Biodiesel Hummer

I stopped at the fare booth for the Oakland Bay Bridge, and was just about to silently rage at the massive Hummer that pulled up next to me. Then I noticed the big decal in the window: "Powered by Biodiesel."

Blink.

Unbelievable. That anonymous driver in his monstermobile can smugly dismiss all the environmentalists who start to froth at the mouth when they see his vehicle. He's retrofitted his normal, gas-guzzling urban warfare machine into an urban warfare machine that's more eco-friendly than the cars most of those environmentalists drive.

I would have said that such a combination was inconceivable. My generation will probably suggest that the word doesn't mean what I think it means. But I was struck by the absurdity of the image, and actually laughed out loud, my silent rage transformed into stunned disbelief. A Hummer made me feel guilty about the unleaded gas in my reasonably fuel-efficient Saturn. It came across as chutzpah, that's for sure.

At least we can still rant about this guy's wannabe militarism. He's probably not actually driving troops into combat in San Francisco at rush hour. Don't the owners of these things know that everyone else assumes they're making up for deficiencies? Is that the image he wants to convey?

There. An outlet for my rage. I'll focus on that the next time I pull into a gas station.