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Cars are both an addictive drug and a religion, car drivers for the most part can't admit either. A happy normal person using a bicycle for something practical is a direct threat to the fragile mental landscape established by many people because it brings an awareness of their drug use and zealotry to the surface.
Not bashing drugs or religion, this is a problem of buried collective denial fundamentally.
Ooooorrrr a lot of us live far away from our place of work and biking is very impractical and generally dangerous due to poor infrastructure.
No, that explanation fails on the face of it. If that were the case, then why the furious opposition whenever such infrastructure is proposed?
Ok so most people are forced into the drug cult...
How does that refute my point? I am not judging individuals here I am pointing out the drug cult.
Except it's not merely a cult, it is the entire history of the development of our nation. Our infrastructure is built on the idea that space is plentiful, and everyone has their own car. The very concept of suburban America is predicated on at least one car in every home. Communities were built without walking access or public transit. Commerce was congealed into vast campuses consisting entirely of parking lots and three-story office buildings. School districts consolidated into massive centralized buildings where thousands of students arrive via hundreds of big yellow busses, some traveling for hours each way.
Even if you wanted to break free from the "cult," there's like two cities in the entire USA where you could live, work, and raise a family in a decent school district without a car, and they would be some of the highest cost of living areas in the entire world.
I feel like you are just making my point that cars are the combination of an addictive drug and a coercive cult with a long established presence?
I mean sure you are exaggerating a little but yeah... it is bleak in the US in this respect I agree.
That's not an exaggeration in any way. New York and Chicago. There are other cities with some public transit, but anywhere with a) jobs, b) decent schools, and c) reliable public transit will also be prohibitively expensive.
Drugs generally tend to be a life choice, vehicular transport tends to be a necessity. Yes there are people in cities that have public transit options yet they actively choose to drive, but many of us that live outside of those cities don't really have that option. You're not inherently wrong, but it isn't the linear correlation you're attempting.
Many people don't have the practical option of leaving their cult, most cults wouldn't exist if they did.
I drive a sports car with a giant engine and ridiculous lack of utility. I like driving it a lot. I take every chance to drive it. BUT I appreciate every cyclist I see on the road immensely. I applaud every time a bike lane is built - even if it takes away a car lane I could use. Am I really part of a minority?
Yes.