Your ignorance is showing.
Jun. 14th, 2010 10:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarasvatiI normally enjoy reading Not Always Right, and 9 times out of 10 there are some real gems in there, great quotes from customers who have their heads up their asses and are just plain ridiculous.
And then I come across entries like this one, and the funny goes away. It isn't that it's mean-spirited or anything. It's just that there is no funny. Ever tried being a pedestrian in a place that's not set up for it, that caters only to people inside their big metal wheeled boxes? It really is like taking your life into your own hands. Hell, I've nearly been run down at crosswalks because drivers can't be bothered to pay attention to what they're doing. Walking down roads that have no sidewalks? Yes, that is dangerous. No, it is not stupid to point it out. No, it's not something to laugh at. It's legitimate commentary, and not without reason.
And it bothers me that people can't pull their heads out of their cars enough to actually see that it's a serious comment. As I said, I've nearly been hit while walking in a place specifically designated for me to walk on. When there aren't sidewalks or crosswalks... Well, that's a typical winter in this area, really. Snowplows cover the sidewalks with 5- or 6-foot high piles of snow that they scrape off the roads, so one either has to walk on the very edge of the road itself and risk being hit by cars (as has almost happened to both myself and to Rei, though Rei seems to get the worst of it, having once had to dive over a snowbank to avoid being pinned to it by a car whose driver was turning the corner without paying due attention), or not go outside at all.
Frankly, I empathize with that customer. And I think that the person who doesn't realise that having to walk in a place with no sidewalks and plenty of cars, whether the road has wide shoulders or not, is a dangerous ordeal, is rather sheltered and likely hasn't had to walk many places in their life.
This is something I feel pretty strongly about, as I am a pedestrian and will likely never get a car. This city isn't even a particularly bad one for pedestrian walkways, and nearly all streets here have sidewalks. Crosswalks are fewer, but mostly because city crews don't seem to want to be arsed to repaint them when they've faded. But I've had my problems, and a lot of them. I've nearly been hit a few times. I've had to leap back from cars that can't slow down. I've been shouted at and given the finger when I tried to cross a road well within my rights, because a driver didn't bother to pay attention and just kept barreling down the street and nearly hit me. This has all happened at places where there's an obvious pedestrian crossing or a sidewalk. I take my life into my own hands when I cross any street, at the very place I'm supposed to cross it!
No, there is no funny. There's just an expression of privilege and ignorance in that exchange. The privilege of never having to be a pedestrian in such a situation, and the ignorance of assuming that everybody owns a car and drives properly. I wish I could afford to be so naive.
And then I come across entries like this one, and the funny goes away. It isn't that it's mean-spirited or anything. It's just that there is no funny. Ever tried being a pedestrian in a place that's not set up for it, that caters only to people inside their big metal wheeled boxes? It really is like taking your life into your own hands. Hell, I've nearly been run down at crosswalks because drivers can't be bothered to pay attention to what they're doing. Walking down roads that have no sidewalks? Yes, that is dangerous. No, it is not stupid to point it out. No, it's not something to laugh at. It's legitimate commentary, and not without reason.
And it bothers me that people can't pull their heads out of their cars enough to actually see that it's a serious comment. As I said, I've nearly been hit while walking in a place specifically designated for me to walk on. When there aren't sidewalks or crosswalks... Well, that's a typical winter in this area, really. Snowplows cover the sidewalks with 5- or 6-foot high piles of snow that they scrape off the roads, so one either has to walk on the very edge of the road itself and risk being hit by cars (as has almost happened to both myself and to Rei, though Rei seems to get the worst of it, having once had to dive over a snowbank to avoid being pinned to it by a car whose driver was turning the corner without paying due attention), or not go outside at all.
Frankly, I empathize with that customer. And I think that the person who doesn't realise that having to walk in a place with no sidewalks and plenty of cars, whether the road has wide shoulders or not, is a dangerous ordeal, is rather sheltered and likely hasn't had to walk many places in their life.
This is something I feel pretty strongly about, as I am a pedestrian and will likely never get a car. This city isn't even a particularly bad one for pedestrian walkways, and nearly all streets here have sidewalks. Crosswalks are fewer, but mostly because city crews don't seem to want to be arsed to repaint them when they've faded. But I've had my problems, and a lot of them. I've nearly been hit a few times. I've had to leap back from cars that can't slow down. I've been shouted at and given the finger when I tried to cross a road well within my rights, because a driver didn't bother to pay attention and just kept barreling down the street and nearly hit me. This has all happened at places where there's an obvious pedestrian crossing or a sidewalk. I take my life into my own hands when I cross any street, at the very place I'm supposed to cross it!
No, there is no funny. There's just an expression of privilege and ignorance in that exchange. The privilege of never having to be a pedestrian in such a situation, and the ignorance of assuming that everybody owns a car and drives properly. I wish I could afford to be so naive.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-14 07:49 pm (UTC)