Monday, July 03, 2017

Sometimes the Personal isn't Political.

So, when I mentioned getting the cordless electric lawnmower, commentary on the Bookface (as well as my email inbox) trended heavily toward the "Y'all don't seem like godless vegan commie hippies. Why the electric mower instead of a 'Murrican-engined one?" sort.

Because the only reason one could possible want an electric power tool is because politics, apparently, and not because one doesn't want to mess with the vagaries of small combustion engines, rope starts, dealing with the total abortions that are currently sold as gas cans, or other pragmatic reasons.

I mean, from a pragmatic point of view, now that battery and motor tech has gotten to the point that cordless electric lawnmowers are possible, for a yard a small as ours? It's worth it to me for the convenience cost.

But when everything is viewed through the lens of politics, you get stuff like this:
"The way I look at it, wanting to buy an electric vehicle (airborne or road) is virtue signalling.  Wanting to sell an electric vehicle is more like the old quote, "there's a another one born every minute."  You want to spend money to feel good?  We'll be more than happy to take your money!"
So, the only reason somebody would want to buy an electric car is for virtue signalling? (This is kind of funny, since the comment by SiG is, in fact, virtue signalling to his own tribe...)

First, the electric car has come of age, at least as an urban/suburban commuter. It means that never again does the city or suburban driver have to go to a gas station or convenience store, which are, let's face it, the watering holes on the Serengeti of crime.

Second, the Tesla seems to be marketed pretty well as...well, an urban commuter rocketship.

"But, Tam! You can't take roadtrips in it!" In my experience, people in the Tesla-buying bracket usually fly, anyway. And when they do take roadtrips, they do so in rented vehicles so as not to run up the miles on their POV.

Hell, some people who live in cities don't even have cars, which I find weird, but it's a (mostly) free country.

The Tesla's not the kind of car for me, but that's because I'm poor and need my own vehicle to be able to run to Texas as well as it runs to the corner store.

What I want to know is how many of the people who hold this anti-electric point of view are willing to go all the way, and replace the hippie vegan battery packs on their electric toothbrushes and razors with these? How come nobody uses gasoline-powered drills? Ya bunch of granola-smoking commies!
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