Quote:
Originally Posted by WeST
I have heard a lot of fuzzy logic in my day and this one ranks among the worst offenders. Please provide us with some studies (preferably peer reviewed) that show evidence that trains combat antisocial disorders. I love riding TRAX, but what I don't see very often are the passengers chatting it up with all their neighbors. Further, is antisocial behavior created by isolation? I would imagine large crowds could easily exacerbate someones tendency to stay away from groups of people.
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West, just because you’ve failed to connect the dots, does not mean my logic is fuzzy. If anything is true, your petty attempt to insult what you don’t understand speaks a great deal more of your short sightedness than it does about my “fuzzy logic”.
Since you asked me for some articles defending my opinion, I have compiled the following for you:
1.
Watching the Traffic Go By: Transportation and Isolation in Urban America. By Paul Mason Fotsch. Austin: University of Texas Press. Pp. xi+240. $55/$22.95.
http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.westmins...1thompson.html
2. Antisocial –unwilling
or unable to associate in a normal or friendly way with other people:
if you are isolated in your car, you are only able to communicate completely with those in your car. If you are on a train you can communicate with more people hence social vs. anti-social.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anti+social
… If you truly want to understand how a car can help isolate you from humanity and lead to all sorts of social problems, then pick up almost any introductory book on Sociology.
You asked me
“Further, is antisocial behavior created by isolation?” Seeking isolation is a symptom of anti social behavior, so yes, I argue that having isolation being facilitated by our prime mode of transportation (a car), means that we are enabling the disorder, and can strengthen the disorder in those who suffer from it. Think about people who commute multiple hours to and from work.
You also said “I would imagine large crowds could easily exacerbate someones tendency to stay away from groups of people.” I quite agree that large crowds can be hectic and may make most people want to avoid them, but wouldn’t these crowds be more tolerable if the people in the crowds were more accustomed to being in crowds and could act accordingly so the crowds had more order to them?
Please realize that I am not saying we need to get rid of cars! Nor am I saying that people need to be immersed in a crowd every minute of their day. Personal space, and time are extremely important, but so is human interaction. I am only saying that our mass transit options are severely deficient, and need to be updated for a variety of reasons, and
not just because of the claims you attacked.
(Some of the reasons I support mass transit are: environmental, socio economic, sustainability, dependability, options in case of a disaster, independance for those with disabilities, etc.)