Why is the right at war with cyclists? We’re not ‘wokerati’ – we’re just trying to get around | Zoe Williams
Why is the right at war with cyclists? We’re not ‘wokerati’ – we’re just trying to get around | Zoe Williams
Riding a bike is not a political act, yet cyclists have become the bete noire for the anti-woke, anti-green, anti-liberal crowd, writes Zoe Williams
"Woke" is just code for "anything I don't like, don't understand, or wasn't raised with". Part of the problem is that people don't like their way of life being challenged by the mere existence of cyclists and public transit. The other part is that in many countries the infrastructure (roads, sidewalks, etc) aren't optimized for cycling and that can cause problems when cars, pedestrians, and cyclists are dodging each other.
Many people have spent their entire lives with the idea that car = freedom, and when they see cyclists they fear that they would be forced to give up their precious vroom-vroom-box and associate it with totalitarianism, which they call it communism because of red scare propaganda from the cold war...
This is especially common the more conservative someone is, the more likely they are to be locked into that way of thinking because conservitvism rots the brain. The sheer stupidity of these conspiracy theories would make it glaringly obvious to anyone who puts even the slightest bit of thought.
They literally call the 15 minute city a "socialist conspiracy" of the world economic forum, which they conveniently forget is a capitalist organisation.
In reality both capitalists and socialists should want to have less car dependency, heck, even drivers benefit from having fewer cars on the streets and roads.
I have not had a car in years and have never felt so free. No payment, no gas, no maintenance and no insurance. Granted I live in DC and I can Metro just about anywhere.
I lived for years without a car but sadly most of the country isn't amenable to biking, walking, bus, etc. I now live in what I call country'ish and if you don't have a car, you're straight fucked. No car means no way to get to stores, work (assuming you don't work from home), etc. Now I drive for a living but we would still need at least one car in our household if we didn't want to continually over pay for groceries being delivered, need to go to Dr appointments, etc.
But would they react the same way if I was on a horse?
Driving a horse and buggy?
I still think it's just basic tribalism. Bicycle rider=wrong tribe.
Anything that isn't a car is a threat to them, but I'd wager they would feel significantly less threatened by it because horses aren't a viable alternative to cars, while deep down they know bicycles can replace cars.
Carbrains have always been at war with bicycles.
And pedestrians.
And all of nature.
The answer is pretty simple. The modern day far right is pretty much a creation of the fossil fuel industry. Therefore they will fight against anything that might lead to reducing fossil fuel usage.
And anything that they might label -- or have had labeled for them, more likely -- as "sissy."
The hilarious irony being that if any dedicated cyclist kicked your garden-variety right wing asshat, I'll bet they wouldn't find that person so sissy after all. After they got up from wherever they landed.
There's a saying that goes something like:
There are two genders, male and 'political.'
Two races, white and 'political.'
Two religions, Christian and 'political.'Well, guess what: there are also two modes of transportation, driving and 'political.' Riding a bike is a political act, whether you intend for it to be or not.
Huh, I'd never heard of that saying before.
My guess is because they're idiots.
Because idiots on the Internet keep trying to turn absolutely everything into an us vs them conflict.
My father to a T. I can't impress upon him enough his own complete lack of desire to find a solution, only underlining the problem i.e. whiny baby crying.
My son to a T. He is 25 and can't be bothered to look for solution to any issue, just complains and scrolls tik tok.
Idiocy is across all generations
Cycling as a societal mode of transport deprives capitalist automakers, oil companies, banks, and insurance companies of immense income. The right wing is extremely fervently capitalist and defends the capitalist class maniacally. That is why they defend harmful societal planning that funnels wealth to the capitalist class.
Just trying to get around sounds an awful lot like something the wokerati would do...
First they were over there, now they're over here! Very suspicious.
“How dare those fit as fuck losers take lanes from me? I’ll have to exercise for once if this keeps up!”
It’s lead poisoning.