3 ms·

Cars are the suburban denizen's power armor. They are not a tool, they are an extension of the self. Walk up to a person in a car and lay your hand on the hood

Cars are the suburban denizen's power armor. They are not a tool, they are an extension of the self. Walk up to a person in a car and lay your hand on the hood - they will likely react as if they felt a stranger's caress on the small of their back

zdragnar 3y ago
Would you react well to a stranger touching your many-thousand-dollar bike? Or your phone or laptop? I don't really get what's supposed to be so special about a car that we should feel good about letting others "walk up to and lay a hand on" it.
- 0_____0 3y ago
  Those too are sometimes considered extensions of the self, but they're not part of this discussion. The above was discussing lack of rationality from car drivers.
  - zdragnar 3y ago
    But what about the reaction is specific to cars? It's a very expensive thing with paint that can be somewhat easily scratched. Unwelcome, uninvited contact by a stranger on literally any other possession would, I think, invite a similar reaction.
    - dfxm12 3y ago
      A stranger laying a hand on a phone is, based on experience, likely a stranger trying to steal it. It's totally rational there to be jumpy. Someone touching your bike is a awfully close to touching you. I think it's rational to be a bit suspicious when a stranger gets that close to you, no matter what they are doing, but especially if they are touchy feely. People touching my car will quite obviously do no damage to it or me. If I'm in the car, I may lock the doors/roll up the windows, if they aren't already. If you want to move the goalposts now and say a stranger isn't merely touching your car, but keying it, that's a different situation, and unrelated to the discussion. I don't know exactly what a rational response is to irrational behaviour. :)
- bluGill 3y ago
  I probably would, even though logically I shouldn't. My phone is unlikely to work in 4 years, so what does it matter if someone touches it (my phone my have private information that lasts longer, but the phone itself is throw away), similar for my laptop though I expect it to last longer. My bike is a tool, don't break it, don't steal it, or otherwise abuse it; but it gets scratch by dirt all the time, I don't care about fingerprints. I live where road salt destroys cars, not someone touching it. Yet somehow people think it is important to have a nice car even though it won't be nice in a few years no matter what. It isn't even worth the investment in keeping a car nice - regular washes keep the rust away for not very much longer.

zdragnar 3y ago

Would you react well to a stranger touching your many-thousand-dollar bike? Or your phone or laptop? I don't really get what's supposed to be so special about a car that we should feel good about letting others "walk up to and lay a hand on" it.

0_____0 3y ago
Those too are sometimes considered extensions of the self, but they're not part of this discussion. The above was discussing lack of rationality from car drivers.
- zdragnar 3y ago
  But what about the reaction is specific to cars? It's a very expensive thing with paint that can be somewhat easily scratched. Unwelcome, uninvited contact by a stranger on literally any other possession would, I think, invite a similar reaction.
  - dfxm12 3y ago
    A stranger laying a hand on a phone is, based on experience, likely a stranger trying to steal it. It's totally rational there to be jumpy. Someone touching your bike is a awfully close to touching you. I think it's rational to be a bit suspicious when a stranger gets that close to you, no matter what they are doing, but especially if they are touchy feely. People touching my car will quite obviously do no damage to it or me. If I'm in the car, I may lock the doors/roll up the windows, if they aren't already. If you want to move the goalposts now and say a stranger isn't merely touching your car, but keying it, that's a different situation, and unrelated to the discussion. I don't know exactly what a rational response is to irrational behaviour. :)
bluGill 3y ago
I probably would, even though logically I shouldn't. My phone is unlikely to work in 4 years, so what does it matter if someone touches it (my phone my have private information that lasts longer, but the phone itself is throw away), similar for my laptop though I expect it to last longer. My bike is a tool, don't break it, don't steal it, or otherwise abuse it; but it gets scratch by dirt all the time, I don't care about fingerprints. I live where road salt destroys cars, not someone touching it. Yet somehow people think it is important to have a nice car even though it won't be nice in a few years no matter what. It isn't even worth the investment in keeping a car nice - regular washes keep the rust away for not very much longer.