First World Problems

Sometimes I can’t help myself. My brother-in-law constantly posts gun nut memes and sometimes I point out the obvious stupidity of them, although I should know better. He’s almost the only one who ever posts that stuff on my page.
A week or so ago, a woman on my page complained that an airline had refused to seat her in first class, (which she was entitled to, it was a question of changing from one airline to another) and she was forced to suffer the long flight in coach, in spite of her bad back. I wrote back something along the lines of “Coach is not so bad, you won’t die” and was immediately swarmed by people saying what a rude and insensitive monster I was.
Just two minutes ago, I left a comment on somebody’s post complaining about the high price of parking on a university campus lot. I suggested they get a bicycle and I am braced for the nasty comments which are probably being angrily typed and directed my way at this very moment.
But, that is the way I feel about cars in general. People complain about other drivers, too slow in the fast lane, don’t use turn signals, park badly, etc…, they complain about the roads, they complain about the police, they complain, they complain, they complain. But all of their complaints, and a good deal of their expenses, would go away if they just didn’t own a car.
Admittedly, in today’s society, that’s kind of hard to pull off. We need better public transportation, both in cities and between cities. High speed trains, electric buses. We need bike trails all over the place. And people need to walk more.
I know a lot of people have cars, and a lot of people love cars. Fine. I don’t want to hear about your problems, though. They are self-inflicted.

(Disclaimer: At my wife’s insistence, we do have a family car. I try to limit its use, as we live in a city with excellent public transportation, but I’m often outvoted)