February 04, 2003

Cruisin' for a bruisin'


The idiotic and counterproductive anti-SUV "movement" continues. Mary at Exit Zero points out something that groups like these would do well to understand: that their antagonistic approach is not winning converts; on the contrary, it is driving people away from their cause (pun not intended).


The ideal vehicle?

Like Mary, I drive an economy car. I doubt I will ever buy an SUV -- for one thing, even the Echo I bought was a little too high off the road for my tastes. For another, I don't need a large, intimidating vehicle. But every time this collection of neo-luddites opens their mouths I get the urge to trade my rice burner in for the biggest Ford Expedition I can get my hands on, and take it on a drive cross country. It's a good thing I can't afford such a gesture.

I have come to the conclusion that the anti-everything people don't want to "change" anything. If they actually got what they wanted, they would have nothing to react against, and they might have to come up with some stronger justification for their existence than Fighting the Man. Many of these "activists" would lose cushy jobs, prestigious positions, and their place in the pantheon of Concerned Ones. There would be no one to pat them on the back and tell them how wonderful they are; no self-perpetuating cause to shore up a non-career, such as being the ex-wife of a rock star. Good-bye fame, hello "Do you want [non-fattening, non-artery-blocking] fries with that?"

(Link to Bianca Jagger story via Juan Gato.)

Posted by Andrea Harris at February 4, 2003 05:39 PM
Comments

One of P.J. O'Rourke's most savagely gleeful vignettes is his word-portrait in All The Trouble In The World (if memory serves me rightly) of a dejected Bianca Jagger slumped on a couch in the lobby of a Managua hotel after the Sandinistas were bounced from power in the February 1990 elections. Mrs. Jagger, however, seems to have amazing powers of resilience. (Personally, I always thought Jerry Hall was a lot hotter.)

Joe

Posted by: Joe at February 4, 2003 at 06:17 PM

I myself also own a rice burner, and I like that it gets 25 mpg. But before that, I routinely drove my dad's 1987 Chevrolet half-ton pickup, and while it only got about 6 or 7 mpg, it had its own countervailing advantages, including great visibility, safety, and ample horsepower.

I have no problem with SUVs. If you can afford the fuel, knock yourself out.

Posted by: James P at February 4, 2003 at 09:50 PM