Bike riding and white privilege

[lph]

In a random way the Superior Bikes debacle caused me to stumble* over this blog, about bike riding as a metaphor for white privilege. I liked it. And he writes well. I wish he hadn't felt the need to write another one to answer everybody who pointed out his analogy wasn't *perfect*, but there ya go. I think his analogy is pretty useful, and transferable to other groups with or without privilege.

http://alittlemoresauce.com/2014/08/20/what-my-bike-has-taught-me-about-white-privilege/comment-page-7/


* I was googling who actually said "Superior Bikes for inferior people", because I sooo wish I had said it.)

[Crankin]

I think it's a perfectly fine analogy, but maybe only for people who are cyclists?

[OakLeaf]

"If I have to get you to see me as you in order for you to affirm my right to exist and my humanity—this is not solidarity. " - http://www.ebony.com/entertainment-culture/the-miseducation-of-solidarity-504#axzz3aUxYKpot

It's a perfectly fine illustration of PRIVILEGE, generally. "White privilege," not so much. Of course intersectionality is a buzzword these days, but this is a perfect illustration. Yes, drivers of enclosed motorized vehicles are privileged over all other road users. Yes, the lives of other road users don't matter in a meaningful way when it comes to majority attitudes and law enforcement. To equate one type of privilege with another - especially when one type of privilege is associated with genetics and the other with behavior - completely misses the point.

I think we all know people who are subject to discrimination in one arena, who completely fail to recognize their own privileges in other arenas. So in that sense, I think analogies like this are completely unhelpful, as in the quote above. Somewhere there's a video going around where a Black woman talks about intersectional privilege - acknowledging the privilege she has in being hetero- and cis-sexual as well as the privilege she lacks in being female and non-white. I'm having trouble finding my way back to it though.

[shootingstar]

That blog post was "Freshly Pressed", featured blog post that wordpress.com folks highlighted. I believe I did comment on it --out of the 1,000+ others too.

Transportation mode choice is a choice, whereas genetics/race is not a choice..it is with you forever. Genetics/race is neutral itself. Not it's not a perfect analogy/comparison.

That said, one day I should blog about how advocacy for cycling and pedestrians, falls into the same realm...at times, as marginality for car-centric societies. Cyclists and pedestrians are viewed on the margins in overall transportation planning: in terms of annual spending budgets for municipal transportation, safety /vulnerability, etc.

Now over the next few days, I must plot my bike route out to some suburban industrial fringe to get a key from a company. I decided to figure out route by bike, after I realized the area didn't have sidewalks at all if I were to walk it from commuter train station.