SecretSatellite
06-25-05, 08:21 PM
if we're not supposed to talk about advocacy issues here why is this a subforum of advocacy and safety and not commuting
Living Car Free - advocacy issues
Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.View Full Version : advocacy issues
BenyBen
06-26-05, 09:55 AM
Secret, Let it rest man...
This can be a great forum. Do you really want to have a forum where car owners will feel threatened by the discussions, and not come around? If you have no car owners on this board then how is it advocacy?
Talking about the carfree lifestyle, and helping out would-be carfree is the best advocacy you can do.
You have a wealth of knowledge on the carfree lifestyle, you can chose to use it to help propagate your message, or you can chose to hate cars and make sure all the would-be carfree ppl will stay way from you. Which will it be?
This can be a great forum. Do you really want to have a forum where car owners will feel threatened by the discussions, and not come around? If you have no car owners on this board then how is it advocacy?
Talking about the carfree lifestyle, and helping out would-be carfree is the best advocacy you can do.
You have a wealth of knowledge on the carfree lifestyle, you can chose to use it to help propagate your message, or you can chose to hate cars and make sure all the would-be carfree ppl will stay way from you. Which will it be?
lilHinault
06-27-05, 05:41 AM
Yeah what we most want to see in this forum is car owners here, asking questions, and us supplying answers that help them with the basic how-tos, so they start driving their cars less and biking more.
More butts on bikes makes it safer on the streets for all of us!
More butts on bikes makes it safer on the streets for all of us!
AverageCommuter
06-27-05, 12:12 PM
On the one hand I'm with you Secret. It would be nice to have a discussion about some car-free issue without things getting sidetracked by someone piping up about how THEY couln't possibly be expected to go car free because they HAVE to drive their child 40 miles across town at midnight through the worst neighborhood on the planet (sure there is a ball diamond close enough to home to walk or ride to but their child has to be on the team across town, after all it's THE team to be on in THE league to be in). Or any of the other ridiculous things that come up because some people are unwilling or unable to question the assumptions they've made about how their life has to be lived.
On the other hand, while there probably isn't much to be done to dissuade the "head in the sand, won't hear anything about changing my life" types. Consider how many people are registered here at bikeforums. A little over 30k if I remember correctly. There must be an awful lot of people who read without ever posting. Heck, you don't even have to register to read the forums. When a few people come in whining about how and why they can't go car free, point out how they could if they'd change certain aspects of their life. You may not have any impact on the one making the post, but maybe you'll have an impact on one of those anonymous people out there who are just reading and never post.
Trust me, I LOVE a good car bash, both physically and verbally, but maybe this isn't the place. The admins seem to think so. So even if you disagree they're still going to move your post.
Hope this was coherent at 10 minutes after waking up. if not, oh well :D
On the other hand, while there probably isn't much to be done to dissuade the "head in the sand, won't hear anything about changing my life" types. Consider how many people are registered here at bikeforums. A little over 30k if I remember correctly. There must be an awful lot of people who read without ever posting. Heck, you don't even have to register to read the forums. When a few people come in whining about how and why they can't go car free, point out how they could if they'd change certain aspects of their life. You may not have any impact on the one making the post, but maybe you'll have an impact on one of those anonymous people out there who are just reading and never post.
Trust me, I LOVE a good car bash, both physically and verbally, but maybe this isn't the place. The admins seem to think so. So even if you disagree they're still going to move your post.
Hope this was coherent at 10 minutes after waking up. if not, oh well :D
konageezer
06-27-05, 12:18 PM
10 minutes after waking up. if not, oh well :D
AC! You're late for work!
AC! You're late for work!
Roody
06-27-05, 02:30 PM
Thank you AC, I agree with your 2nd and 3rd paragraphs. Secret, You are a great advocate for carfree living. I doubt if very many people disagree with your points. Just please make those points on A & S or Commuting, where I for one love reading them, so we can try to make a go of this board within the stated guidelines. Thanks dude.
AverageCommuter
06-27-05, 07:59 PM
AC! You're late for work!
:D
They joy's of working the evening shift. Don't have to be at work 'til 6pm.
:D
They joy's of working the evening shift. Don't have to be at work 'til 6pm.
mpop
06-28-05, 07:58 AM
Just some thoughts from a fellow car free person. I would say that going car free is not posable for every one at all times in their lifes. I recently went car free, my car died last Ocotober and I never got it repaired, and I junked it in April. Not sure when you want to count where I went car free, when I stoped driving in Oct or when I finally was able to cancle the insurance when I junked the car. But 5 years ago, I would not have been able to go car free, I was still living with my parents and going to collage (a 30 minute drive on the high way and that was the closetest collage to where we lived for 20 years so moving was not an option) There are people out there that can not go car free for one reason or another, also some people can not afford to live car free, let me explan. I live car free because I live in the city, but to live in the city I have to pay 500 to 700 more a month then if I lived in the subburbes. If I was to live in the subburbes and even with a car (and its extra cost) it would still cost less each month, I am one of the furtunate few that can afford to live in the city and car free.