5 ms·

A funny thing (not haha funny) I noticed about this article is that it mentions the demographics of the people being hit by the car, but just makes the "hyper-m

• tristor 5y ago
  I get your point, yet I think you are missing mine. "Brodozers" aren't just pickup trucks, they're specifically pickup trucks that are modified with a lift-kit and usually also larger wheels and tires so that they sit up higher off the ground. There are legitimate purposes for these modifications in off-roading applications, such as when going mudding, but the majority of these vehicles don't even have appropriate wheels and tires for going off-road after being modified. They're "pavement princesses" in the truck-community parlance. I live in Texas, in a working class community, and I don't denigrate "brodozers" because of the politics, gender, or other demographics of this community or typical truck owners. I denigrate them because I'm someone who loves cars (and trucks) and I understand when a modification is reasonable, safe, and necessary and when it is not. If you are modifying your truck specifically to get into off-roading hobbies, go for it, but if you are putting a lift-kit, 36" tires, oversized wheels, and a reinforced bumper on your truck to primarily go down the highway where you are massively endangering everyone else by doing so, that is not okay. The amount of badly done and unnecessary lifts where the owners don't even bother to re-aim their headlights afterwards are epidemic in Texas, but they're found all over the US. They're also generally illegal because they violate bumper height restrictions. This behavior is already against the law, but that law is not really enforced. At no point do I go "truck bad because toxic masculinity", you are assuming a lot of things about my personal philosophy that are not only not in evidence, but are false. This is a safety issue, I don't give a crap who the owner of the vehicle voted for, what is between their legs, their general temperament and character, or what color their hair is. When you drive a vehicle on public highways, you need to ensure that it is safe to operate. I despise "brodozers" for the same reason I despise stance cars. They're intentionally unsafe, anti-social, nihilistic shitboxes that get people killed needlessly. They're also a huge waste of money. There is no world in which it is reasonable or safe for people to be driving around monster trucks that can literally drive over a normal car on public roads. It's deranged. As to the point of demographics, the /majority/ of trucks purchased are used for work and are left unmodified as they rolled off the lot. Those who are modifying their trucks with lift kits are vastly predominantly men, and they're marketed to specifically on how these modifications enhance the appearance of their masculinity, with much of the same imagery and word choices you see in marketing of motorcycles. I don't care if 90% of truck owners are women, these are not the truck owners going out and putting an 8" lift on their 3/4 ton pickup, adding in stacks with clappers so they can roll coal "in style", a hoop with a lightbar, and a steel reinforced bumper guard on the front. The entire marketing and /point/ of these modifications is to make the vehicle appear more menacing and literally use its oversized physical presence to intimidate and dominate other people on the public roadways. If you spend more than a week driving in any major Texas city or on any interstate highways here you'll no doubt get tailgated by a brodozer with a huge lift, intentionally aiming their lights (and possibly turning their lightbar on) behind you at night while doing 20-30+ over the speed limit even when they have a clear lane to pass you, just because it makes these people smile to intimidate others on the roadway and threaten others with imminent physical harm and death.