I know how blunt and cynical this sounds, but as someone that (for whatever reason) consumes a lot of British news and culture I often get the feeling that the media is writing content for an infantilized public.
Does anyone else agree and/or have a better way of phrasing this perspective?
I don't think people are dumb though. Most working class people see through the BS because they live it everyday. I'm not talking about just us, I'm talking retail, waiters, miners, etc. They've seen way more shit with their bosses and life experiences to know what's what.
I don't think it's infantilizing. I think since these major news sites are owned and backed by the rich, they have certain messages they want to push. And one idea they don't want people to know about is worker organization. The rich all have a vested interest to not mention it at all and instead want us to use their rigged process to resolve issues.
Here's an interesting video that shows every news station saying the exact same thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksb3KD6DfSI
I really hope this is proof of the younger generations -- Millenials, Zoomers, and younger folks even -- waking up to the idea that the USA in particular has become a toxic environment thanks to cars. WFH was a big wakeup call, I think -- once you step away from the commute for a year or two, trying to sit in traffic again seems insane. I guess it's a successful "unboiling of the frog," where we realized that car infratructure has been turned up for the last century to unbearable levels.
I hate cars. I don't want to use them on a daily basis. I'm cheap, and I don't want to own one, or maintain one. I try to do everything I can by biking or walking, or transit if those aren't feasible. It is nearly impossible in 95% of the USA.
Selfishly, I really want the USA to bring city centers back to livable levels by banning most cars and redesigning them for humans. Otherwise I'm absolutely going to end up moving to Europe eventually -- likely the Netherlands -- because driving a car is just so unpleasant for me. I'd rather not learn a whole new language and leave my family and friends so far behind, but especially since covid I've come to realize that driving makes me miserable, and I need other ways to get from my home into the world.
And then they go ahead and just paint a white bike lane right next to the car lane. Yea, even when politicians listen to their constituents, they just half ass the effort.
I'm not risking my life to ride in that bike lane, so I still use a car.