Maybe we're just doing it wrong?

[BumbleBeeDave]

Could this be the real reason drivers hate us?

http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/...-bikes/385387/

BBD

[fiamme red]

Don't say "drivers," say "motorized merchants of mayhem and murder."

[Ken Robb]

I get more respect/room from people in cars when I dress like a "fred". They assume I'm trying to get somewhere and maybe I can't afford a car. When these people see a pack "in kit" taking up a lot of room (relatively speaking) it looks to them like a bunch of adults wearing Oakland Raider jerseys playing touch football on the street.

We know it shouldn't be that way and all riders are entitled to share the road but we should remember that perceptions affect reactions.

[CaliFly]

It's the continued wussification of America where changing words equals changing behavior.

Trash man > Sanitation Engineer > Person who collects waste

Cyclist > Person on a bike > Human being who deserves love and compassion pedaling a non-threatening, two-wheeled contraption to increase fitness thereby extending quality and quantity of life

[JAllen]

Originally Posted by fiamme red

Don't say "drivers," say "motorized merchants of mayhem and murder."

Haha! Man I got a good hearty chuckle out of that one.

[slidey]

There are times when I don't care too much for the name of something, as long as I remember it by principle...but, that's usually in professional life where knowing something is, at this stage in my career, more important than knowing what it is called.

However, your comment demeans the notion of changing words to help foster change in perceptions, and that strikes me as extremely naive.

Words play an invaluable role in highlighting the importance of fostering perceptions of the masses. Please educate yourself on some history as to how different sections of humanity have ostracized other parts of humanity to further some pointlessly, selfish endeavours by the sword. Here's some help: http://youtu.be/ohrtFuxUzZE

I know I've taken it one step too far, and cars/bikes are not in the same league as what I'm referring to, but since you brought in the notion of wussification of America, I think its legitimate to address that ridiculous notion equally strongly.

Originally Posted by CaliFly

It's the continued wussification of America where changing words equals changing behavior.

[Davist]

5 posts to Godwin's Law. Nice. Could be a record...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law

[redir]

The pen is mightier than the sword.

I'm not so sure in this case though. Do they have any data to suggest that changing the words are in fact causing better relations or could it be some other factor. I always hate when people say something like "the car hit me..." No it didn't the driver of the car hit you. It kind of takes the responsibility away from the person.

It's also true on the other hand that in times of war combatants come up with slang and typically derogatory names for the enemy because it makes them less human and easier to kill. So words are powerful.

[CaliFly]

Originally Posted by slidey

There are times when I don't care too much for the name of something, as long as I remember it by principle...but, that's usually in professional life where knowing something is, at this stage in my career, more important than knowing what it is called.

However, your comment demeans the notion of changing words to help foster change in perceptions, and that strikes me as extremely naive.

Words play an invaluable role in highlighting the importance of fostering perceptions of the masses. Please educate yourself on some history as to how different sections of humanity have ostracized other parts of humanity to further some pointlessly, selfish endeavours by the sword. Here's some help: http://youtu.be/ohrtFuxUzZE

I know I've taken it one step too far, and cars/bikes are not in the same league as what I'm referring to, but since you brought in the notion of wussification of America, I think its legitimate to address that ridiculous notion equally strongly.

I appreciate the call-out that comes refreshingly devoid of personal attack. We agree that words are powerful...and that power can take us in either direction.

[bcroslin]

Lets see how long it takes to lock this one down. Unbelievable.

[slidey]

Originally Posted by CaliFly

I appreciate the call-out that comes refreshingly devoid of personal attack. We agree that words are powerful...and that power can take us in either direction.

Ok, glad that we're in agreement.

I must clarify though that I was only trying to reinforce the idea that words are powerful, that's all. I'm not standing in defense of the very words chosen by the people mentioned in the article, only time will confirm that. However I can wholeheartedly get behind the idea, and I feel that if we hope for real change in way non-cyclist commuters view cyclists then this is the most frictionless way of going about trying to achieve it.

[shovelhd]

If wussyfication means that I am viewed as a living being and not some moving obstacle in the way of someone's afternoon flat white, I'm all for wussfication.

[Coluber42]

Call it wussification, but language really does affect how people respond even when we think it shouldn't. That's why polling firms obsess over wording, and why you get completely different numbers for the approval rate of "Obamacare" vs. "the Affordable Care Act" vs. "The new healthcare reform bill". Whatever your opinion of the policy, you'd think (wish?) that those three things would have identical approval rates, but they don't. Polling and marketing firms pay experts lots of money and run focus groups and experiments to find out exactly the right wording to use to get you to answer a certain way or buy a certain product.

It seems like in this case, the difference is that saying "a person doing x" removes some of the us-vs-them, confrontational, tribal aspect of the discussion. It's not Team A accusing Team B, it's all people engaging in various activities. I'm also all for calling "accidents" "collisions" instead; I think it's true that "accident" sounds like something a toddler does on the floor for which he can't really be blamed. Accidents are just bad things that happen by accident, and we accept that accidents happen. "Collision" is if anything more graphic, and certainly a more precise description of what we're talking about.

I notice a definite change in passing behavior when I turn my head to look over my shoulder; I think that it sends a subliminal message that makes drivers see a person rather than an inanimate moving obstacle. If changing the wording of something can help accomplish the same thing, I'm more than willing to try it.

[Black Dog]

Part of the problem is that people see the use of certain weasel words as wussification, and they are correct, however, when actual weasel words are being replaced with better terms they conflate this with the introduction of weasel words.

[velomonkey]

Originally Posted by shovelhd

If wussyfication means that I am viewed as a living being and not some moving obstacle in the way of someone's afternoon flat white, I'm all for wussfication.

Count me as a "wussy" too