Michael Shields blog XML

Frequently asked questions about me and Mr. Arrington

Recently, I had a chance meeting with the writer of a Silicon Valley gossip blog.

A Googler Has his Tiananmen Square Moment
Mike Arrington’s High Noon Standoff With A Googler
Sassy Google Employee To Arrington: You Shall Not Pass Whilst Talking and Driving!

Did you recognize him?

No. But if I had, that would not have made any difference. I would have done the same thing for anyone.

Why did you leave?

Because he had ended his call, which was all I wanted. I was not trying to confront him personally.

As I was walking away, he parked his car in the middle of the street, left it, and shouted at me. I didn’t see any reason to stay and argue with an angry and confused man who had abandoned his car. It was clear that I had made my point.

Are you a traffic activist or vigilante?

No, I spend little time on this. Stopping drivers who talk on cellphones is just a small thing you can do to improve the world, like picking up litter or holding doors open for people behind you. It takes less than a minute.

I do go out of my way to warn drivers who have their headlights off at night, which they generally appreciate. I will also go out of my way when I see a child without a seatbelt, because that makes me very angry. I don’t generally go out of my way to stop drivers on cellphones. In this case, I was crossing the street already, so I was already in front of his car; and I was walking to lunch, so I was not in any hurry. It was easy.

Why don’t you leave this to the police?

The police cannot enforce every law at every place and every time. Even if I had called 911, adding to an already overloaded system, and even if nothing more important were happening, it’s unlikely that the police would have intercepted him.

Consider drunk driving, a much more important problem. You would certainly stop a friend from driving home drunk, if you are any sort of friend. You would probably stop a stranger from driving home drunk, if you had the chance. You would never expect police to stop all drunk drivers on their own. You would not want a cop outside every bar, even if we could.

Do you scrupulously obey all traffic laws at all times?

When driving a car, yes, I try to. I have not been cited for any moving violation in over eight years. Cars are dangerous, and driving a heavy vehicle like Arrington’s SUV is a grave responsibility.

Is this something Googlers do?

No, this is something I do. I was walking in front of cars before I worked at Google, and I will be walking in front of cars after I leave Google. Google is not involved in any way here, and neither are any of my coworkers. This is not remotely connected to what Google does. This was me, Mike Shields, acting alone.

If you did this to me, I would run you down.

I don’t think you would.

You’re a douche.

I’m not interested in your opinions.

posted at: 2010-02-07 17:33 UTC | permanent link to this entry | comment