3 ms·

Yes, the progressive Left does have a problem where we can't seem to agree on how to make sure people feel safe and comfortable in the public spaces which we ca

Yes, the progressive Left does have a problem where we can't seem to agree on how to make sure people feel safe and comfortable in the public spaces which we care so deeply about. Socialist blogger Freddie deBoer has several pieces along these lines [1]. As he points out, the people who shout the loudest on Twitter aren't necessarily the same people out there actually leading pro-transit and anti-car movements. FWIW, one of the most prominent anti-car-culture leaders, Chuck Maron of Strong Towns [2], is a self-declared conservative. So, you're cherry-picking the most extreme leftists to paint an exremely strawmanned version of the US pro-transit movement. You sound like you've either had some awful public transit experiences or perhaps watched a lot of scary news involving addicts on transit. At least here in Boston, where I've ridden transit regularly for a decade, I feel safe around other riders. The things that make me feel UNSAFE on transit is the state of the physical infrastructure, which is not the result of lefty anti-police rhetoric but is the result of transit underfunding, cost disease with US public works projects, and historically poor management culture at the MBTA. These are hard problems but they are abstolutely all fixable. The new general manager is already showing that management culture can be improved. Lastly, drug problems and povert in US cities can be clearly linked to the communities which were most devastated by highway expansion and transit defunding. There's a reason that the neighborhoods immediately adjacent to highways look hellish and depressing. So, it seems that you've declared that this problem which is at least in part caused by car culture cannot possibly be fixed by walking back car culture, because, obviously, most pro-transit people also want to disband the police, or so you say. [1] https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/the-left-has-never-stood-for-literally https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/the-left-has-never-stoo... [2] https://www.strongtowns.org/about https://www.strongtowns.org/about

decafninja 3y ago
I'm the opposite way - I ride NYC subways almost daily, and other than the ability for crazies to push people into the tracks, the infrastructure doesn't feel unsafe. Granted, they are at least looking into installing barriers. Cleanliness is another story, but that too, is a matter of culture. I've obviously never been murdered, nor have I been assaulted on the subway. However I very frequently do encounter people raging in a threatening manner, or otherwise behaving unpleasantly. Are they a real threat? Odds are they aren't unless provoked. Do people perceive them to be a threat? Yes, and valid or not. You're again falling victim to asking for perfect but impractical solutions. Why can't we (as in, society) fix the issues with American transit in practical, incremental steps that will genuinely improve transit? As opposed to demanding we fix all societal ills - which while genuine, is going to prevent us from ever getting around to fixing transit? As I recall someone saying in another HN thread long ago, the NYC MTA should be running trains, not running a homeless shelter/mental asylum.
- kdmccormick 3y ago
  I agree with everything you've just said. But I don't know why that means we can't have nice transit in the US, unless we're just throwing up our hands now and submitting to the most ardent anti-law-enforcement flank of the left.

decafninja 3y ago

I'm the opposite way - I ride NYC subways almost daily, and other than the ability for crazies to push people into the tracks, the infrastructure doesn't feel unsafe. Granted, they are at least looking into installing barriers. Cleanliness is another story, but that too, is a matter of culture. I've obviously never been murdered, nor have I been assaulted on the subway. However I very frequently do encounter people raging in a threatening manner, or otherwise behaving unpleasantly. Are they a real threat? Odds are they aren't unless provoked. Do people perceive them to be a threat? Yes, and valid or not. You're again falling victim to asking for perfect but impractical solutions. Why can't we (as in, society) fix the issues with American transit in practical, incremental steps that will genuinely improve transit? As opposed to demanding we fix all societal ills - which while genuine, is going to prevent us from ever getting around to fixing transit? As I recall someone saying in another HN thread long ago, the NYC MTA should be running trains, not running a homeless shelter/mental asylum.

kdmccormick 3y ago
I agree with everything you've just said. But I don't know why that means we can't have nice transit in the US, unless we're just throwing up our hands now and submitting to the most ardent anti-law-enforcement flank of the left.