OP Imagine this if you will…
DH and I bought a lovely home, on a lovely lake, in a subdivision. The lake had three houses around it on three sides, all with lawns sloping down to the lake. The fourth side of the lake was bordered by a sidewalk and the road. Imagine my dismay as one evening I got home from work and discovered Bubba and his other brother Bubba, in my yard, right behind my swimming pool with their lawn chairs, Hank Williams blaring on their portable radio, a cooler full of beer and bait, a lantern (for after dark) fishing like they owned the place, drunk with a pyramid full of empties by their side. Add to that they had beyond beer bellies, were wearing small shorts, no shirts, no teeth and you get the idea. I walked down into my own back yard, and asked them politely to leave. They got pissed off angry with me, said it was a “public lake” and they could fish there if they wanted to. I pointed at the house, pointed at the lake and said, “Our property and indeed all three of the properties surrounding the lake own it completely, up to and including the sidewalk all the way to the road, you may leave quietly or I’m calling the cops, who, I’m pretty sure are not going to let your drunk asses get back in your car and drive to the PUBLIC LAKE TWO MILES DOWN THE ROAD FROM HERE!!!” They honest to God, turned the radio up, popped another beer and sat down to fish on. Oh. Hell. No. Indeed, our lovely county sheriffs came on out and told both good old boys that #1, this was indeed private property and if they wanted to fish this lake they should have bought the house when it was for sale, just like we did. #2, don’t even think about getting back in your car fellas, ain’t going to happen, car was parked illegally, so they towed it, and Bubba #1 & #2 set off walking to wherever home was.
Had they knocked on the door and asked if they could fish, I would have said only if you aren’t drinking, turn the radio down and put your damn shirts on, I can’t look at that and cook dinner. But since no one else was fishing and it didn’t look like anyone was home, they didn’t think there would be any harm.
Just because some ignorant nut job that your ride with thinks you’re being a wimp if you don’t ignore signs that say “no trespassing” and just because “there are lots of nice trails” doesn’t make it right. You want trails and land to ride on? Ask permission or get out your check book, that’s what the rest of us do.
Got home one day last summer and saw two of the neighborhood kids RIDING THEIR BIKES IN MY INDOOR ARENA (right next to our little dead end road). I asked them what in the hell they thought they were doing. Probably 12-13 yr olds they said “it’s just sand and it’s just our bikes, what difference does it make?” Well, let’s see, there’s about 10K worth of sand in there that I water and drag every day, there’s my liability insurance that’s 7K per year, and there is the fact that neither you, nor your mommas, called or knocked on the door to ask my permission.
Someone apparently considered the possibility that people would come on their property without asking permission, so they went somewhere, bought signs that make it very clear that they do not want ANYONE on their property and put them where you can see them. Why do you think this is even up for discussion just because there are inconsiderate buttheads like your riding buddies in the world? Really? I think your question just sucked IQ out of the air. And don’t blame the surrounding nut job environment for the fact that you have done the same thing. You rode where you wanted, because you wanted to, at a time when you were least likely to be caught or questioned. If it isn’t wrong, go at 10am on Monday morning when the workers can call their boss and see if your “well, there are lots of nice trails and we aren’t hurting anything” flies when the cops show up.
Yes, some of us are well off jerks with nice property who don’t want to share, tough cookies.
Going over the speed limit takes place on public property. I can drive however fast I want down my own driveway. I’ll agree with your theory that people who disregard laws don’t usually discriminate about which ones and might think that trespassing isn’t as bad as speeding isn’t as bad as drunk driving.
They know what they are doing is wrong, they are simply too selfish to care. It isn’t a game, it’s just a person not giving a tinker’s damn what impact their behavior might have on anyone else, plain and simple.
