"The haters are flummoxed", did this line really need to be included? Does it really add to the conversation? Does flummoxing the haters warm your heart?
This substack is full of great content, good ideas, positive visions, it is a shame that the author cannot stand confidently on those foundations, but instead feels the need to put down someone else.
There were tons of people who were very loudly opposing congestion pricing during the months leading up to its implementation. They were willing to let the city keep suffering under gridlock, but they deserve to have their own opinions just like all of us.
So is it really so wrong to make an innocent comment about those people being thrown off? Especially since now there is evidence that congestion pricing is working better than expected. Those people specifically caused harm by stonewalling this effort pre-2025
If the article had said, "the haters were wrong," then I'd be fine with it. The statement "The haters are flummoxed" attributes a reaction to people without providing evidence of that reaction.
They do deserve to have their own opinions, and I don't doubt they were wrong, and have been shown to be wrong, that doesn't make them bad, or worse, evil.
This generally is a very unpleasant facet of modern politics, to brand your opponents as not just wrong, misguided, uniformed, but also as evil. It transforms dialogue into tribalism. It falls to those of us mature enough to understand this, to stand firm.
Was your comment really innocent? Maybe a teensey-weeney bit of vengeful triumphalism?
Given 'The Sky is Falling!' narrative of the Congestion Charge opponents, using 'flummoxed' is exceedingly polite. I don't see in any way how this word is offensive, gloating, or vengeful.
I hear what you’re saying, and I’m sure there probably was some amount of “I told you so” in the original authors tone.
But I don’t see how it was meant to be hurtful in any way. I think he’s making a valid point that the “haters” (people who originally opposed congestion pricing) are “flummoxed” (realizing that they were previously wrong in a way that’s disorienting)
If all the facts in the rest of the article are all true, why are you getting hung up on this brief quip? The rest of the articles tone is respectful enough imo
https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/en/content/motorcycle-training/learn-to-ride.html
"The haters are flummoxed", did this line really need to be included? Does it really add to the conversation? Does flummoxing the haters warm your heart?
This substack is full of great content, good ideas, positive visions, it is a shame that the author cannot stand confidently on those foundations, but instead feels the need to put down someone else.
There were tons of people who were very loudly opposing congestion pricing during the months leading up to its implementation. They were willing to let the city keep suffering under gridlock, but they deserve to have their own opinions just like all of us.
So is it really so wrong to make an innocent comment about those people being thrown off? Especially since now there is evidence that congestion pricing is working better than expected. Those people specifically caused harm by stonewalling this effort pre-2025
If the article had said, "the haters were wrong," then I'd be fine with it. The statement "The haters are flummoxed" attributes a reaction to people without providing evidence of that reaction.
They do deserve to have their own opinions, and I don't doubt they were wrong, and have been shown to be wrong, that doesn't make them bad, or worse, evil.
This generally is a very unpleasant facet of modern politics, to brand your opponents as not just wrong, misguided, uniformed, but also as evil. It transforms dialogue into tribalism. It falls to those of us mature enough to understand this, to stand firm.
Was your comment really innocent? Maybe a teensey-weeney bit of vengeful triumphalism?
Given 'The Sky is Falling!' narrative of the Congestion Charge opponents, using 'flummoxed' is exceedingly polite. I don't see in any way how this word is offensive, gloating, or vengeful.
I hear what you’re saying, and I’m sure there probably was some amount of “I told you so” in the original authors tone.
But I don’t see how it was meant to be hurtful in any way. I think he’s making a valid point that the “haters” (people who originally opposed congestion pricing) are “flummoxed” (realizing that they were previously wrong in a way that’s disorienting)
If all the facts in the rest of the article are all true, why are you getting hung up on this brief quip? The rest of the articles tone is respectful enough imo