FuckCars
A community for discussions of how cars have ruined many cities across the globe, as well as alternatives to them.
Cars are deeply tied to capitalism, and in resisting capitalism, it is worthwhile to reconsider personal automobiles place in transportation.
Rules: (wip: message me if I’m missing something)
Be nice to people: This is fuck cars, not fuck drivers. Yes some drivers are car-brained maniacs, no that doesn’t mean they’re evil (usually).
No hate or bigotry: No racism, homophobia, sexism, terfs, ableism, etc. Not the move generally. Cars have already destroyed enough marginalised communities, no need for us to help them.
No traffic violence: Do not post depictions of traffic violence. NSFW or NSFL posts are not allowed. Gawking at crashes is not allowed. Be respectful to people who are a victim of traffic violence or otherwise traumatized by it. News articles about crashes and statistics about traffic violence are allowed. Glorifying traffic violence will get you banned.
No misinformation: Masks and vaccines save lives during a pandemic, climate change is real and anthropogenic - and denial of these and other established facts will get you banned. False or highly speculative titles will get your post deleted.
No harassment: Posts that (may) cause harassment, dogpiling or brigading, intentionally or not, will be removed. Please do not post screenshots containing uncensored usernames. Actual harassment, dogpiling or brigading is a bannable offence.
Please report posts and comments that violate our rules.
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Where was this? Here? I feel like I would know that you were proposing public transportation as an alternative/solution to the massively inefficient system where every individual gets their own vehicle.
Reddit. And it was in reply to a commemt complaining about the cost of car parking too. So yeah I probably should have seen it coming. I was still genuinely surprised enough at the response to warrant this post.
Like, I was prepared for comments about "freedom" or "only poor people use public transit" but not for people to completely not understand why I hate cars.
Like I said in another post, I really need to stop engaging with these kinds of takes. That's on me.
It's very easy to get drawn in. I'm probably wrong about it most of the time because the bourgeoisie isn't all powerful; but for the sake of my own mental health I assume that people I'm arguing with online are paid agents. Either state agents or agents for companies/industries. The effect is the same either way.
People who would die on the hill of e.g. individual modes of transport may as well be paid agents. And they won't ever try to understand your point because they affiliate themselves with e.g. fossil capital like a Roman client to their patron.
It helps to see that there was never a clean break from feudalism to capitalism; an echo of those past relations is still with us. It helps (me) to see e.g. liberals as subservient to their overlord(s) in the same way as knights to their lords. It should be assumed that their loyalty to the 'system' and to the haute bourgeoisie isn't questioned.
In a way the people you're arguing with are all paid agents, if sometimes indirectly. Either as members of the bourgeoisie, labour aristocrats, or compraadors. They see it as their job to proselytise for capital. Any counter narrative or facts are heresies.
Not everyone is like this but once you realise the other person is like this, there's almost zero point in getting worked up about them not understanding you or speaking in good faith; if they could, they would rather burn you at the stake to keep you quiet. It often feels like they do the online version of that, too, as they scorch any possibility of rational conversation with one of their many – intentional, if occasionally subconscious – tactics.