Why bother having laws anyway?

My last post, "Bellingham - Local Workplace Terrorized" drew a comment similar to many of the comments attached to the article about the immigration raid in Bellingham. Here's part of what it said:

Comments:
Yeah, what a shame when the authorities actually ENFORCE the laws, and go after people who ILLEGALLY enter and/or work in our country!

Your slanted views are akin to anarchy. Why bother having laws anyway?

Your characterization of the matter, using the word "terrorized", indicates you sympathize with those who do not respect the law. ...

# posted by Anonymous : 12:40 PM

So, Great; here's an anonymous commenter spewing the talking points of Right-wing race-baiting demagogues. But that's fine. Let's go ahead and talk about slanted views akin to anarchy and those who do not respect the law. Yes! Let's talk about Speeders!

Traffic Safety Facts
2004 Data - Speeding

... Speeding is one of the most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crashes. The economic cost to society of speeding-related crashes is estimated by NHTSA to be $40.4 billion per year. In 2004, speeding was a contributing factor in 30 percent of all fatal crashes, and 13,192 lives were lost in speeding-related crashes.

Motor vehicle crashes cost society an estimated $7,300 per second. The total economic cost of crashes was estimated at $230.6 billion in 2000. In 2000, the cost of speeding-related crashes was estimated to be $40.4 billion — $76,865 per minute or $1,281 per second. ...

That's right, Speeders are a menace threatening to destroy our Nation! They're scofflaws stealing from our economy at the rate of $76,865 every single minute! They killed 13,192 in 2004! Those Speeders are everywhere and there are more of them all the time! It's not safe on the streets anymore because of the Speeders.

And it's not just the speeding, those Speeders are a criminal class. Read any big city newspaper and you'll see; 'Police stop Speeder and make arrest for rape or murder or band robbery or drug dealing'. And who knows, mixed in among those Speeders could be al Qaeda Terrorists!

Think that all sounds stupid? See how easy it is to take something out of context and blow things out of proportion?

But on the other hand, I'm not the only one who's found a parallel between undocumented workers and speeders.

White House compares illegal immigration to speeding

Bill Sammon, The Examiner
May 26, 2006 12:13 PM

WASHINGTON - The White House on Friday said a Senate bill that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants is analogous to a traffic law that allows a speeder to pay a fine and continue driving.

"If you had a traffic ticket and you paid it, you're not forever a speeder, are you?" White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said in response to questions from The Examiner.

"So the fact is, you have paid your debt to society," he added. "And we have come up with a way to make sure that the debt to society gets paid. Then you move forward." ...