Another review of “High and Mighty: SUVs–The World’s Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way”, this time in The New Republic Online. Great quote: “What does it say about the United States that there are now millions of people who want to drive an anti-social automobile?”
paradox1x.org
Karl Martino, Philadelphia, PA, USA
This seems like a silly cause.
Let’s see, only selfish, insecure, self-absorbed people drive SUVs. Smokers don’t care about their own health or anyone else’s. Fat people have greater health problems and are a burden on the health care system to say nothing of how uncomfortable they make us when we have to sit next to them on airplanes. Gun owners are a menace to society. Anyone else can we pick on?
How about those guys in the tiny little Japanese cars who all think they’re in The Fast and the Furious? Or how about those guys with the stereos with the subwoofers that could start an earthquake? Oh yeah, what about all those apathetic Gen-X’ers? And those twits who voted for Nader? We could probably blame this whole Iraq mess on them.
Might we say that people who feel compelled to identify a class of people as a menace of some kind have a problem of their own they ought to deal with?
I drive an SUV. It’s 2-wheel drive, doesn’t have any brush bars or anything, and you can see in the front windows. I bought it because I was between jobs with reasonably good prospects for finding a job, but I needed a car right that minute, and that manufacturer offered no payments for a year. Unfortunately, they didn’t offer a station wagon, which is what I was hoping to get when I found a job, so I bought the next closest thing.
It’s good to know that folks who read this guy’s book will be driving around feeling superior to insecure neanderthal morons like me who happen to drive SUVs.
But hey, I’m happy to do my part to give people something to feel good about.
I don’t think it’s that simple though Dave. I wish there could be a balanced discussion about people who actually *do* need these kinds of cars – after all – they do provide awesome utility.
But by far many are being purchased for reasons that are questionable and people need to get educated. I think attacking the purchasers is rather cheap. But to cut thru the noise that’s out there – it might be the only way.
“…the only way.” To do what, precisely?
To get everyone to quit driving SUVs, smoking, being fat, owning guns, driving imitation race cars, playing loud stereos, being sexists, ageists, racists, warbloggers, peacebloggers, Republicans, Democrats, Greens, apathetic, obsessive, introverted, extroverted, calm, agitated, Christian, Muslim, Jew, atheist, handicapped, talented, brilliant, dull, short, tall, hairless, hairy, near-sighted, far-sighted, blind, deaf and dumb? Is the point for everyone to be the same, homogenous, indistinguishable thing? Will life be safe then? Will it be “fair”? Will it be worth living?
The point is, that being uncharitable to others is the greatest fault.
There will always be people, in a group even, who do something that some other people, in a group even, do not approve of. Picking on SUVs and the people who drive them seems to me to point out a need within this individual to cast stones at someone. You want to argue that SUVs are a problem? Fine, blaming people, whether they are the buyers or the marketers or the manufacturers is not part of the solution, it just makes things worse, which is to say, keeps things the same.
But it’s fine by me. I’ll just point out it’s silly.
Which is what we are.