Bicycle Austin forum

tomwald

Moderator

From: 78722

Registered: 2008-05-27

Posts: 290

Matthew Modine: "Cars Are Like Cigarettes; The New Pariah"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-m … 07894.html

.... We must look at the movies and songs that celebrated the automobile with a new consciousness and awareness. We must look at the automobile as a cigarette--a cancer stick--a nail in our collective coffin. ...

rich00

Member

Registered: 2010-01-18

Posts: 166

Re: Matthew Modine: "Cars Are Like Cigarettes; The New Pariah"

So true. I recently came to my own observation - that cars are like drugs. There are so many parallels it's scary.

Drugs:
- Creates a dependency
- Unhealthy
- expensive
- affects those around user negatively
- Hurts when you take it away
- Alters social interaction
- Alters human behavior negatively
- Big business behind it
- They don't want you to get off it
- Kills people
- Aids in killing surrounding people
- Enables unsustainable actions
- Destroys communities
- I almost forgot about WAR

Everyone one of these can be applied to autos. Yes there are positives with auto use, in specific situations not common to most peoples uses.

Last edited by rich00 (2010-03-11 02:30:08)

dougmc

Administrator

Registered: 2008-06-01

Posts: 631

Re: Matthew Modine: "Cars Are Like Cigarettes; The New Pariah"

Of course, Food, Bikes, Love, Religion, God and lots of other things have similar parallels and could be a drop-in replacement for the word "Drugs" in that list.

"Yes there are positives with auto use, in specific situations not common to most peoples uses" ... are you kidding?  Do you really, honestly believe that cars are only positive (useful?) in specific situations not common to most people?

If you tell a motorists that cars are bad like drugs (I'll assume we're talking about the illegal, recreational ones) and not "positive" except in some uncommon situations, they're just going to label you as a "kook" and ignore everything else you say.  If you stick to them contributing to global warming and our dependence on foreign oil and perhaps throw in just a little of the "40,000 killed per year in the US alone", then maybe they'll not dismiss you quite so quickly ...

rich00

Member

Registered: 2010-01-18

Posts: 166

Re: Matthew Modine: "Cars Are Like Cigarettes; The New Pariah"

Point taken. I admit I'm not the best at persuading people!

And I guess I'll have to taken back the "uncommon to most people" part. At the time I had a different perspective...