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There is actually a huge body of work that explains this "out-group/in-group" dynamic. The in-group understandably feels that any win for the out-group will come at their expense. And throughout history, members of out-groups have thought that if they could just convince everyone else in the out-group to be *perfect*, that they'd finally win the in-group over, and win a place at the table.

(I'll skip any specific historical comparisons for the sake of some readers who might not understand that when you draw comparisons between two things, you are not saying those two things are the same thing.)

If you look at the history of drivers (and urban driving), you'll see that drivers took over the streets as their numbers grew. And while their numbers grew partly because of the car's inherent benefits, it's also true that increasing numbers of cars in the city degraded every other mode of transport.

The same is possible with cycling: As more DC residents ride bikes--indeed move to DC explicitly for the "livable, walkable lifestyle", the issue of "scofflaw cyclists" will completely go away. At least as an issue unique to cyclists.

But drivers sure as Hell didn't go from being demonized outcasts to driving all other users out of the streets by being perfect little angels.

by oboe on Apr 9, 2012 2:32 pm • link • report