost my ability to respect or trust this administration. The last president did the same thing by indiscriminately killing thousands of people with thousands of drone strikes - including Americans. Its one thing to try to spin opinions, its a whole 'nother ball game to try to justify the purposeful spreading of disinformation. We have to be better, as people, than the examples our government has given us for many decades.

Fact:

The Robert Frost poem "the road not taken" means the exact opposite of what everyone thinks.

"Though as that for the passing there Had worn them really just about the same"

It was not the road less traveled.

It's irony.

And ironically your reference to the road not taken further makes your point.

People will believe something because they WANT to believe it.

Don't let facts or the actual words of Robert Frost's poem get in the way.