Hacker News Reader

Comment by kulahan | Hacker News Reader

The US is uniquely dependent on cars for survival, it’s probably not appropriate to presume that cars are less necessary. Anyways, if you live in the middle of nowhere you can grow your own food. If you live deep in the city, the chances of getting sick from McD’s or whatever is pretty low.

We do hold food safety to a high standard. We have some of the highest standards on the planet.

View on HN

I'm sorry, it is not appropriate to presume that cars are less necessary than food? Hmm, what about water, is that one more important or are cars still top of mind for you?

I think the point being made wasn't literally that cars are more important than food, but more that for most Americans, you can't really get by without store-bought food and a car. This is just fact.

A few lucky people live in the densest urban areas where car non-ownership is totally fine, nice even. For the rest, it's horrible and no one would choose it. A trip to the grocery store in the suburbs could take 30-45 minutes each way in 90º heat (and in half the country, with humidity too) is terrible - and think how many times you'll have to go to the store if you're buying only what you can carry 3 miles. Also many school districts provide no buses, so now you're walking kids to and from school in all weather. Bikes are a thing, but the roads aren't always safe and it still sucks in weather.

For most Americans, you can't really get by without store-bought food and a car. This is just fact.

For all animals on earth, you can't really get by without food. This is jus a fact.

Wait until you hear about how much harder it is to grow a car than to grow a tomato.

True, but even the most car-centric socities could adapt to a shortage of cars by means less drastic than a culling of the population through widespread famine and death.

My electric scooter works just fine for getting around a city. You can carry a bag or two of groceries home with just a simple backpack. Visit the store frequently enough and you don't actually need a car. In my area you don't even need a license to ride the scooter on public roads.

I have a car (and a license) anyway for comfort reasons, but I keep the scooter in the back for situations like distant parking. Works pretty well for me.

This is basically the point I was making, yes.

I'm shocked to hear many school districts provide no busses though... I guess I always assumed that was some legal requirement? Like you have to send your kid to school, so we have to provide transportation if you're outside of a certain range.

Nope! I was shocked too, I grew up in a poor area that is borderline rural. Wealthy areas simply assume everyone have a car. The district only owns a small fleet of short buses, which are only offered if they assign your kids to a special-ed program at a school other than their assigned school.

Example: The assigned school for my neighborhood is 1.5 miles away by the shortest possible route, and requires crossing a 7-lane arterial.

Buddy, just take like 3 seconds to compare how hard they are to acquire. When did everyone on this site get so stupid?

We weren't talking about how hard things are to acquire, we were talking about how necessary things are. Your comment is a digression, and as such it serves as a hollow, ineffective insult.

We have made ourselves dependent on cars because we have cars. There is no natural reason we must be so dependent on cars. It is a choice.

Our dependency on food is not a choice.

Cool, that has zero effect on how easy it is to overcome the problems.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com