On Other Blogs
Sightline: The "War On Cars"
Sightline's Eric de Place takes a fairly comprehensive look at the history of the phrase "the war on cars"---a phrase mobilized, most recently, against supporters of new bike lanes and sidewalks in Seattle.
Calling the phrase "laughably overheated," de Place writes, "You could be forgiven for thinking that [the phrase is] a local example of a manufactured right-wing talking point." Which, he argues, it is.
Surprisingly, the phrase was used for many years almost exclusively with regard to Seattle and Toronto, where a series of editorials in local papers raised the volume about what one called "the nutty war on cars." But the "war on cars" meme didn't really take off, de Place writes, until well-known smart growth opponent Wendell Cox wrote a piece on behalf of the conservative Heritage Foundation criticizing US Transportation Secretary Roy LaHood in an article called "Washington's War On Cars and the Suburbs." Subsequently, the idea that advocating for bike lanes constituted a "war on cars" was picked up by bloggers, radio personalities, and editorial writers across the city.
Read the whole thing here.
Calling the phrase "laughably overheated," de Place writes, "You could be forgiven for thinking that [the phrase is] a local example of a manufactured right-wing talking point." Which, he argues, it is.
Surprisingly, the phrase was used for many years almost exclusively with regard to Seattle and Toronto, where a series of editorials in local papers raised the volume about what one called "the nutty war on cars." But the "war on cars" meme didn't really take off, de Place writes, until well-known smart growth opponent Wendell Cox wrote a piece on behalf of the conservative Heritage Foundation criticizing US Transportation Secretary Roy LaHood in an article called "Washington's War On Cars and the Suburbs." Subsequently, the idea that advocating for bike lanes constituted a "war on cars" was picked up by bloggers, radio personalities, and editorial writers across the city.
By mid-October, Fox News had jumped into the fray. Seattle-based reporter Dan Springer led the charge with the language, generating both local and national versions of the same story, "Seattle's War On Cars," on October 13. A couple of days after the Fox segments aired, Ross Reynolds, a host on Seattle's NPR affiliate, KUOW, held an on-air debate about whether "Mayor Mike McGinn's proposed increase of parking fees amounts to a war on cars." Not to be outdone, KING 5 (the local NBC TV affiliate) ran an October 19 segment called "Is There A War On Cars In Seattle?" On October 20, progressive journalist Erica C. Barnett, who was featured in both the KOMO and KUOW radio segments, pushed back against the "war on cars" meme. By October 28, the 'war on cars" was considered commonplace enough that it was used without attribution in the Seattle Times ("...a backlash from drivers and freight advocates who perceive a "war on cars" being waged...").
So that’s the origin of Seattle’s “war on cars” tempest in a teapot: it was a low-level “meme” that circulated for a decade or so; bubbled up in Toronto; was then picked up by a few right-leaning national pundits in the US; and was then parroted by the Seattle-area noise machine.
Read the whole thing here.
