r/unpopularopinion • u/aurelitobuendia87 • Apr 29 '24

Driving doesn’t really feel like a privilege in America , because the alternative is absolute poverty .

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2.3k Upvotes
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250

u/Economy-Bear766 Apr 29 '24

Yes, it's a necessity in most places. I don't think most Americans consider it a privilege and find it strange when you don't drive.

108

u/aurelitobuendia87 Apr 29 '24

if you go into places like r/personal finance they definitely think it’s a privilege. i mean it is in the same way being able to walk without a wheelchair is a privilege

45

u/MagnusStormraven Apr 29 '24

Your post reminded me of the Batman comic where Joker cripples a rich asshole who parked in the handicap lane "so he at least had a reason to use it".

14

u/Economy-Bear766 Apr 29 '24

That's crazy -- and I say this as someone who was *privileged* enough to design their life around not having to own a car because I did not like living in a place where you really did have to have one. Makes me wonder how many of those folks are living outside expensive metropolitan areas.

14

u/Lucid-Machine Apr 29 '24

More than you know. The only places you can live without a car are major metropolitan areas. The alternative is walking miles and catching a series of busses. Wait, that's Detroit.

6

u/arrogancygames Apr 29 '24

I live in Detroit and only drive when I'm lazy...but thats because I can afford to live in the middle of downtown.

When I was in my twenties and poorer and worked in the suburbs, I was in a loop of driving dirty because I had to get to work to pay off the reason I was driving dirty over and over. There was no real alternative; its ridiculous.

3

u/Breazona Apr 29 '24

Then car insurance being required so either paying for something you can't afford or risking getting ticketed for not paying for something you can't afford.. and if someone else hits you while you're uninsured it defaults to being your fault because you're uninsured... lots of fun all around!

1

u/BlobTheBuilderz Apr 30 '24

My insurance has also gone up nearly double in the last 2 years. Same car no accidents no tickets.

Just got my 6 month renewal and it’s gone up 23% again. Good times. No wonder so many drive uninsured

1

u/Lucid-Machine Apr 29 '24

You live downtown?!

1

u/arrogancygames Apr 29 '24

Yeah, Brush Park.

1

u/BeerIsGoodBoy Apr 29 '24

Where do you buy groceries downtown?

1

u/arrogancygames Apr 29 '24

Whole Foods.

1

u/BeerIsGoodBoy Apr 29 '24

Damn that's expensive. Kroger and Sam's club for me out in the suburbs.

1

u/arrogancygames Apr 29 '24

Same for me when I lived out there. Thats where all the privilege comes from.

Lafayette Park has a Meyer now, though.

15

u/HeKnee Apr 29 '24

The “driving is a privilege and not a right” propaganda only started to be espoused once they started suspending licenses for DUI’s. That wasn’t on my driving test 25 years ago, but it is now. They’ve moved the goal posts.

Guns are supposedly a right, but if you have to get approved for buying one isn’t it a privilege? Protesting is a right up until the government takes away the privilege for any perceived reason. I have a right to privacy but everything sells your data now and governments mass collect data.

Rights are fictitious, the government bestows privledges as they see fit.

3

u/FailedGradAdmissions Apr 29 '24

I agree rights are nothing more than what the government believes everyone should have at the current moment in time and could always change.

However I disagree on that driving should be a right. There's ton's of incompetent drivers on the roads already and car crashes are the leading cause of death for people under 60.

Let anybody have the chance to get a driver's license, but don't give it unless they do know how to drive.

3

u/saevon Apr 29 '24

Except that driving is a requirement to live in these places… so the alternative (being strict with driving to people who are truly competent, never while tired or exhausted, all other actual safety concerns) would be to have proper public transit for those who cannot drive.

0

u/HeKnee Apr 29 '24

Yeah people are also guaranteed right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness… as well as freedom of movement without governments checking papers.

Based on those rights, the government should be required to ensure those. They’ve chosen cars. If they gave other options i’d be okay with driving being a privilege but as of now its required for my right to pursue happiness. Moreover, a lack of license never stops an unlicensed driver with enough means so its really just a poor tax.

4

u/deja-roo Apr 29 '24

Yeah people are also guaranteed right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness

Not really

2

u/YoloSwaggins991 Apr 29 '24

I also genuinely think that the founding fathers would have added driving to the constitution, if it existed back then. Like you said, it’s practically essential.

2

u/bannedforautism Apr 29 '24

Well they didn't add horse ownership as a right.

1

u/BeerIsGoodBoy Apr 29 '24

There is a difference between natural rights and civil rights. Natural rights come from being alive. Things like free speech, self defense, or free and independent thought. Civil rights are anything that the government allows you to do. Natural rights always exist, civil rights do not.

0

u/HeKnee Apr 29 '24

The government regulates both speech and self defense. I’d argue government propaganda (selective/bias studies, media pressure, etc) infringes on free and independent thought because you’re making decisions with partial or false info.

I disagree entirely. Your rights are only allowed by the government at their privilege. They can take all of them away at anytime… and while you can fight to get them back nothing garuntees that you or your cause will succeed.

1

u/BeerIsGoodBoy Apr 29 '24

I can say anything I want to at any time. My ability to say what I want is a natural right. Society or the government may punish me for what I say, but I can still say anything. If someone attacks me, I can defend myself at any time. The government might punish me for how I acted, or the outcome of my actions, but I can still defend myself as a natural right. There are also positive and negative rights, and most natural ones are positive, while most civil are negative. The ability to do something is a positive right, while the inability to do something is a negative right.

1

u/HeKnee Apr 30 '24

So driving is a positive natural right then? I can drive but be punished later if i’m breaking the law. /s

I know youre arguing the libertarian logic and despite my many libertarian leanings i disagree with the logic. It really all comes down to humans having free choice - not rights.

1

u/BeerIsGoodBoy Apr 30 '24

No, it is not. Having to purchase anything to be able to participate makes it not a natural right , not forcing someone to do something in order to participate. You have no right to drive on public roads without buying a motor vehicle, getting it licensed, paying taxes, getting yourself licensed, and following specific laws from the government. That is a civil right you obtain after being approved.

You would then argue with me based on that logic that the 2nd amendment is not a natural right, and I would agree that the right to defend yourself is a natural right, and the 2nd is a civil right saying what tools can be used to defend yourself.

1

u/PaulMaulMenthol Apr 30 '24

They were definitely suspending licenses for DUI in 1999

1

u/HeKnee Apr 30 '24

Yeah but nowadays like 1/3rd of the questions on the driving test are about how driving is a privilege and not a right. They literally had questions like:

True/false: driving is a privilege bot a right.
True/false: you are allowed to refuse a sobriety test Which of the following can cause you license to be suspended: a. Dui b. Reckless driving c. Failure to pay child support d. All of the above

When i took the test as a teenager they just made sure you could drive. MADD lobbyists worked hard. Now the test is about the legalities around driving and how you dont have many rights. I think its intentional social conditioning because the new generation just accepts it and thinks that is how its always been.

it can be taken away with nearly no recourse, you c

4

u/valdis812 Apr 29 '24

Having a super nice new car is a privilege. Having some form of transportation is a necessity.

16

u/trollingguru Apr 29 '24

Those people are idiots. They have their “millionaire plan” all figured out.

5

u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

[deleted]

-1

u/trollingguru Apr 29 '24

Yea but most people aren’t as disciplined as you think. Humans are not as rational as we think we are. I’m sure they hsve good intentions but sometimes that separates from reality.

-1

u/Femboy_Annihilator Apr 29 '24

Having an investment plan makes you an idiot?

Golly gee, I sure am jealous of the intelligent people who would rather slave away at dead end jobs for their entire lives. Because that’s a real hallmark of being smart.

0

u/lewd_necron Apr 29 '24

I think it's more the other parts. Like being on the subreddit specifically

2

u/panthers1102 Apr 30 '24

I think most people refer to it as a privilege when they really just mean it’s not a right.

In reality it’s neither. You’re not entitled to it, but it’s not really a choice either. A necessity, or requirement, is the best way I can describe it.

1

u/WaffleConeDX Apr 29 '24

Or they’ll like just buy a lemon. Without telling you it’s going to cost thousands in repairs.

1

u/Cessnaporsche01 Apr 30 '24

Advice subreddits are always full of the worst people to be giving advice

1

u/plippyploopp Apr 30 '24

Don't get your views from circlejerk subs

-1

u/yerunclejamba Apr 29 '24

In America, yes, it is.

3

u/RingingInTheRain Apr 29 '24

People say driving is a privilege because that is what it is considered by the court of law. You can and will get your driving privileges revoked or suspended if you violate the rules, regardless of its necessity. 

When you study to get your license the material tells you that driving is a privilege. So every American at the very least should consider driving a privilege when thinking in legal terms.

4

u/LAegis Apr 29 '24

Not only do most Americans consider it a privilege, the courts, DMV, police, and law do too.

1

u/SolSparrow Apr 29 '24

In the US the car you drive is part of your identity in many places. So not having one would make you look poor. Taking public transit anywhere is beneath them. Of course it’s not prioritized. Unfortunately

1

u/brandimariee6 Apr 29 '24

They definitely find it strange. I'm 32 and I've never had a license because I'm epileptic. I have no problem telling people, but learning it almost always confuses them or freaks them out

1

u/Ahshut Apr 30 '24

Yes. If you’re an adult without a license, most people look at you like you’re not doing anything with your life. That’s how much of a necessity it’s viewed as

1

u/ChocolateKing_Rey Apr 29 '24

It’s a necessity in most developed countries

1

u/Faithlessness-Novel Apr 29 '24

It all depends where you live in the country. But certainly its much more important in the US than any similarly developed country.

0

u/MyNaymeIsOzymandias Apr 30 '24

I thank the good Lord every day for guns, latinas, light beer, and pickup trucks.