It's a huge reason American cities are so car centric, too.
My girlfriend and I like to guess where other tourists we see on the streets are from and one of the most obvious indicators for Americans is that as soon as they hit 40-50 there’s a high chance they're either limping or using a cane or similar.
My theory used to be that a lot of them played high-impact sports such as (American) football or basketball in their youths and consequently ruined their knees. But honestly not being used to walking might also contribute
The stronger you are, the longer you will be able to move.
This is part of why some people don't get out more... the creepy people watchers.
Maybe someone in the near future will create an analog to the first person shooter, a first person labeler, that will keep some of these folks on the couch.
do you think that people are rude and insulting to others by default?
this is a common occurrence for people who act this way towards others. if you engage in the above behaviors, then you likely assume everyone else does too, and therefore are reasonably upset at the mean things and sneering you anticipate others engaging in. it's really important in these scenarios to recognize that your actions and others are most likely not the same, most people don't just shit on strangers for 'fun'.
Could you elaborate further as to why you do?
Your description of people watching sounds innocent, considerate even, but I think you're leaving out the display of open contempt that is so common these days.
It's relaxing, doesn't cost anything, can be done in many places.
I'd hope that people with mobility issues could first reach for:
1. Recumbent bikes: https://www.getcycling.org.uk/recumbents/ (first regular ones, then electric)
2. Trikes: https://www.getcycling.org.uk/tricycles/ (first regular ones, then electric)
3. Handcycles: https://www.getcycling.org.uk/handcycles/
4. Wheelchair tandems where possible: https://www.getcycling.org.uk/wheelchair/
And only 5. or so should be mobility scooters, where they makes sense.
Because of the lack of bike infrastructure/walkable neighborhoods, I think the default in the US is directly a mobility scooter.
I apologize for invoking Godwin's law, but Nazi Germany is a good example, as were/are communist countries blaming everything on 'the capitalist', feminist blaming things on the patriarchy, European (and possible American) far right parties blaming everything on immigrants...
"it's the fault of $OUTGROUP" has been a beloved tool of demagogues everywhere for centuries now.
wars of religion, for example, witch hunts... yeah. People will do a lot of awful things to other people to avoid confronting their own flaws.
And we're leaning even more heavily into it. Self-driving cars change a lot of things, but they still contribute to the notion that things can be arbitrarily far apart. If we're very lucky, it will mean that fewer people will own their own cars, and maybe they'll demand infrastructure where they won't have to pay to go to the grocery store. But even that happens on a nuclear fusion time scale (always 20 years away).
So no, we're not getting a walking utopia when the Boomers croak. That can't happen until their buildings and roads also rot away.
In the US in 2023, the majority of people don't want non-car infrastructure. So realistically widespread/easily available/universal biking/walking friendly infrastructure in the US will probably happen in 2070, if it happens at all.
Constant, random shit-talking of our generation was the norm set by uncreative thinkpiece authors as we were growing up, so it can be easy sometimes to fall into that mindset. Blame whoever was writing popular media from like 1995-2015.
Now seem to be even buying up all the scraps (with cash) that are left over with their enormous savings from the market bull run and housing boom. While enjoying high interest rates of their savings.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/11/13/housing-m...
Boomers are between 59 and 78, so that there are a fair number that can’t walk a single block isn't surprising (Silents are even worse in that respect.)
> It's a huge reason American cities are so car centric, too
No, its not. Its true that when that trend began, most Boomers couldn't walk, too (for the opposite reason; many were too young, more weren't born at all), but that really wasn't the driving factor.
Racism was a pretty big factor, as well as corporate interests.