I'm reminded of Professor Dave's video on "10 things all flat earthers say." Like, not just the same 10 arguments, but the same statements word-for-word.
When it comes to carbrains, the first three that come to mind are "cars = freedom", "cyclists don't follow traffic laws", and "public transportation is crime ridden".
Seriously! Unlike the flat earthers in Professor Dave's video, at least carbrains will word it differently, but they're all the same ideas, copied and pasted from the testimony transcripts of automotive and fossil fuel lobbyists.
If it doesn't get to 10 arguments, that's fine. But man, listening to their arguments, they have yet to convince me that we're all better off in a car-dependent society.
"it's so much cheaper if you don't I've in a big city" my mom says that so often she's so blind to how much she uses the car.
I tell her to try going to Loblaws and Home Depot in my hometown on one day without a car. It'll be about 40 min walking through massive parking lots broken up by almost an hour on the neglected sidewalk along regional highways but it'll feel like longer, and in the winter lol good luck. And they're not that far apart on a map, but the area's designed like we're in the Cars universe.
Exactly! Another argument that I could throw into this is "how do I get groceries without a car?" Oh, I don't know, get a cargo bike and/or do it online.
A grocery store in walking distance is a major part of looking at where to live for me, about a 15 min walk from here with a smaller one closer. I bring a backpack to make carrying home easier. It ends up helping avoiding too much impulse spending not being able to get too much.
This is the majority of exercise i get but i guess i should buy a car and drive to the supermarket AND the gym!
or just get a bag and stop by in the store while coming home from work or elsewhere
Not cheaper for the city taxpayers though... They are being used as a forced labor camp to subsidize the small towns, which would have no conceivable hope of ever paying for their own highway infrastructure with their own economies and tax bases. Carbrains are the consummate socialists.
In her case it's not even a proper small town where she's talking about, it's suburbs, glorified overspill from the nearby city. No charm just parking lots, chain stores, and the big boring houses that all look the same for people that hate being near people. I'll remember that next time I'm arguing with a libertarian idiot.
I’ve found there’s nothing “Libertarians” love more than The People’s Highways in my long career as a shitposter.
Cycling is too dangerous!
Ignoring what it is that makes cycling dangerous (cars)
Why there is so much traffic? Also why I never find a free parking spot?
I get so angry when people complain about parking not being free. As if anything else in this world is free. It's not free you dumb carbrains. ITS SUBSIDIZED!!!!
I hear "I need it for my freedom" an awful lot, that could be one.
The whole "freedom" argument drives me crazy. It leaves out minors, people with disabilities, and the elderly. Freedom of transportation shouldn't be limited to one mode, but multiple options should exist together.
Most arguments for car centric development hinge on the core idea of "this is how things already are and changing it would be difficult or bring me personal discomfort".
Which at it's core isn't inaccurate. Many people are just part of a car dependent system where driving is the default and they don't have much of a choice.
The issue is just the constant whining/complaining from people about what car centric development brings while simultaneously most of these people being the only real obstacle to things improving. Every effort to reduce car dependency requires an uphill battle against the same people who complain about the pain of driving.
I live in Chicago and apparently the city overtook NYC for the worst traffic congestion in America. And folks here complain constantly about bad drivers and traffic in the city.
These are all titles from the last 1-2 months from the city subreddit (didn't link because I don't want folks brigading the sub, just demonstrating how frequently complaints are posted).
It's all the same talking points every thread. It's just bad drivers, it's people not paying attention, it's this, it's that. Anything except acknowledging that a system where most people are trying to use what is essentially a mobile living room to move a single human beings (or even 2-3) is doomed to fail.
Chicago is an older city (for US standards) built on arguably one of the best grid systems possible. There are transit options and while it's far from perfect, it's viable. With work it could become much more robust but people simply do not care to try and solve things collectively. They'd rather spend tens of thousands of dollars for a car and then complain endlessly about how expensive and annoying it is to drive in one of the largest cities in the country.
NJB has a video where he cosplays as a suburban car brain who drives a F350 and huffs copious amounts of copium to justify his lifestyle and transportation choices
Hilarious video, btw.
"I need a pickup to haul stuff"
Complaining about selfish cyclists slowing them down when every day THEY are slowing down other drivers by being on the road cumulatively way more than a cyclist is.
Would be worthy enough to post on r/ShitAmericansSay?
I think so. Although Canadians and some Australians would say some of these things, too.
Comment here for some simple phrases they say cause I'm itching to make this. Just all of the different things.
We have cycling is dangerous and driving is easier. How do you get groceries. I'll add metro is dangerous and I'm stuck in traffic.
Doesn't matter the size of political importance just give any old carbrained wordsalad, I have an idea and my drawing tablet is ready to go.
Btw op take my words too, you can make it the top ten style I'm just making a simple animation.
My favorite is "you're lucky you live close to work. I live off in the sticks and have to drive 20 miles here".
Why is that invalid? Logistically there’s lots of food deserts in rural states in America.
That why I advocate not living in rural areas
That’s completely detached from reality
Not quite what you asked but this video is typical of what car people say:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C5wbfMTysO8/