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Ever seen the movie Omega Man thunderkat? You'd make a fine Brother Matthias.
"They are slaves to the wheel, to the evil machines. They use the forbidden tools, and are not of the family."
Just don't start demanding that "we must cleanse them, cleanse them with fire" on us now. The cleansing part is when the anti-technology cults always start to go south.
I saw it along time ago.
Cant remember it though.
Maybe its time to see it again?
Again, I dont want to ban cars. I just feel they are way over-used and dont agree with how many resources are devoted to them circa 2013. Its too long and boring to post here, but I feel our society would be a better place if their useage was discouraged/cut back on drastically. Like alcohol, a little is OK, but when you are sloppy and falling down every day, time to reconsider your habits
Like alcohol, a little is OK, but when you are sloppy and falling down every day, time to reconsider your habits
Cars are neither harmful nor addictive, so I don't think an alcohol vs. water comparison is justified (with alcohol being cars and water being public transit). Tea vs. water would be a better analogy. Both are healthy, but different, and only being able to drink one or the other isn't a good thing.
enormous freedom and enormous productivity tool.
when i lived in france i did 2 things a day (no car), work and buy food.
when i lived here i did 5 things a day. school work buy food entertainment and have a home life.
Minerva, I seem to remember you speaking about your aversion to driving in another thread - probably in another forum - some time ago. If I recall correctly - and please correct me if my memory is playing tricks - you have a phobia about driving. You just feel uncomfortable, very uncomfortable, when behind the wheel.
Who can argue with that? Phobias are common, and people who have them often realize that they aren't rational but still cannot put them aside. When I was three years old I was bitten by a dog and I remained afraid of dogs from that day forward. Although I would be curious if you know the source of your own phobia about driving, it doesn't really matter for the purpose of this thread topic.
No one can legitimately criticize you for avoiding a zone of deep personal discomfort. Wouldn't we all do the same? At least you aren't rationalizing it by claiming "total freedom" through not having a car. You have freedom from your discomfort, and that is justification enough. You are not scapegoating cars as the major source of evil and of everything wrong with modern society because you are too honest to do that.
I respect your choice not to drive, even though I have loved driving from age 16 to the present, more than 50 years later. I couldn't wait to start driving, and I know that if I ever have to give it up my quality of life will take a major, major hit.
Thank you and yes you are correct. I remember everyone telling me that many people are afraid or hesitant at first but I never got over it. And living in a large city like Chicago I had good public transportation so it was not a big deal. I had taken the CTA since I was a kid and preferred to continue taking it to get around.
But as time went by, I did become more of an oddity. Everyone I knew was driving even in Chicago. Still, as you say, it was okay by me and I never had any animosity towards anyone who did drive for any reason. Of course when I moved to Portland, I became a total curiosity because it seems that in the West, cars, at least at the time I moved here were a lot more important to the culture.
I am glad cars are now more efficient being made to conserve gas and are more environmentally friendly. That makes sense because it's just unrealistic to expect people to give them up any more than it is to expect people to give up the telephone or the electric light bulb both which have been vastly improved since being invented.
The dummies in Portland who thought they could make people give up their cars for bikes only are now seeing how unrealistic they were especially with the improvements made towards environmental standards being made all the time on cars. Portland definitely does not hate cars contrary to whatever Spike or anyone thinks.
But isn't nice for you that cars are less of the culture of Portland even if most drive?
I don't equate cars with a culture. Portland has cars like any other city. No more no less. I do not believe there is or isn't a car culture of Portland. Maybe I don't really get what that's supposed to mean anyway. To me it just sounds like one of those buzz words or phrases people use.
I don't equate cars with a culture. Portland has cars like any other city. No more no less. I do not believe there is or isn't a car culture of Portland. Maybe I don't really get what that's supposed to mean anyway. To me it just sounds like one of those buzz words or phrases people use.
Well you did just before:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minervah
Of course when I moved to Portland, I became a total curiosity because it seems that in the West, cars, at least at the time I moved here were a lot more important to the culture.
I meant are you considered less of a curiosity now, since there's less of a cultural emphasis (or whatever the phrase you want) on at least using cars.
I meant are you considered less of a curiosity now, since there's less of a cultural emphasis (or whatever the phrase you want) on at least using cars.
Okay you got me. I did use that word for want of a better one because everyone else was and I shouldn't have. Sorry. My bad.
But I think I am still a curiosity because I don't know how to drive as opposed to someone who doesn't drive or just chooses not to. There is kind of a difference. But that's okay. If I tried to get behind the wheel today, and have no fear I wouldn't, I would be lost. That amazes people. If I tried to get back on a bike I could do that but I wouldn't get very far.
Oh and another point I neglected to bring up regarding Portland and it's fondness of cars is that back in the 80's our new light rail system was supposed to curtail the amount of the heavy traffic growth on our Sunset Highway. It didn't very much. Even with Park'N Rides. A survey showed it mostly took people out of buses and into trains and a few people out of their cars. Traffic today on that highway is heavier than ever with the continuing population growth.
But the trains are nice. There's no denying. And they help, just not as much as once hoped for.
In general, people I meet back East are less surprised at my lack of driving skills than the people I meet out here in the Western part of the country.
Okay you got me. I did use that word for want of a better one because everyone else was and I shouldn't have. Sorry. My bad.
But I think I am still a curiosity because I don't know how to drive as opposed to someone who doesn't drive or just chooses not to.
Minervah,
My Wife was born and raised in Brooklyn and Manhattan, NYC. She didn't learn to drive until she was 40, and that was only because she accepted a job in a predominantly amish area of Lancaster, PA.
I am an anomaly here in the always forward thinking state that gave us Mitch McConnell because I have a car and motorcycle that sit unused for 355 days of the year. People just cannot understand why I ride a bike with a car in my driveway. At work there is suspicion of DUI's and other stuff. Sad and funny at the same time that people just cannot imagine life without a car. I cant imagine life without my cats and birds, but a car? Thats like saying you miss your last bout with the flu
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Sorry. My bad.
