No, I don’ think it is. I think I’m great, but it doesn’t matter what I think. I truly don’t care what people think about me, but I do care when certain issues impact my economics.

I also care when other people’s economic status is impacting owing to something that is nothing but in pc terms “classism”.

People can think I’m poor or dumb or hate me because of the way I look or what I use to get around the city, but the moment they discriminate against me (or someone else) and use that discrimination from preventing me from putting food on the table then it goes beyond positive thinking. They are violating my civil rights. No one should have to positively think their way out of that.

I do in a universal zen sense get what you’re saying Dan and believe it to some extent.

I think that’s the thing about cars, you can get in your car and not see anything and not feel anything and put on music and pretend that these certain realities do not exist, but being on the bus I see things that I have never seen before. To me you can’t 100% understand public transit if you have access to a car. Having a car is like slumming, even if you use it just some of the time, you know it’s there. It’s like that song Common People.

I get to see the inequalities in a very literal way. I can look at it in a rose colored glasses way. I can get back in my car if I want, but you know it’s too late. I know the guy who works in construction, the lady who cleans the house, the other lady that works security I know they can’t just go back to pretending anymore. They have to take the bus.

If you’re trying and show up on time you taking the bus should not impact your economics and it does and it’s not right and if there isn’t a law against discriminating against people on that basis, there should be one.

I know for that working class guy who loses out on a job because he doesn’t have a car, a positive attitude is not going to do anything to protect that guy from that kind of reality. A positive attitude can’t save you from ignorant people, laws do very little in the beginning, but lawyers can help alleviate that pain.

Lawsuits are pretty much the most effective way to get people to be fair in California. I really wish it wasn’t that way, but from my experience people here are very unreasonable when it comes to being decent, especially if its in regards to an issue that doesn’t impact them at all.

Anyways I’m going to actually try to do something other than blog about the issue of economic discrimination based on what mode you decide to use get from point a to point b.

Browne

“What will other people think of me if I ride transit instead of using a car? Will they look down on me for being poor, think something is wrong with me, be impressed that I am doing something good for the environment or be jealous that they wish they could do it themselves if they would only let themselves?”

The truth is probably all of those reactions will come at least from somebody. The real question is what to I think of myself? I walk my talk and believe my transit usage contributes to the environmental and economic sustainability of Southern California. I think that’s pretty cool. That’s what really matters.

For me, it’s really like “coming out the closet” a second time. What I think of myself is what is really important. I will attract and be attracted to the reactions that mirror what I think about myself.

I think a transit oriented lifestyle is not only cool, but if enough of us do it, it will do nothing less than save Southern California for future generations.

I agree with the “fashion statement” aspect of driving. I know people who drive, but are ashamed of their cars for not being new or sporty enough and park far away so as not to risk being seen driving it. That’s ridiculous.

I know it’s the biggest challenge of them all, but one of my main reasons for starting this site and for really caring about how it looks and stuff is that one of my goals is to make the transit lifestyle “cool”. The bicycle advocates have done a pretty good job making their mode the realm of bad-asses, hipsters, and counter-culture youths… in other words, cool people. I’d like for people who ride the bus in LA to be considered the cool dewds and the guys in their flashy cars to be considered the douchebags.

The Metro-bus commercials, “I ride Metro” should encourage a celebrity endorsement or two.

I agree with the “fashion statement” aspect of driving. I know people who drive, but are ashamed of their cars for not being new or sporty enough and park far away so as not to risk being seen driving it. That’s ridiculous.

It needs to be pointed out that not everyone will be asked to “give up” their fashion statement. People who want to have their own car and pay for that expense will of course be able to do so. The only thing they will not be guaranteed is that they will be able to drive it and park it cheaply and conveniently anytime, anyplace, anywhere on demand, and that everyone else will have a car and do the same too.

It’s important to note that even those who refuse to use transit for whatever reason will still have lifestyle changes, because they will not just be able to assume that everyone else will have a car and will have to factor in transit accessibility in their professional meetings and social engagements even if they themselves have a car. That, and businesses offering transit information in their “how to get here” directions, are the subtle changes people will notice. My church, which is near Vermont/Wilshire has started including not only driving instructions, but also the fact that it is conveniently near two transit lines (well, 1-1/3 lines, but it’s a start.)

The hypocrisy of LA is the one thing that gets to me about this place.

You and me both buddy. That’s one thing that really pisses me off about the entertainment industry, they are all supposedly a bunch of really liberal environmentalist bleeding-heart do-gooders yet they choose to live in massive houses in the hills, cruise around in fancy cars and stretch hummers, and then when they do go green it’s by opening up “eco-resorts” in far off islands. Imagine if those successful in the entertainment industry decided to give back and help improve the city that made them.

I don’t understand LA’s obsession with valet parking. What’s the point of offering valet at these massive parking structures, like the Grove? Are people really that anxious to pay twice as much for parking just for the superficial self-perceived status that comes with using valet? The Coffee Bean on the Sunset Strip offers valet…THE COFFEE BEAN!!!

And don’t even get me started on sporting events. No doubt Metro should have built a stop at Dodger Stadium, but there is one at Staples Center. If you look on the Lakers’ website, there’s not one mention of the Blue Line. But there are big colorful maps of all the wonderful and convenient parking lots, many of which are farther away from the arena than the Blue Line Pico Station (and cost about $15 per car).

Don’t get me wrong. I love the city of LA. What I’ve just ranted about is my disappointment in a supposedly “liberal” and “environmentally-aware” city. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a big environmentalist rally downtown and the announcements included parking directions. The hypocrisy of LA is the one thing that gets to me about this place.

It’s not rocket science. Every car has a sign that says either Red Line or Purple Line.

As for the marathon runner passing out, that was a medical emergency. Would he rather the person pass out in their car instead?

I’m sorry about your dad’s trip. There is no reason the train should have been held for 40 minutes. Unless she was dead, in NY, they would have removed her and moved on.

Awful.