2.slow

what about the rest of the world that doesnt live in urban/suburban areas?

STATESVILLE NC REPRESENTIN'

[Edited on June 13, 2008 at 4:09 PM. Reason : -]

6/13/2008 4:07:13 PM

dunno why i'm bothering since Mindstorm has already dealt numerous death blows in a landslide win of this thread. i digress...

this guy can't see that his views and opinions are just as close minded, hypocritical, and prejudicial as the "stupid southern rednecks" he keeps rambling about. i tried to bring that to his attention with my post, but fuck if the dude didn't go off the deep end instead.

since you're fighting the good fight so hard down there man, how about lobbying for bicycle owners to be required to pay a highway use tax, registration/plate fees, property taxes, and set a requirement for at least a basic liability insurance policy to be in place before you do anything else. if bikers want to start pulling their weight a little more, fine i have no problem with them. i'm just sick of the accusatory bullshit all while you take a free ride on nicely paved streets, park at nice racks, etc. at my expense.

while you're at it, maybe you can start some constructive actions to reach a solution on oil. you seem to think that if we all jump ship on our vehicles that's the end of it. just ignore it and it'll go away. reality check, that still makes things FAR from over.

the bottom line is you're on tww. a message board based in good ole raleigh, nc. to put it bluntly as so many proud americans do, we don't really give a fuck how you or anyone else does it. this is our little corner of the world, and it's how the majority still wants to do things. sure, we might want to make some changes. riding bikes isn't one of them. if you don't like that, then the solution is real simple. move to one of these other places that's been so orgasmic for you. don't beat your head against a wall here with a bunch of stubborn asses that don't want to be changed. you're not going to enlighten us. at best, you can round up a few of your buddies and harrass us a little more. it'll just piss us off/annoy us more, and might even cause a few to start aiming for your ass on the road to get the message across. besides, who are you to be telling all of us how to live our lives? we don't get in your business. leave us alone and ride your bike, and we'll keep driving our cars in peace. is it not possible for two sub cultures to exist in harmony anymore? or is that not part of the liberal agenda these days?

get a another hobby, read books, get addicted to a tv show, or something man. when it gets to the point that you feel the need to police a society, insult them, and force your opinions and views on it, you've lost focus of your objective. it's just simple elementary politics. you (the minority) are trying to win over us (the majority). take a step back, and try something else.

just a disclaimer before i get labeled as a toothless mouth breather that's never left the basement of my mother's house again: i've been to all the places you've referenced and more outside of the u.s. in my travels. i even spent a summer living in london and traveling the canals by long boat. now THAT was some fun alternative transportation.

i've also seen a hell of a chunk of my OWN country, which has been very important for me to do before i go making statements about how much it does or doesn't suck compared to other places. i've been to 32 states, a large portion of them numerous times. i've stayed on the roads as much as possible vs. flying, because you miss all the good stuff that really makes this place tick. i've seen all the glamour of times square nyc, las vegas, l.a., etc. from behind the wheel of a car. i've also seen the other side of things, like towns stuck in the 70's and abandoned by the interstate system. the mega factories pumping out goods across the nation like hearts. expanses of undeveloped land owned by farmers that a city boy from the east coast can't even fathom. federal government land that you're free to use responsibly almost any way you choose. if you drove and hiked for days on end, you still couldn't cover all of it.

anyway, i don't know what your history is but it sounds like you might have ties to another country. i'd also wager from your comments you haven't seen much of the "real" u.s., just the glorified so called hot spots. if i'm right, you've got to get out there in some other stuff and see how the place works. not what you've come up with in your mind. it's vastly diverse in every way imaginable. there's no magic mold you're going to fit even one section of the country in, much less the whole thing. i think if you could see the big picture for real, you'll realize how off the wall your visions are.

6/14/2008 1:32:24 AM

Quote :

"dunno why i'm bothering since Mindstorm has already dealt numerous death blows in a landslide win of this thread. i digress..."

I don't really think he gave any death blows considering everything he mentioned was simply explaining why the current infrastructure is the way it is. He didn't really give his opinion on the matter and just stated what anyone could have read from the history of North Carolina. On the other hand I was expressing an opinion of mine and the way i was raised to believe. He didn't contradict anything i said and just explained why i was complaining in the first place. Sure my methods were direct but atleast i got an opinion out and riled you guys up some, which was my intention.

Quote :

"this guy can't see that his views and opinions are just as close minded, hypocritical, and prejudicial as the "stupid southern rednecks" he keeps rambling about. i tried to bring that to his attention with my post, but fuck if the dude didn't go off the deep end instead. "

I didn't mean to offend i am usually not the one to name call, but when i get responses like...

Quote :

"you pretentious hippy"

Quote :

"^ blah, blah, blah, i'm a god damned tree huggin hippie why dont you go lick al gore's ass"

Quote :

"who let all these self righteous assholes in here? go fuckin lurk in the lounge hippie-faggot"

Quote :

"he doesn't have time to spell, he has trees to hug and chipmunks to fuck "

Quote :

"i bet you one of them gawd danged carpet baggin sum bitches"

...i sometimes slip, and don't intend to offend as i'm just playing thier name game.

Quote :

"anyway, i don't know what your history is but it sounds like you might have ties to another country. "

My dad's from good ol' Statesville, NC and my mom's from Minnesota. I even have some Cherokee blood in me. I love the south and especially North Carolina. My family grew up biking/hiking/kayaking the Appalachian mountains. We were the camping family instead of the amusement park family. My favorite camping past times as a kid were tubing, making pointy sticks, playing with fires, and annoying the parents by playing with the big citronella candles. We did most of our camping trips in our 1984 isuzu tropper which is sadly no more.

Quote :

"i'd also wager from your comments you haven't seen much of the "real" u.s., "

I've actually been to over 40 states and i think the top 30 largest cities excluding Detroit and Las Vegas. We also try to see everything by driving, and we were that family of four to drive cross country to the rockies to take mountain biking trips instead of going to Disney World.

Quote :

"just the glorified so called hot spots."

As you might have already guessed by now my family was not about the big "hot spots". My parents tried to seek out the coolest, most unique parts of the country and experience them.

Quote :

"you (the minority) are trying to win over us (the majority). "

Growing up in Charlotte, i found a diverse group of people who have many beliefs, some similar to my own and some not. I truly believe the best way to experience life is to meet as many different kinds of people as you can and learn from what you've experienced. I had a big enough group where i knew my opinions were not the minority and i could actually make a difference and speak out. I may have come off as close-minded with my tone but i don't believe this to be the case. It's the internet, i was just picking a fight.

But you sound like you've had some great traveling experiences and i'm jealous of your summer in London. My best friend studied abroad in Kingston/London for the past semester and we just got back from visiting him. It's definitely a place i could spend a summer.

Lastly:

Quote :

"i think if you could see the big picture for real, you'll realize how off the wall your visions are."

I just don't find this to be the case. After traveling much of the US i've found plenty of people with beliefs similar to mine and who strive for the same thing. As you said there's plenty of sub cultures all over the place and it's easy to find all different types of people.

6/14/2008 5:11:51 AM

too many words, but since the 2 pages have been rather long winded, I'm gonna go ahead and say that someone got pwnt!.

6/14/2008 6:31:29 AM

I'm surprised at what this thread turned into, but want make a comment so people know where I stand.

I think its silly to drive a huge SUV and justify it with something dumb like saying you have "one kid and a dog" or some shit, and completely dismiss something more suited to your needs. However this is America, and people can drive whatever the hell they want to and thank God for that.

neodata686, why in the hell do you keep making arguments based on how things are in Europe? WE DON'T LIVE IN EUROPE, AND EUROPE IS NOTHING LIKE THE US. Europe as a civilization is thousands of years ahead from an infastructure/city layout point of view. Thank God we don't have socialist governments restricting our transportation choices through regulations and taxes. The United States was mostly developed after the dawn of the automobile. Our country is also a shit ton bigger than most european countries put together.

Stop comparing apples to oranges, you're never gonna win.

6/14/2008 2:39:14 PM

So I was in Charlotte this weekend and I rode the light rail to downtown from my buddy's house...

Overall, it was nice paying 2.60 round trip for my drunk ass. Thanks Pat McCrory(R), not neodata.

6/15/2008 10:27:12 AM

I am all for investing in public transportation but the ridership has to be there.

Case & Point Amtrak is adding another Raleigh-Charlotte train since their ridership has shot up so much this year. Some days tickets are selling out presently. That makes sense.

It does not make sense to say ooooh lets tax the shit out of auto owners and then spend the money on public transport and then they will ride it.

6/15/2008 11:23:37 AM

Agreed.

That dick of a rich mayor Michael Bloomberg was trying sooo hard this year to get his congestion pricing plan passed ($8 to enter manhattan via car, $20 for truck). He said the money would go to public transportation. Only problem is the infastructure isn't there at the present to support an increase. Buses suck and the subways already run over capacity during the rush hours. I mean, what did he think ppl would do?

6/15/2008 1:17:18 PM

This is how I rolled when I was a tyke:


[Edited on June 18, 2008 at 10:01 AM. Reason : image]

6/18/2008 9:59:08 AM