Doug GordonDec 26, 2022

For my own sanity — and as the unofficial moderator of The War on Cars account — I'm actively muting anyone who thinks "Not everyone can bike everywhere, you know" is a cogent argument against reducing car dependency.

I've taken the attitude of @notjustbikes to heart and simply don't have patience for it anymore.

Show threadDoug GordonDec 26, 2022
I'm happy to have good-faith conversations with people who are new to this and who are genuinely curious about How It All Works, but those aren't the people I mean. The people who aren't worth my time anymore are those who reflexively argue that because biking (or transit or walkable/accessible neighborhoods) won't work for *everyone* it shouldn't work for *anyone.*
Show threadS Bodzin, Real American 🇺🇸

@BrooklynSpoke or won't work for every possible moment in every life

Like dude the first 90% matters a lot more than the last 10%

Dec 26, 2022 at 9:04pmWeb
Show threadDoug GordonDec 26, 2022
@stevenbodzin Exactly. "What are you going to do when it rains?" Um, any number of things!
Show threadS Bodzin, Real American 🇺🇸Dec 26, 2022
@BrooklynSpoke those arguments are, in my experience, not about the words. They are self defenses by people who feel deeply guilty or at least conflicted about their life choices. That's the part that might be worth engaging with.
Show threadCodexNotFoundDec 26, 2022
@stevenbodzin @BrooklynSpoke and there is plenty of people who don't mind discussing things with them. But I understand that people with such a following don't want to take up discussions that are often hopeless.
Show threadJym Dyer 🚲🌎Dec 26, 2022

@stevenbodzin @BrooklynSpoke - I've wasted much time myself making good-faith responses to these arguments. More than a few times I've seen the same person bring up the same argument all over again, at which point the presumption of good faith falls apart.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I have this habit of archiving what I write, so I can tell them something like, "You already brought this up 2 years ago, I typed this reply to you then."

Show threadPascalDec 26, 2022
@BrooklynSpoke @stevenbodzin sure sure but everyone isn’t sponsored by @cleverhood 😛
Show threadDoug GordonDec 26, 2022
@pascal I was gonna go with "Take the bus or a cab, it's fine!" But wear good rain gear works too!
Show threadPascalDec 26, 2022
@BrooklynSpoke yeah I got the official WOC Cleverhood and I love it
Show threadAGTMADCAT 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼🇵🇸Dec 27, 2022
@stevenbodzin @BrooklynSpoke Yup - once we eliminate 90% of cars and car traffic, I'm going to swap sides and argue to preserve the last remnants of car accommodations, but that's a looooooong way away and we need to address the best majority of cases first.