(Screen shot from The Oregonian)
Yesterday, someone posted a message to the Shift email list nominating a “thread of the year”. It was a post from back in June and I thought it was funny enough to share.
The email was titled “Was the house wearing a helmet?” and it was posted by Joe R. on June 22nd. Spurred by a story in The Oregonian about a car that plowed into a house in Beaverton (and a similar story from April), he wondered to the list’s 770 members — “Has anyone noticed the high frequency of cars that hit buildings in Oregon?”
Joe wrote:
“It’s no wonder why the #1 barrier to more people riding bikes is fear of cars. And why don’t the cops and Oregonian prematurely blame the house in the same fashion they blame run down cyclists before all the facts are in?”
Not surprisingly, Joe’s tongue-in-cheek post inspired responses with some familiar themes…
Jim D.:
“Actually the majority of all car/house accidents are the fault of the house for failing to abide by vehicular housing practices. The only possible acceptable way to address this is with education. The League of American Homeowners* offers a League-Certified Instruction curriculum designed to teach houses the proper way to behave.”
Shawn M.:
“I understand we all have choices, and there isn’t a law here in Oregon mandating it, but I always wear my helmet when I’m in my house.”
Chris H.:
“It’s not only sound thinking that people driving cars generalize to the behavior of all houses from the irresponsible acts of a single home, it’s inevitable. That’s why I have wrapped my entire home in styrofoam, to protect it from its own errors in impeding drivers. I suggest you do the same or you will have to take responsibility for making all homes look bad in the eyes of drivers.”
Bryan B.:
“Personally, I will never wear my helmet indoors. It sends the message that being inside a house is a dangerous habit only to be engaged in at your own peril which I feel discourages home occupancy.”
I agree with Robert. This thread was a gem. For more stimulating email exchanges, check out the Shift list and consider signing up if you haven’t already.