> If he really wants to help people, getting them on e-bikes, if it's practical to do so, would be a huge money savings for them.
He is really helping people. People are coming to him for a solution to a problem and they're solving it.
Frankly, when you look at what hacker news types have done by coming up with scalable solutions in search of problems, it's a disaster. E-bikes where I live, in Chattanooga, would be a disaster, and having been to Montgomery, the problems are likely worse there. Sure, there are lots of <5-mile drives in Chattanooga--across bridges where the speed limit is 55 and it's not enforced, so the average traffic speed is closer to 75. Consider dragging around groceries on an E-bike, and consider it for more than 2 people: poor people have more children on average than rich people. And then consider that the average doesn't tell the whole story: if you need to make a trip once a week that's 25 miles, suddenly you've got to find a ride once a week. Dirt roads don't work well with Ebikes. Repairs are less available. Hospital bills when you get in a bike accident are more expensive than cars. The list of reasons why you should actually listen to people from Alabama before suggesting solutions for Alabama goes on and on and on.
The fact is, infrastructural change needs to happen before anything like an Ebike revolution could happen. And the only way infrastructural change like that will happen is if there is political change. And the only way political change like that will happen is if you start persuading people to form a real community that is united in trying to make positive changes. A mutual aid mechanic is a step in that direction--maybe it will lead to Ebikes, but we're pretty far away from that.
Henson seems to have reached a lot of the same conclusions I've reached. When people try to make big changes by "disrupting" things, they're trying to skip a bunch of necessary steps and as a result, it doesn't work out as they planned and they just end up lining their own pockets while harming everyone else. Positive intentions are worthless.
And look, maybe bikes and ebikes are working out really well in your community--that was certainly the case in Philadelphia when I lived there a decade ago. But it isn't the case in many southern cities. And believe it or not, a big part of the reason southern states don't like liberal coastals isn't completely irrational: it's because people from coastal cities are trying to ram solutions down their throats to problems they don't understand.
You also said, "If he really wants to help people..." about someone who clearly knows more about the people he's helping than you do.
First, you dismissed a practical idea which is being executed successfully. Second, you spent two paragraphs waxing poetic about an impractical idea. Inserting a "if it's practical to do so" between those doesn't really fix it.
If you still don't get what I'm reacting to, perhaps consider where you said, "...but in the real world" or "Efforts like this are commendable, but what we really need to work on is...". It's clear you think you know better than he does how best to help his community, which you've probably never even visited.
I just want to say I appreciate this comment and others you've made in the thread. For all the awesome people, discussions and articles on here, I sometimes feel like it lacks a heart. There just always seems to be something negative in the comments no matter what is posted.
You are doing a fine job in this thread. It is hard to think outside our own experiences. This passerby appreciates your efforts to get others to do just that.
He is really helping people. People are coming to him for a solution to a problem and they're solving it.
Frankly, when you look at what hacker news types have done by coming up with scalable solutions in search of problems, it's a disaster. E-bikes where I live, in Chattanooga, would be a disaster, and having been to Montgomery, the problems are likely worse there. Sure, there are lots of <5-mile drives in Chattanooga--across bridges where the speed limit is 55 and it's not enforced, so the average traffic speed is closer to 75. Consider dragging around groceries on an E-bike, and consider it for more than 2 people: poor people have more children on average than rich people. And then consider that the average doesn't tell the whole story: if you need to make a trip once a week that's 25 miles, suddenly you've got to find a ride once a week. Dirt roads don't work well with Ebikes. Repairs are less available. Hospital bills when you get in a bike accident are more expensive than cars. The list of reasons why you should actually listen to people from Alabama before suggesting solutions for Alabama goes on and on and on.
The fact is, infrastructural change needs to happen before anything like an Ebike revolution could happen. And the only way infrastructural change like that will happen is if there is political change. And the only way political change like that will happen is if you start persuading people to form a real community that is united in trying to make positive changes. A mutual aid mechanic is a step in that direction--maybe it will lead to Ebikes, but we're pretty far away from that.
Henson seems to have reached a lot of the same conclusions I've reached. When people try to make big changes by "disrupting" things, they're trying to skip a bunch of necessary steps and as a result, it doesn't work out as they planned and they just end up lining their own pockets while harming everyone else. Positive intentions are worthless.
And look, maybe bikes and ebikes are working out really well in your community--that was certainly the case in Philadelphia when I lived there a decade ago. But it isn't the case in many southern cities. And believe it or not, a big part of the reason southern states don't like liberal coastals isn't completely irrational: it's because people from coastal cities are trying to ram solutions down their throats to problems they don't understand.