To take the top post first, New York isn't the only US city
where one can manage without an automobile. I've known a fair
number of people who live in the Washington, DC area and
manage without an automobile. Between the bus lines and the
Metro (subway) with a cab ride now and then, people can
manage and do. It's easier now that the grocery chains have
delivery service. I could do it easier than most because I
live next to a subway station. I admit it would be a lot more
difficult than my time in Brussels where subways, trams and
buses got me everywhere I needed to go. An additional
incentive was that Belgium drivers and odd traffic laws made
driving a risky proposition.
As for your earlier post that said: "I see the decision of
what kind
> > of
> > car a person drives as a very political one.
One's
> > car
> > is a much more important comment about status
than
> > are
> > their shoes or trousers."
I don't think the choice of automobile is necessarily an
indicator of politics or status in the real world. There are
too many variables that can go into that decision. When I was
a kid in rural Georgia I was amazed at the number of people
who beggared themselves to drive an expensive car while they
lived in a shack in danger of falling down. Now you may
stretch the term "political" to cover their choice but no one
seeing them on the road would have an accurate indicator of
financial status.
I see the same thing today with the 20-somethings living five
to an apartment but driving very expensive car. It's
important that they 'present well' because there are people
out there who will follow the simplistic logic and think
because they drive an expensive car they are well off. It is
this aspirational-driven appearance that drives much of
marketing. Why else would people in bars request expensive
call brand vodka and have it poured into a softdrink?
The one place where your observation is most often true is in
fiction. Writers do often use the choice of automobile to
underscore status of the character.
Richard Moore
--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, Patrick King
<abrasax93@...> wrote:
>
>
> --- Allan Guthrie <allan@...>
wrote:
> I don't drive a car. Does that make me an
anarchist?
> Al
>
****************************************************
> No, probably just a New Yorker. New York City is
the
> only place I've been to in the US where people
can
> actually survive without an automobile. In
other
> circumstances you have to rely on others to cart
you
> around like a sack of sugar. When I was a kid,
every
> family had a car. Today, every member of the
family
> has a car. Transportation is the single most
dangerous
> problem in the US on at least 3 different
fronts.
>
> Patrick King
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Patrick King
> > To:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
> > Sent: Monday, November 27, 2006 10:07
PM
> > Subject: Re: RARA-AVIS: can noir writers
advocate
> > social reform?
> >
> >
> > I think we have a different view of what
is
> > political
> > and what is not. I see the decision of what
kind
> > of
> > car a person drives as a very political one.
One's
> > car
> > is a much more important comment about status
than
> > are
> > their shoes or trousers. Very few things a
person
> > does
> > fails to telegraph their political pov. I
don't
> > see
> > much of a break between a person's
political
> > attitude
> > and the rest of their lives. Certainly a
writer,
> > intentionally or not cannot fail to expose
their
> > political views in all their work. Whether
we're
> > talking about Thompson or Wodehouse both
are
> > making
> > valid and pointed political statements. With
those
> > two, I suspect they were in agreement most of
the
> > time
> > as different as their work appears on the
surface.
> >
> > Patrick King
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 30 Nov 2006 EST