5 ms·

I always thought it was a combination of masculine insecurities and one upping your neighbors. Edit: lifted trucks, after market front bars, louder exhaust wi

I always thought it was a combination of masculine insecurities and one upping your neighbors. Edit: lifted trucks, after market front bars, louder exhaust with larger exhaust tips, truck nuts, American flags or thin blue line flags covering the rear window.. None of these are from government regulations

honkkong420 4y ago
Then why don’t people buy class 8 semi trucks?
- pc86 4y ago
  The need for a CDL is one obvious reason. It looks like the internet disagrees on whether CDL requirements start at class 6 or 7, so we're really only talking about 1-5. And I've definitely seen 4s and 5s on the highway that have probably never seen a spec of dirt in their life. So there are certainly some people just looking to get the biggest thing they can legally drive.
  - driverdan 4y ago
    CDLs only apply for commercial use. You can drive a tractor without one if it's for personal use.
- bombcar 4y ago
  They require a special license. But, in the USA, you can drive up to 26,000 GVW with a normal license, so everyone should be driving box trucks or similar.
- happytoexplain 4y ago
  Nothing in the parent's hypothesis implies that the normal mitigating factors like cost/practicality don't apply. Also, size is only one prominent factor in masculinity. E.g. a pickup truck is frequently seen as more masculine than an RV.
  - honkkong420 4y ago
    What makes a vehicle masculine? I know plenty of women who own trucks who insist their truck isn’t.
- themitigating 4y ago
  Come on. Because they are exponentially more expensive to operate and much more complex to drive. You also can't park them easily, blah blah blah, CDL, blah blah. I get your sarcasm, but people buy the largest passenger vehicle because they fit within reason but still allow them to brandish themselves. Assuming most don't offroad; There was a study that said trucks are used for hauling/offroad less than 20%~ more than once a year). I can't find it anymore so you can call me on that. Lifting a truck reduces efficiency by creating drag and uplift (I believe that's what it's called). It also raises the center of gravity which greatly reduces handling and increases the possibility of rolling over Chunky off-road tires wear out faster, are less efficient, and reduce handling on the road. Extra lights, as well as lifting your truck without adjusting the lights, blind other drivers creating a safety hazard. So more gas, more money, less safety for everyone, but the person stands out more, like large horns on animal, it's all about peacocking. And yes, I know this is done in other ways, fancy loud sports cars, showing off money, clothing, etc. If that was going to your response, then I'll throw down the whataboutism card and do a double reverse move and point out those have less effect on the environment and safety. Yes, I know fast fashion is bad for the environment, kids in blahstan, but it's about levels not bad or good.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
sethammons 4y ago
My wife has a large truck and we bought it when we had no neighbors living in the middle of nowhereville Montana. She bought it because she was terrified to drive her prius around because bigger trucks would tail gate, break too late and nearly kill her, and generally antagonize the smaller car. So she got a giant Dodge Ram and now feels safe to drive. Now that we've moved out to the city, she feels even safer. I like that when I hit two deer in it there was zero, absolutely zero, damage to the vehicle. Thank you brush guard.
- throwaway-1011 4y ago
- tstrimple 4y ago
  > Now that we've moved out to the city, she feels even safer. Sure. Now she's the one making others feel unsafe.
- bradjohnson 4y ago
  This comment is so lacking in self awareness it must be satire.
  - sethammons 4y ago
    can you expand on that? The lack of self-awareness because she would prefer to be in the big vehicle? She should lower how safe she feels because ... it would make a car driver safer?
    - bradjohnson 4y ago
      I'd love to. Your story went from driving a Prius in the countryside to happily mowing down deer in your giant truck while living in the city. Presumably others are now terrified to be around your massive vehicle, and you don't appear to have bought it for a practical purpose, so the premise that your wife was made to feel unsafe is then not an indictment of industrial sized vehicles making the roads less safe for others. Instead, it is embracing the stereotypical American pursuit of having the biggest baddest mfing vehicle on the road in a "fuck you I got mine" race to the bottom. It reads as a pretty good satire: "Woman in fear of being crushed by giant vehicle feels much better now that others fear being crushed by her giant vehicle."
nsxwolf 4y ago
The masculine insecurities / penis size thing seems awfully unscientific to me. It's basically just a slur.
- themitigating 4y ago
  It's not as simplistic as "penis size" it's part of a culture where being manliness and independence is valued. People are also told we need to be tougher and how we are losing what makes America great. For example "In the trailer for "The End of Men," Tucker Carlson worries about "the total collapse of testosterone levels in American men,"
  - wyager 4y ago
    > Tucker Carlson worries about "the total collapse of testosterone levels in American men," This is not just him shouting random polemic; this is a scientifically measurable and deeply concerning medical trend. https://www.urologytimes.com/view/testosterone-levels-show-steady-decrease-among-young-us-men https://www.urologytimes.com/view/testosterone-levels-show-s...
    - themitigating 4y ago
      Yes it is and according to what you linked to "According to Lokeshwar, potential causes for these declines could be increased obesity/BMI, assay variations, diet/phytoestrogens, declined exercise and physical activity, fat percentage, marijuana use, and environmental toxins." Tucker Carlson is using it as a very thin excuse to basically make a series about how men need to be more like a particular cultural concept of men. Here's the trailer for "The End of Men" nowhere does it mention that study or a testosterone drop. Maybe the show itself touches on that but in my opinion that would only be so people like you could justify what is basically a propaganda video for right wing masculine culture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcxLQeh6J6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcxLQeh6J6A
  - weberer 4y ago
    Pretty sure he's talking about the literal levels from blood tests. It is actually a very concerning issue.

honkkong420 4y ago

Then why don’t people buy class 8 semi trucks?

pc86 4y ago
The need for a CDL is one obvious reason. It looks like the internet disagrees on whether CDL requirements start at class 6 or 7, so we're really only talking about 1-5. And I've definitely seen 4s and 5s on the highway that have probably never seen a spec of dirt in their life. So there are certainly some people just looking to get the biggest thing they can legally drive.
- driverdan 4y ago
  CDLs only apply for commercial use. You can drive a tractor without one if it's for personal use.
bombcar 4y ago
They require a special license. But, in the USA, you can drive up to 26,000 GVW with a normal license, so everyone should be driving box trucks or similar.
happytoexplain 4y ago
Nothing in the parent's hypothesis implies that the normal mitigating factors like cost/practicality don't apply. Also, size is only one prominent factor in masculinity. E.g. a pickup truck is frequently seen as more masculine than an RV.
- honkkong420 4y ago
  What makes a vehicle masculine? I know plenty of women who own trucks who insist their truck isn’t.
themitigating 4y ago
Come on. Because they are exponentially more expensive to operate and much more complex to drive. You also can't park them easily, blah blah blah, CDL, blah blah. I get your sarcasm, but people buy the largest passenger vehicle because they fit within reason but still allow them to brandish themselves. Assuming most don't offroad; There was a study that said trucks are used for hauling/offroad less than 20%~ more than once a year). I can't find it anymore so you can call me on that. Lifting a truck reduces efficiency by creating drag and uplift (I believe that's what it's called). It also raises the center of gravity which greatly reduces handling and increases the possibility of rolling over Chunky off-road tires wear out faster, are less efficient, and reduce handling on the road. Extra lights, as well as lifting your truck without adjusting the lights, blind other drivers creating a safety hazard. So more gas, more money, less safety for everyone, but the person stands out more, like large horns on animal, it's all about peacocking. And yes, I know this is done in other ways, fancy loud sports cars, showing off money, clothing, etc. If that was going to your response, then I'll throw down the whataboutism card and do a double reverse move and point out those have less effect on the environment and safety. Yes, I know fast fashion is bad for the environment, kids in blahstan, but it's about levels not bad or good.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

sethammons 4y ago

My wife has a large truck and we bought it when we had no neighbors living in the middle of nowhereville Montana. She bought it because she was terrified to drive her prius around because bigger trucks would tail gate, break too late and nearly kill her, and generally antagonize the smaller car. So she got a giant Dodge Ram and now feels safe to drive. Now that we've moved out to the city, she feels even safer. I like that when I hit two deer in it there was zero, absolutely zero, damage to the vehicle. Thank you brush guard.

throwaway-1011 4y ago
tstrimple 4y ago
> Now that we've moved out to the city, she feels even safer. Sure. Now she's the one making others feel unsafe.
bradjohnson 4y ago
This comment is so lacking in self awareness it must be satire.
- sethammons 4y ago
  can you expand on that? The lack of self-awareness because she would prefer to be in the big vehicle? She should lower how safe she feels because ... it would make a car driver safer?
  - bradjohnson 4y ago
    I'd love to. Your story went from driving a Prius in the countryside to happily mowing down deer in your giant truck while living in the city. Presumably others are now terrified to be around your massive vehicle, and you don't appear to have bought it for a practical purpose, so the premise that your wife was made to feel unsafe is then not an indictment of industrial sized vehicles making the roads less safe for others. Instead, it is embracing the stereotypical American pursuit of having the biggest baddest mfing vehicle on the road in a "fuck you I got mine" race to the bottom. It reads as a pretty good satire: "Woman in fear of being crushed by giant vehicle feels much better now that others fear being crushed by her giant vehicle."

nsxwolf 4y ago

The masculine insecurities / penis size thing seems awfully unscientific to me. It's basically just a slur.

themitigating 4y ago
It's not as simplistic as "penis size" it's part of a culture where being manliness and independence is valued. People are also told we need to be tougher and how we are losing what makes America great. For example "In the trailer for "The End of Men," Tucker Carlson worries about "the total collapse of testosterone levels in American men,"
- wyager 4y ago
  > Tucker Carlson worries about "the total collapse of testosterone levels in American men," This is not just him shouting random polemic; this is a scientifically measurable and deeply concerning medical trend. https://www.urologytimes.com/view/testosterone-levels-show-steady-decrease-among-young-us-men https://www.urologytimes.com/view/testosterone-levels-show-s...
  - themitigating 4y ago
    Yes it is and according to what you linked to "According to Lokeshwar, potential causes for these declines could be increased obesity/BMI, assay variations, diet/phytoestrogens, declined exercise and physical activity, fat percentage, marijuana use, and environmental toxins." Tucker Carlson is using it as a very thin excuse to basically make a series about how men need to be more like a particular cultural concept of men. Here's the trailer for "The End of Men" nowhere does it mention that study or a testosterone drop. Maybe the show itself touches on that but in my opinion that would only be so people like you could justify what is basically a propaganda video for right wing masculine culture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcxLQeh6J6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcxLQeh6J6A
- weberer 4y ago
  Pretty sure he's talking about the literal levels from blood tests. It is actually a very concerning issue.