Why They Hate Us

[OneEighth]

The dog in the manger.

[Greenbelt]

Pretty stupid pseudo-economics in my opinion. If I had to spend valuable time sitting in traffic lines sealed in a glass enclosed proto-coffin, I’d be angry and jealous of faster-moving, happy-looking, commute-enjoying people too.

[PotomacCyclist]

@Greenbelt 44516 wrote:

Pretty stupid pseudo-economics in my opinion. If I had to spend valuable time sitting in traffic lines sealed in a glass enclosed proto-coffin, I’d be angry and jealous of faster-moving, happy-looking, commute-enjoying people too.

I’m going to have to borrow that line for future (real-life) discussions. Or at least paraphrase it. I sometimes point out that there is no other situation where people voluntarily confine themselves to a 2′ x 2′ x 4′ space for an hour or hours at a time, every day, except in an automobile. But I haven’t thought of as colorful a descriptive phrase as “proto-coffin” before. That’s awesome.

[Riley Casey]

There’s a shirt for that

http://carsrcoffins.com/

@Greenbelt 44516 wrote:

… sitting in traffic lines sealed in a glass enclosed proto-coffin, …

[PotomacCyclist]

I wouldn’t quite call them coffins. More like they cause other people to be in real coffins. (36,000 traffic deaths last year, almost all of them caused by car or truck drivers)

[americancyclo]

I’m a bit uncomfortable with the association of cyclist with free rider in that article. Also, motorists get mad even when cyclists do obey the rules, by taking the lane, so that’s definitely not it. Jealousy, I could see.

[ShawnoftheDread]

I have a hard time buying the jealousy argument, if by “jealous” you mean what is actually envy (wanting want someone else has). I doubt most people who see me roll by in a freezing drizzle while they’re sitting on heated leather listening to their favorite music are that envious of me. The fact is most people don’t want to ride their bikes everywhere.

As for taking the lane, even though it’s legal it still upsets the “moral order” from a driver’s perspective for the simple reason that the driver knows he will have to either drive much slower for awhile or figure out a way to get around. It’s an unwanted aggrevation.

[rcannon100]

So I was driving to do some errands. Bank. Car shop. Stuff. All the neighborhood. Like you know 25 mph. Gray. Rainy. No reason to hustle. Lots of people out.

I am in a neighborhood at a four way stop. Visibility aint great. No body is moving fast. So I pull out. Probably wasnt my best driving movel

This car swings around the corner, is flying down the 25 mph residential road – sees that I am in her way – starts flashing her lights and honking her horn. I see her going by and she is shaking her fist.

Really?? In a 25 mph residential road at a place with limited visibility and lots of other people none of them going no where fast??

Face it -> they dont hate *us* -> They hate. They hate anything that is in their way. They hate buses. They hate pedestrians. They hate airplanes because even airplanes must do something that causes them to hate. They hate.

The road is one of the most tribal experiences. It is US against THEM. Always. And whoever us is, is whoever us is at the moment. It could be the US that is on this side of the road. THEM could be trucks. It could be people who drive Mercedes. It could be (and this is totally unreasonable) guys who ride fixies.

And then I thought – the road is one of the few places you have to restrain yourself. In a lot of other places, you are limited by your own capability. I can only walk as fast as I can walk. I can only cycle as fast as I can cycle (and that is none too fast). I can only work as fast as I can work.

But in a car, I am operating a one ton machine whose power and potential far exceeds my use. I am driving a machine that can go well over 100 mph – but I have to go 25 mph. I can carry accelerate and stop and maneuver in ways that – well that I am not allowed to do. I have to restrain myself. I am not limited by the power of the machine – I must limit myself by, well, good behavior. And what is the chance of that happening.

No THEY dont hate US. THEY simply hate. Car culture – > transportation culture – is a perverted alpha dog culture that has degenerated with no one saying behave yourself. 25 years ago in Arlington / Alexandria – if you ran a stop sign or a traffic light, you could count on getting a ticket. Nowdays… enforcement is anemic at best and car alpha dog culture just goes rampant.

I so love riding my bike. I so love that transportation poll we talked about a few weeks ago that showed cyclists are the happiest commuters – and not only are they the happiest commuters – they are the only commuters that dont care how long their commute is.

[lordofthemark]

good comments by rcannon and shawn.

yes, the rudeness is often expressed by drivers towards other drivers – if you’re not going fast enough (even driving the speed limit).

Which is both the kind of personal power issue Rcannon mentions – but its also about the “code” thats out there now, which is different from the law. Driving the limit, or just below it, is violating the code (though its legal). Biking in any way that inconveniences drivers (or appears to) violates the “code” even when its perfectly legal.

But add to that is guilt. Recreational cyclists are keeping themselves fit. Transportation cyclists are not using gasoline. Whether the cyclist consciously thinks this makes them better or not, many non-cyclists project that onto them. I bet many (most?) motorists who hate cyclists also hate Prius drivers, vegetarians, consumers of fair trade coffee, and other “elitist hipsters”. Its part of a larger culture war – I’m not saying thats whats causing poor motorist behavior, but its certainly behind some of the hate one sees in the media, on the internet, etc.

[OneEighth]

@rcannon100 44530 wrote:

It could be (and this is totally unreasonable) guys who ride fixies.

Given what I had to do to make it home on time last night riding across DC through really, really bad traffic, it could be reasonable.
All the drivers were on their best behavior just like they always are in this area when it rains…on a Friday…during evening rush…

[DismalScientist]

As a cyclist, I “hate” pedestrians who walk two abreast on trails or that that don’t pay attention I “hate” drivers who won’t let me merge into a lane to squeeze around a stopped object in the right lane. When I am driving, I “hate” the general idiocy of others.

Sorry, but I don’t think that it is the car that is causing the hate. People in many situations (driving, cycling and walking) are simply impatient (although it seems to be worse in some geographic areas of the country:rolleyes:). I’d rather think it is just part of the human condition than put a driver vs. cyclist gloss on it.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@lordofthemark 44532 wrote:

Whether the cyclist consciously thinks this makes them better or not, many non-cyclists project that onto them. I bet many (most?) motorists who hate cyclists also hate Prius drivers, vegetarians, consumers of fair trade coffee, and other “elitist hipsters”.

The commonality here is rampant smugness, widespread enough that it’s easy to project onto everyone in those groups. I tend to hate all those categories of people too. Yes, often even the cyclists. Quit being smug, people. You’re not saving the earth, you’re just doing something you like.

[baiskeli]

@ShawnoftheDread 44536 wrote:

Yes, often even the cyclists. Quit being smug, people. You’re not saving the earth, you’re just doing something you like.

Let’s look at that though. Cyclists ARE saving the Earth, in their own little way. And we should be proud of that. But the act of riding a bike, in itself, isn’t smug. People might be justified in getting mad at a cyclist who smugly says “look at me, I’m saving the Earth” (or maybe not), but the problem is people who drive by an innocent, non-smug cyclist on the road and hate them for it. It’s something they project onto the cyclist that the cyclist didn’t say or do. “Oh, look at that guy, he probably thinks he’s saving the Earth or something!” People make assumptions and lump everyone into categories. And as you noted, most people do it, in some way.

[baiskeli]

@Greenbelt 44516 wrote:

Pretty stupid pseudo-economics in my opinion. If I had to spend valuable time sitting in traffic lines sealed in a glass enclosed proto-coffin, I’d be angry and jealous of faster-moving, happy-looking, commute-enjoying people too.

I think that’s basically what the stupid pseudo-economics is saying.

[baiskeli]

@rcannon100 44530 wrote:

Face it -> they dont hate *us* -> They hate. They hate anything that is in their way

I think that’s it.

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