Originally Posted by
cooker
I think the OP has already acknowledged that 'cult' might have been too strong a word to describe what he perceives as a culture that normalizes and to some extent whitewashes and socially enforces driving; but on the other hand, the notion that social factors have nothing at all to do with transportation choices seems too extreme to me too. There's no end to the social memes - videos, ads, radio talk show commentary, even comments on bikeforums - mocking utility cyclists or bus riders as somehow being dorks or losers, and that must mean that a lot of people buy into that worldview. So at least some people must be driving out of fear of being judged.
Same thing can be said of the Cell phone, people mock anything that others do. People mock the Suburbs and people mock the urban core. If people are fearful of other people's looking at their choice of transportation askance how will the react to their choice of computer, home, or even preferred music when that is questioned? Shoot looking at the ads everyone should own a Iphone or a G-8. If we are waiting for approval from others we will wait till the core of the earth reaches 32 degrees. If we are waiting for society to embrace the hard way of doing things or eschew the new and improved easy way the same core conditions will apply. Mocking is a way of life for most people. The east coast and the west coast mock each other all the time. But we all don't live on the same coast. Europe and the US mock each other. Road cyclists hardly even talk to city cruisers cyclists if publications are to be believed. Wine drinkers often mock brew pub beer drinkers. I have yet to see a lot of people taking such mocking to heart. Does advertising work? I would say yes it does to a degree. Still not everyone falls for the advertising or we would all own the same car, truck, motorcycle, drink the same beer, wine or whiskey and eat the same fast food. But we don't. So still it "looks" like we have a choice if the very people posting in this forum don't care what the ads, talk shows or mockers say. Or have the LCF that post hear somehow received a inoculation that makes them immune to the social pressure that causes everyone else to drive? In other words I disagree with the whole premise of the OP.