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Have you ever considered what freedoms we already lack due to our barbaric car-centric society?

majormajor 6y ago
> Have you ever considered what freedoms we already lack due to our barbaric car-centric society? Barbaric is a fun word, but one that would be easy to twist the other way. In one system you get to be crammed into a little train car with dozens of other people, in the other system you have some privacy and personal space and a seat... Again, pros and cons all over the place... the US doesn't have good trains because it built other systems instead due to the point in time in which many of its cities developed, and they are "good enough" that most people would see little benefit from ripping it all up to replace it with trains. It's worth noting too that "they make the trains run on time" is literally a cliche about certain types of government at this point, not some unique accomplishment.
- platinumrad 6y ago
  Barbarism isn't some perceived discomfort (have you even been on a train?) with having to share a room with your fellow citizen for an hour or two. 35000 people dying in car accidents every year in America is barbarism. Destroying the planet so you can enjoy some "privacy and personal space" while (hopefully) attentively directing your 3000 pound death machine down the road is barbarism.
- tshaddox 6y ago
  > In one system you get to be crammed into a little train car with dozens of other people, in the other system you have some privacy and personal space and a seat... If you have enough money for both options, then it's not surprising that the option which costs at least an order of magnitude more provides a slightly more comfortable seat.
ianleeclark 6y ago
I'd hazard to guess there's no way to, "by your logic," someone who's already crossed the threshold of equating a working train system to slavery.
reaperducer 6y ago
our barbaric car-centric society? If you consider car-centric society barbaric, you've never experience barbarism, or understand what the word even means. Hyperbole is not helpful.
- platinumrad 6y ago
  A society where in many regions every adult must wield a 3000 pound death machine to simply participate is indeed barbaric. I'm not sure what other term I should be using to describe a society that almost openly celebrates the way it is destroying the planet.
  - reaperducer 6y ago
    If the only words in your toolbox are "barbaric," "death machine," and "destroying," don't be surprised when people don't take you seriously and stop engaging with you. Being factual and a little more subtle goes a long way.
  - medium_burrito 6y ago
    We call this society "Thunderdome"
- bpt3 6y ago
  I've been very surprised about the vitrol on HN towards cars, which I also experienced recently when I posted some very basic facts about deaths caused by cars vs other means and have seen in some other threads. I live in an urban area and enjoy not having to drive long distances (or at all) to run errands, but I don't see them as an extenstential threat to humanity as many posters here apparently do. I still haven't figured it out.

> Have you ever considered what freedoms we already lack due to our barbaric car-centric society? Barbaric is a fun word, but one that would be easy to twist the other way. In one system you get to be crammed into a little train car with dozens of other people, in the other system you have some privacy and personal space and a seat... Again, pros and cons all over the place... the US doesn't have good trains because it built other systems instead due to the point in time in which many of its cities developed, and they are "good enough" that most people would see little benefit from ripping it all up to replace it with trains. It's worth noting too that "they make the trains run on time" is literally a cliche about certain types of government at this point, not some unique accomplishment.

platinumrad 6y ago
Barbarism isn't some perceived discomfort (have you even been on a train?) with having to share a room with your fellow citizen for an hour or two. 35000 people dying in car accidents every year in America is barbarism. Destroying the planet so you can enjoy some "privacy and personal space" while (hopefully) attentively directing your 3000 pound death machine down the road is barbarism.
tshaddox 6y ago
> In one system you get to be crammed into a little train car with dozens of other people, in the other system you have some privacy and personal space and a seat... If you have enough money for both options, then it's not surprising that the option which costs at least an order of magnitude more provides a slightly more comfortable seat.

ianleeclark 6y ago

I'd hazard to guess there's no way to, "by your logic," someone who's already crossed the threshold of equating a working train system to slavery.

reaperducer 6y ago

our barbaric car-centric society? If you consider car-centric society barbaric, you've never experience barbarism, or understand what the word even means. Hyperbole is not helpful.

platinumrad 6y ago
A society where in many regions every adult must wield a 3000 pound death machine to simply participate is indeed barbaric. I'm not sure what other term I should be using to describe a society that almost openly celebrates the way it is destroying the planet.
- reaperducer 6y ago
  If the only words in your toolbox are "barbaric," "death machine," and "destroying," don't be surprised when people don't take you seriously and stop engaging with you. Being factual and a little more subtle goes a long way.
- medium_burrito 6y ago
  We call this society "Thunderdome"
bpt3 6y ago
I've been very surprised about the vitrol on HN towards cars, which I also experienced recently when I posted some very basic facts about deaths caused by cars vs other means and have seen in some other threads. I live in an urban area and enjoy not having to drive long distances (or at all) to run errands, but I don't see them as an extenstential threat to humanity as many posters here apparently do. I still haven't figured it out.