Another youtube channel I watch regularly is Not Just Bikes by Jason Slaughter, a Canadian from Fake London (Ontario) who lives in the Netherlands. He is adamantly anti-car, pro-public transport, and pro-environment. His videos are normally slow paced and well thought out arguments (with humour) designed to make a point and reinforce it with facts. However, two of his videos don’t follow that template.
Almost a year ago, he published the video, “There’s Something Wrong With Suburbia (The Orange Pill)”, a very Matrix-like, Morpheus-copying intro to the real world outside suburbia. But your choice isn’t “red or blue pills”, it’s orange and blue pills, like a reference to orange and blue morality. Watch the three minute video linked above first.
Then this week, he posted before watching the 16 minute film below. This is absolutely hilarious, and sad at the same time. He captures all the awfulness of suburban life. It really makes you wonder why anyone would want to live like that without excess amounts of copium.
Another page I recently encountered is Dave Walker’s Diagram Club. Not “cartoon”, but diagram he says, because it shows how things are. And he’s right about that. The image below comes from his site.
There are multiple incidents of entitled traffic terrorists intentionally driving through running races and bicycle races, threatening and endangering people because of the “injustice” of having to wait, of being forced to cede the road to bikes and runners one day out of the year. Such hardship.
2018: Woman ‘regrets’ driving into path of runners in Plymouth
Her only regrets are being publicly shamed. And for not killing anyone.
February 2023: Pickup driver arrested after crash with cyclists killed 2 and injured 17 others
He intentionally drove into them, to threaten and intimidate people who dared to ride bicycles on the road. I don’t care what his intent was, he should be locked up for life.
A woman in a deranged rover intentionally drove though the path of runners at a running race, placing her selfishness and impatience over people’s lives.
March 2023: Racers Endangered During Final Stage of Paris-Nice When Random Car Appears on The Course
This was caused by poor organization by those running the race. But still, why is someone driving anywhere near a bike race?
Yeah, a warning will stop that behaviour, because a ten year driving ban wouldn’t. 9_9
March 2023: Man on the run after driving car through Fargo-Moorhead bike race
A criminal on the run inadvertantly going through a bike race is not the same as road ragers that threaten cyclists. But it’s equally awful.
Addendum:
Not two days after I posted, this item from CityNews in Toronto appeared. It is EXACTLY like the Dave Walker image, car drivers whining incessantly about a ONE DAY cycling event “terrorizing the city”, “threatening motorists”.
This. Ride. Was. On. A. Sunday.
And it was ONE DAY out of the year. One.
The very next day, entitled traffic terrorists were back on the roads, threatening pedestrians and cyclists with impunity.
NJB is a great channel and his “Just Cars” episode was simply, but awesomely funny. Especially cool to see some of the other urbanist youtubers in the comments and the cameo by Reece of RM Transit.
I live in a suburb and like it. We have a 24 year old car (stick shift) that has probably come to its final days. Since 2010 or so the car has been spending most of its time parked in the street. We commute by bus, maybe in the near future by combination of bus and light-rail. We have several smaller grocery stores and pharmacies within 15-20 minutes of walking. Doctor’s office and dentist’s office also within 20 minutes or so. Schools – elementary, middle and high are also not too far (though the elementary is at the bottom of a rather steep hill). If Costco were to offer a delivery service we’d likely just forget about replacing the car, and just do short-term rental whenever we want to get somewhere outside our area. My son was raised to think of walking or taking the bus as normal forms of transportation. He is one of those Generation Z kids who aren’t in a hurry to learn to drive. Now, this isn’t typical of US suburbs, but there are several inner suburbs in my general area that are like that.