Originally Posted by Towlie
I was mountain biking at Green Belt in Austin in college, and I will never forget this, not because it was a huge deal, but because it really made me think about the politics of shared pathways.
Some typically disgruntled, leftward-leaning utopian college age kid was walking with his girlfriend, and as myself and a few other bikers passed, he exclaimed, "there is NO privacy here!"
I can understand wanting to be alone with your girlfriend. Especially outdoors, in nature, absorbing the scenery. However, Green Belt is in Zilker Park. It's a public park. The general public is welcome at all times to come and use the trail. It's not a private tract of land. That kid has probably been taught all his life, and himself believes, in the evils of private property (particuarly if he grew up in Austin, TX). And yet here is the quintessential example of shared use, and he is bi'ching because he and his sweetheart can't have it all to themselves.
He was probably just upset because he was invading your privacy. If he was expecting privacy in a public park that was definitely his mistake. That would seriously piss me off, and I would think a lot about it too.
Was it the fact that he was a jackass that tipped you off that he was leftward-leaning? I only mention it becase moronic pedestrians come from all parties and political inclinations, and to mention your guess about his political alignment seems unnecessarily confrontational and divisive.