| Why is there so much vitriol here, and is it the same in other countries? 09:12 - Feb 26 with 2432 views | NthQldITFC |
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64774977
'But his message received some backlash. Motorists were angry he was "on the road at all" and that the driver hadn't "finished the job" - and some cyclists accused him of victim blaming by "talking about helmets at all" when the real problem was, they said, "idiots in their tanks".'
As someone who cycles more than drives these day, on decrepit roads which are serving bigger and bigger housing 'developments' and being thrashed along by more and more unnecessarily heavy, wide and polluting motor vehicles, I must admit that I tend to feel a lot of anger and (internalised) violent intent when I have a close shave with another poor, momentarily delayed driver.
In my case the trigger is fear - sheer effing terror that somebody just nearly killed me. Again. I'm sorry about that. I must do better.
From the perspective of the person sitting in the two and a half tons of metalwork, where does the anger that results in sentiments like (anger that) 'the driver hadn't "finished the job"' come from?
If you have those feelings as a motorist, were you ever a cyclist? Are your kids cyclists? Your mum? Your granny?
Is this a peculiarly British disease or is there such (increasing?) hostility to cyclists everywhere? |  |
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| Why is there so much vitriol here, and is it the same in other countries? on 16:25 - Feb 26 with 346 views | bluelagos |
For me there's two things at play here.
Jealousy. People sit in their cars don't like the fact that two wheelers are much faster through traffic.
Entitlement. When you've spent 20, 30 maybe 40k on a vehicle people think they should have priority over those on two wheels.
Put them together and ordinarily normal people turn into utter bellends ranting about cyclists in a pathetic Clarksonesque manner.
That's my take, for what's it's worth. |  |
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| Why is there so much vitriol here, and is it the same in other countries? on 17:22 - Feb 26 with 297 views | Cafe_Newman |
| Why is there so much vitriol here, and is it the same in other countries? on 09:50 - Feb 26 by Guthrum |
ALL debates rapidly descend into vitriol nowadays. People have been taught (TV drama/soap operas? Social media?) that only extreme emoting counts. There is no place for nuance or reasoned argument. Let alone comprehending an opponent's position.
Perhaps that always was the case, it's just now everything is conducted in public, with ordinary people having louder voices. Ever noticed how a lot of "news" articles are more about what (sometimes random) people think or feel on a subject that what actually happened? Like talk radio, I suppose it's to get people riled up, increasing page-clicks and providing yet more easy broadcast minutes/column inches they don't have to pay a trained journalist to write.
The serious issue is that has now leached into politics and government, with the country being run by shouty, two-dimensional soap-opera characters, rather than "boring", but rationally functional statesmen/women. |
Very true. TWTD makes a good training ground, unfortunately. |  | | |
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