this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2024
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Fuck Cars
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See, this is why I'm convinced that Americans secretly love traffic congestion. Why else would they do vehemently oppose anything that takes cars off of the streets and highways, and out of their way?
I'm not even sure that I'm joking, anymore. It's important for humans to have rituals that symbolically bind us to a larger community, like eating a big meal (usually turkey) on Thanksgiving Day, right? It feels like drivers want everybody stuck in traffic jams, so that they can feel that their own frustrating commute has some greater meaning, like this is how it is, and we're all in it together. (Like the weather.) Those of us who escape the matrix just enrage them by proving that their effort is meaningless and dumb.
Anyway, just a random musing.
They don't understand the issue. Americans have been brainwashed for 80 years by the oil companies that car ownership is the epitome of freedom. Any policy that seeks to remove cars from the road is a policy that seeks to remove personal freedoms from their idiotic perspective.
Very astute observation! It makes a lot of sense to explain the rage at government policy changes, but I'm not sure that it entirely explains the rage at individuals just trying to exist on a bike on a street, even when we're not in anybody's way. There's definitely a feeling that drivers want everybody else to drive, and not driving is a personal affront.
Yeah, there are definitely huge psychological and ideological factors going on here. Consider these two studies, showing the dichotomy between how cyclists are perceived by drivers and how they actually are:
https://www.bicycling.com/news/a26977798/dehumanization-of-cyclists-boosts-aggressive-drivers/
https://jalopnik.com/study-finds-cyclists-are-better-people-than-drivers-1850964103
I try to be ultra patient with cyclists, but a portion of them do indeed suck ass.
You can see them whenever you go for a stroll and almost get run over on the sidewalk, or at your nearest stoplight biking through the cross-walk like they're a pedestrian.
I understand personally that cycling infrastructure would solve most of this stuff (some people are just assholes and would remain assholes), but it's difficult enough for most people to see the things that are right in front of their faces already that I think asking them to imagine some future where cyclists aren't annoying is way too high a bar.
Our local newspaper is a write in section. Each week about 30-40% of the space is dedicated to complaining about cars, roads, traffic, idiot drivers, parking, car theft, cost of fuel, or injuries/danger to pedestrians. Yet, when anyone suggests maybe building a bike lane or tram in this city there's a massive groundswell against it (funded by realtors and trucking companies).
Fuck cars.
Yup. I love traffic. As an owner of a car I seek out traffic jams daily!
I always think to myself "what if I could be in a bus, and be subject to a restrictive schedule other than my own?" Naturally, I like to seat myself next to the gentleman eating the cat food.