I learned something new about wingnuts over on the site for banished freepers

[grasswire]

I had no idea that conservatives are vehemently opposed to mass transportation because they might subsidize through their tax dollars a commuter train in Silicon Valley or the NE corridor.

And one freeper who favors the rail systems was actually banned from freerepublic for posting his thoughts.

And on the copycat site, others are taking him on again. They HATE mass transportation. They think it endangers their rights to drive vehicles anywhere and everywhere they want. And they sure don't want those goddam big city folks getting to work without cars!

Wow.

[hlthe2b]

1. traditionally they have blocked mass transit because of fear

that it would bring crime (in the minds of the most racist RWers, aka African Americans) out into the suburbs... At least that was the racist attitude that has always kept MARTA from moving out into the Atlanta suburbs. Just to underscore, I'll let you figure out what they say MARTA stands for. A hint. Moving A__ Rapdly through Atlanta.... :eyes:


I don't know if that horrendous attitude has changed by now in Atlanta... I know MARTA is extending light rail into areas within the perimeter, but not sure if it is getting out to the more distant suburbs of Fulton, Dekalb and Cobb outside I-285 perimeter.

In Denver, we are finally moving in a positive direction with light rail--about 25 years past due. The issue here is just $$ and love of the car in our big open spaces, I guess.

[Dappleganger]

13. ^^^^^This.

Yes, it stems from the NIMBY attitude of rich folks who don't want that "element" able to move about the area. They feel that way about the city bus system here, too. It's quite sickening.

[CatWoman]

17. Live in Atlanta

and no, the attitude hasn't changed.

These people are fucking idiots.

[Cali_Democrat]

32. So is this the main reason why people are opposed to mass transportation?

For reals? I never knew this.

What ever happened to love thy neighbor?

[Kievan Rus]

38. 1). A lot of RW males see their SUV as an extension of their you-know-what, 2).

most right-wingers today are faux Christians whose attitude is, "I've got mine so **** you," and 3). most right-wingers are against anything for the common good; hence, their opposition to mass transit.

[bobbolink]

42. Was there ever a "love thy neighbor" time in the U.S.?

The only thing that changes is the object of the unlove.

Homeless people are rapidly usurping the space of unloved formerly occupied by minorities.

[Phentex]

21. It hasn't changed much. You would not believe the number of

grown people I meet who have NEVER ridden Marta, either bus or rail. They are so afraid they will be robbed or killed. It's unreal.

[jpljr77]

23. That's a shame, because MARTA isn't all that bad.

I lived in Decatur, and although MARTA was not an option for work (Marietta), I used it all the time for just about everything else. It was great.

Of course, I lived in-town in what can only be described as an enclave in the ATL, but still...I loved MARTA.

[Dennis Donovan]

27. There's the story about how Robert Moses built all the Long Island parkways...

...with overpasses too low to allow for buses to go to his park(s) - this to keep the "riff-raff" out of Long Island and off its beaches.

[Kievan Rus]

29. It's total nonsense. The richest Pittsburgh suburb, Sewickley, has lots of mass transit...

running through it. Two Port Authority (Allegheny County) bus lines, the 14 Ohio Valley and the 21 Coraopolis, run through Sewickley; and both routes run through some pretty rough Pittsburgh-area neighborhoods, such as McKees Rocks and Ambridge. Another route running through it is a Beaver County bus line that links Sewickley (and downtown Pittsburgh) with a lot of Ohio River valley former milltowns that whose heydays are long gone.

Sewickley is, without a doubt, the richest suburb in the Pittsburgh metro area. Lots of the Pittsburgh area's rich people live there. Its most famous resident is none other than Mario Lemieux, arguably one of the best hockey players to ever play the game, and the current principal owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL franchise.

And to my knowledge, Sewickley also has one of the lowest violent crime rates among all Pittsburgh-area suburbs. So much for mass transit bringing in crime, but right-wingers rarely ever deal in facts.

[hlthe2b]

35. I assume you mean the premise against mass transit is nonsense

and not the point I've made, backed by others, in terms of the role overt racism and classism has played, especially in the South.

[Kievan Rus]

36. Yes, the premise against mass transit by the RW is completely ridiculous

In addition to Sewickley, another wealthy Pittsburgh suburb, Mt. Lebanon, has a heavily-travelled light-rail line running through it. And to the best of my knowledge, Sewickley and Mt. Lebanon both have very low violent crime rates. The notion that mass transit brings crime into wealthy (usually white) suburbs is nothing more than a myth.

In any event, the right's anti-mass transit paranoia will implode once Peak Oil hits. We've already seen a bit of it already. I don't think it's any coincidence that the cities hardest hit by high gas prices and the subsequent recession were car-dependent Southern cities rife with sprawl, and walkable Northern cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, and several others, fared a whole lot better.

[hlthe2b]

37. Mass transit has made the NE corridor the incredibly vibrant

and productive region that it is. Absolutely. And, yes, the alternative is this massive sprawl that will lead to the suburbs becoming the new "ghettos" given all the foreclosures and loss of jobs.

[bluestate10]

41. NY, Boston and Chicago all have mass transit systems, so does the SF Bay area.

All cities have fared better that the nation on job growth. Because those cities attract educated people that have skills that produce innovation and grow economies.

[XanaDUer]

33. I live in Gwinnett and it's still here

I was super-pissed when the "brain train" and MARTA were kiboshed, all due to racism that "those people" will come into lovely, sprawling, shitty, psuedo-suburbia Gwinnett County.

[dropkickpa]

40. Pgh had the same problem in early 90s

Our joke of a light-rail system was supposed to be extended out to the east through all the biggest busiest neighborhoods, but the white neighborhoods and the burbs raised holy hell because it would also go through a black neighborhood. It got killed after that.

[ThomCat]

2. Don't they have any idea what role mass transit has played

historically in the growth and development of the wealth of cities and towns in the US?

Trains? Hello!

If we are going to revitalize urban areas we absolutely are going to need to revitalize mass transit.
And mass transit is going to be a necessary part of fighting endless sprawl, and global warming.

There are problems with mass transit. It tends to be slower than traveling by yourself, and you have to constantly pay to keep it clean and safe, which is always a problem when it comes time for those budget cuts and time to cut corners. But overall, if people in office are responsible, Mass Transit is most responsible thing to do. The disadvantages can all be managed, and the benefits can't be ignored.

These people are total idiots if you hate mass transit solely because they love cars and always want to travel alone. The waste of usable space just in terms of parking lots and parking garages everywhere is astronomical.

[MattSh]

9. They don't do historically...

They only do hysterical.

[ThomCat]

11. :)

Very well put. :)

[Raine]

3. I guess they're so stupid that they don't realize

that the more people who take public transportation it leaves more open road for them and their gas guzzlers and they can get places faster. Logically they should be for anything that gets more people off the road and gives those who drive less traffic to contend with ... duh.:silly:

[grasswire]

4. it's stunning to find such regressive thoughts

It's almost like someone believing in voodoo or the flat earth. I thought everyone appreciated mass transit.

[DrDan]

5. first their guns are being taken away - and now their cars

how will the testosterone-challenge compensate. Next thing you know, bullying will not be allowed.

[Enthusiast]

19. Very perceptive observation....nt

[EV_Ares]

6. Goes back to them buying into the auto and tire companies who killed mass

transit and promoted the suburbs. Also, in their sicko thinking they believe now it is only poor and minorities who use mass transit and it is a way for them to be mobile, whatever. There really is no logical thinking in being against mass transit.

[undergroundpanther]

7. So

The right wing is freaking over public transport? Fuck them.Fuck them all. Intolerable Assholes every one of them..

I am so sick of their evil ,selfish, greedy class-ism and narcissism,and that bigot motivated fear..I wish they'd just GO AWAY .Create a freeper-land somewhere,and leave people that DO NOT want to live like they do,or be christian assholes alone. What will it take to get these bitter petty tyrants to stop controlling EVERYTHING in everyone else's lives?

This bullshit makes me furious because I am trapped in the suburbs and I am aware of the damage done to people animals & and the world because of lack of public transport and these control freak assholes FEAR!! They hate public transport why does this not surprise me? Why does ANYONE listen or coddle their fucking selfish bigoted FEARS?? Their greedy petty fear of losing status, is one motive behind this shit.They like it especially when the poor people suffer..as if POOR people are not trapped by poverty location and other factors, humiliated,voiceless, socially invisible made miserable and hated enough by people already.I am so disgusted by the right wing asshole fears and control tactics..when will they be social justice? When will these stupid childish,greedy narcissist pigs without empathy for anyone be made to STFU and be kicked out of power?? You know they won't stop the shit until they are forced to.
When will pigs on the right and bi-partisan enablers allowed no more avenues to abuse power..anymore?

[w8liftinglady]

8. Exactly. In Texas,the city who will sponsor the Super Bowl has no mass transit

... crap! "Why's we vote against our own self interests AGAIN?!"

[Kievan Rus]

31. Cowboys Stadium is the only stadium in the NFL without mass transit service

[formercia]

12. Brought to you by the creatures who said:

"What's good for General Motors, is good for America."


Those good-ole'-boys have to have their pick me up so they can escape an attack by the United Nations.

[old mark]

10. They also hate small cars that get high gas mileage, and ALL immigrants,

but especially those who chose to live in the North East US...You know, the ones who brought ideas about Unions, Socialism...and the Catholic Church, which as everyone knows, is not really christian...
They live in their own world of delusion.

mark

[lunatica]

14. How are their servants supposed to get to work then?

[jberryhill]

15. There was perfectly good housing for them on the plantations /nt

[lonestarnot]

22. modern day plantations are now referred to as private prison industry.

:D

[grasswire]

25. you mean mom?

I suspect many of them live at home and drive mom's car.

[Odin2005]

16. In the minds of RWers Mass Transit = "N***ers coming to their neighborhoods".

[Thunderstruck]

28. That's exactly what it is. I've seen this attitude here in DFW with any number of issues that might

actually help poor/minority people get a leg up in life.

And they won't hesitate to shoot themselves in the foot every time in order to keep the "n***ers and w**backs" out.

[Enthusiast]

18. Yeah, sitting in grid lock with

your vehicle getting zero MPG is a great alternative to mass transit.

The Oil industry force fed these wingnuts this hatred for mass transit. Their motive? They want us to continue our reliance on an ever more expensive and more rare commodity. After oil loving Reagan was elected we started to build larger cars and SUVs. This is no coincidence.

[Shagbark Hickory]

20. It's a shame that subjects such as mass transit have become so polarized.

Thanks to the opinion tv and radio shows that you all love so much.

Each side has to take a stand for or against an issue. If you don't need someone to make up your mind for you, then you don't fit and you're an outcast.

[K8-EEE]

24. The anti-transport thing is another big ruse financed by oil lobbyists

Who want everyone to be a slave to the gas pump & Saudi oil etc. Also there are a lot of Freeps from Nowheresville USA, if you live by a cow pasture obviously you won't be takin the subway anywhere so the see such expenditures as for the benefit of "urban" people (read: negroes!)

That banned freeper site is soooo interesting. Did you see that I agreed with the train-loving freeper who wanted rail from Palm Springs to L.A. Absolutely!

[mistertrickster]

26. A lot of them think this way because the right-wing is funded heavily by BIG OIL.

The Koch Bros for instance make their money in oil and the pollution it causes.

[Kievan Rus]

30. Our car dependence will be our ruin when Peak Oil hits

Best case scenario, it will be Great Depression Part II. Worst case scenario, it will be a chaotic anarchy straight out of The Road Warrior.

I live in a Pittsburgh suburb that is mostly car-dependent, but I'm fortunate enough to live in an older part of it, which I call its "European enclave." There are several mass transit options and the area is walkable, not unlike most of Europe...hence the name. I can walk to the bank, a grocery store, several other stores, the post office, mass transit stations, several restaurants, and several bars.

When Peak Oil hits, it'll probably be the only part of the suburb that fares well. Much of the rest, which has no mass transit service and where one has to drive to go virtually everywhere, much of it will probably either be abandoned or become slums when oil prices skyrocket with Peak Oil and anybody who can afford to move to walkable communities with transit options will.

[Name removed]

34. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bluestate10]

39. I will accept them not getting mass transit.

If they send back the tax dollars that my state send to their f***** states. The typical blue state where transit systems would be used send from 28% to 46% of their tax money to the states the freeper type morons live in. Give us back our tax dollars, we will build our transit systems and have money left over to spend on other improvements. Wingnut idiots.

[MadMaddie]

43. They are insane

they don't have to ride on mass transportation if they don't want to. They also don't get to complain about how bad gas prices are and how bad roads are etc.....they are idiots.

[defendandprotect]

44. The thing is they think that right wing destruction will only effect liberals ....

when they figure out that they might also be the ones without cars ...

they'll be looking for mass transportation -- but OOPS! it will be too late!

[steve2470]

45. My older brother tried for years to improve mass transit in our area.

He might as well have been Don Quixote tilting at windmills, the bias was so entrenched against it.