What’s the alternative?
Monday, September 15th, 2008
Language is a powerful medium, it can twist our minds in ways we never dreamed of, while we remain blissfully ignorant. When you spend all day reading, writing and thinking in words, you start to believe what they are saying. Just as in 1984, we are becoming victims of Newspeak and Doublethink……
While notions of CLEAN coal sweep through the streets, I have also notices transport has it’s fair share of misguided/misguiding parole. Some of these are used unwittingly, by the very people who are trying to improve our transport system. Here are a couple of examples.
The first is the word alternative …… I’m sure you’ve heard the term alternative transport. To me, this implies that it is not normal to take these modes, that they will always be on the outer fringe. People associate the word with people who are disgruntled with society. This image does not encourage people to hop on their bike or hail down the next bus they see. It makes them scared of being seen with freaks and being seen as a freak.
The next is vulnerable. I have been labelled a vulnerable road user, along with every person who crosses the road or rides a bike. So, in our crazy topsy-turvy society, it is the norm to have layers of metal between you and anything else that moves so that you are not “vulnerable”. Meanwhile, we haven’t cottoned on to the term “aggressive” road users, for all those who weigh a ton, travel at 80 km/h and are not going to crumple so much when they hit you. How does this parole mould our safety policy? How does that make me feel about encouraging my friends to start cycling or walking – highly irresponsible. It is more responsible to encourage them to be overly protected and highly dangerous road users.