Yes, I know it’s taken me over a decade to write the first entry in my DKos diary, but I have something I’ve been working on since the election. I have a long daily trip from the suburbs to work in the land of ¾ ton pickups as commuter vehicles, and I’ve tended to use the relative lack of traffic against rush hour to get to and from work quickly. I also have outdoor hobbies and family a long way from home and am too big to take economy-class flying casually. Can’t say I’ve ever been a match for this guy, but I’ve had a few roadside discussions with the police—especially in the days of the 55 mph speed limit. Yes, I’m old enough to have been a licensed driver back then.
I decided right after the election that, in these days of big SUVs and ever-increasing highway speeds, simply slowing down would be a form of post-election protest. That, and my guilt over claiming to be an environmentalist while driving 30,000 miles a year. It will be several years before I can get out of that conundrum.
Well, I’ve kept my highway speeds to 62-65 mph tops since then, and gone from 30 to 38 miles per gallon. I posted it as a comment early this week, and G2geek helped with some ideas.
That suggests a straightforward protest that has added benefits:
Don’t exceed the speed limit.
Efficiency drops off quickly as a function of increase in speed. Slowing down saves fuel. Many Trumpists are yahoos who make it a point of pride to disobey the rules of the road. There’s substantial overlap there with white nationalists.
By turning the speed limit into a symbolic issue, we force the other side to either a) concede it, or b) make themselves look like (even bigger) assholes for flouting traffic laws.
Those on the left who have a taste for racing, should be able to find ways to organize races at nearby tracks. These too, can become a statement: “we’re law-abiding citizens on the road, we race on the track.”
Having recent experience piloting a small rented Kia on the urban freeways of Texas, I know that literally driving 55 everywhere could cause the loss of too many liberal voters. Obeying all speed limits, and driving 65 mph maximum is probably more realistic.
As for why I’d like the idea to spread, there are several reasons.
First, is the obvious one of reducing CO2 emissions from driving more slowly while reducing gas tax revenue to the Trump regime. Taking a few bucks from local governments that rely on traffic fines and wear and tear on cars doesn’t hurt either.
Second, is showing up and pissing off people who need to have the choices they have made for our country rubbed in their faces twice a day. The flip side is that it provides us liberals with a daily discipline that reminds us that we can’t live our lives as usual right now.
Third, perhaps not so obviously, slowing down on the roads provides cover for those who will be targeted under the Trump regime. Racial profiling on the roads is aided by setting speed limits that practically nobody follows, allowing the police to target people based on race, ethnic background, the drug war, etc. Even in my supposedly liberal area, an African-American stopped by police can be identified by the two police cars instead of one behind them on the side of the road. This doesn’t seem to have much connection with any other characteristic such as age, condition of vehicle, number of people inside, etc.
If Hispanics and other immigrants are going to be driving hyper-cautiously (I see evidence of this already) in fear of the police, driving slowly on the roads along with them will help.
Finally, refusing to be a part of one of society’s ways of speeding up our lives provides us with a chance to think. I’ve been feeling considerably less hurried, and more reflective, in the last couple of weeks of doing this myself. I’m not exactly a touchy-feely sort of person, but there’s something about this action.
This may border on “malicious compliance”, but following laws that our government doesn’t want us to take too literally is a simple protest that can have an impact. What are your ideas for daily post-election actions we can sustain over the long-haul?
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