Grind Part 2
A while back I posted a poem titled Grind. A friend of mine posted some pretty scathing comments on it and she had some valid points. So I’ve decided to reply to them in a new post.
First off let me state the following disclaimer: Lori is a friend of mine and my reply is no way an attack. I am just posting my responses to her comments.
“What is up with you anyway?”
I’m not sure, I’m still trying to figure that out.
“When you get married and have three or four kids, you try cramming them all into your small little environmentally friendly car.”
Not all cars are small, most sedans will comfortable seat five (granted if there are three small people in the back).
“Oh and forget cramming the dog into the car with all the kids on family outings. What about uncomfortable road trips with all the kids and the dog?”
Well with three or four kids and a dog I will coincide that you will need a larger vehicle. That’s where the minivan comes in. They have more room than all but the largest SUVs and better gas mileage and lower insurance costs.
“I think you got my point. There is a need for such large vehicles. We the families need the room. As a single person, you could not understand.”
See minivan response above. I understand, I grew up with two brothers and a sister.
“Sure when I was a kid we didn’t have a SUV we had a simulated wood grain station wagon (the SUV of the 70’s) and even some hippy types had custom vans to tote their families around.”
We had a simulated wood grain station wagon as well, I used to get car sick in the back.
“Now, today, in the year 2004 we have SUVs that make toting our families around easy and stylish at the same time. It sounds like we have made some progress on that front.”
I would say that stylish is a matter of opinion. I personally do not like the look of SUVs, I am probably in the minority here but there are some of us who think they are ugly. To be fair I haven’t seen any minivans I like either.
“It might be possible for the car manufacturers to make SUVs that are large and better on gas. Will they? I doubt it.”
It is possible, and you’re right they won’t until the market demands it. As long as people keep buying them without insisting that they be more environmentally conscience they will not improve emissions standards. I know Ford is now making SUV hybrids which is a step in the right direction.
“However, until they do, people are going to continue to buy large SUVs to make their lives more comfortable. After all, we might not be here tomorrow. Wasn’t fun cramming into my little two door sports car?”
Yes we might not be here tomorrow but is that an excuse to trample over future generations? Here is a quote that sums up an attitude I dislike from June’s National Geographic. It is from a mother of two that owns a Hummer H1 in the suburbs of Atlanta.
“I know it’s not fuel efficient, but I love knowing that anything I bump into, I win.”
This kind of thinking bothers me. I’ve had cars that probably polluted as much as SUVs in the past and I know people now that have them. If you don’t have a choice that’s one thing, the problem lies when you have money and purposefully buy a vehicle that harms the environment and endangers others on the road just because you can. It is this kind of mindset in my opinion, that is the root of many of the current problems we are facing today.
Back to the poem, I originally wrote this because I was angry since I am currently “one of the sheep”. I could have just as easily said “new car” instead of SUV but I liked the additional implications SUV implies. My point is the poem wasn’t specifically about SUVs more about the current corporate lifestyle a lot of us (including myself) are living. However I do appreciate the buzz the SUV line has generated. It just goes to show that everyone has their unique interpretation of things.
-Alex
