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[Mongrel]

I'm assuming by "the Stampede" they meant the Stampede.

Yes.

We're talking about the biggest celebration of any sort in the Province, bar none.

[Shinra]

Oh, that makes much more sense. Now that I know what that means it's way less threatening. The point is, he probably didn't. He's not from Canada!

[Mongrel]

Given that he was visiting during the Stampede, it's a fair question - whether they thought he was a resident OR a tourist.

[Shinra]

I think you're misunderstanding me, I'm not saying he was in the right and the people approaching him were in the wrong, I'm just saying I can understand why he felt threatened.

Ask anybody in South Dakota what happens in Sturgis and they'll know, ask about 20-30% or more of the US what happens in Sturgis and they'll know. But I'd be willing to bet if you picked out a random Canadian and sent them on vacation to Sturgis and somebody walked up to them in the park and said "Hey man... You been to the Rally yet?" and when you ignored them, got closer and repeated the question, they would probably be pretty:

[Brentai]

Well, right, and there's kind of a cultural difference at work where Canadians don't think anything of just striking up a conversation with a random passerby and Americans find it somewhat rude if not outright aggressive.

That said, my understanding is that wandering around Calgary without knowing about the Stampede is like wandering around Barcelona without knowing about the Running of the Bulls.  It implies a huge degree of cultural tone-deafness and lack of preparation and doesn't make us look any less like goddam hicks.

[Ocksi]

http://www.gq.com/news-politics/blogs/death-race/2012/08/the-problem-with-gun-control-guns-are-fun-and-no-one-likes-being-controlled.html

I thought this article presented an interesting enough angle on the subject to resurrect a three-year-dead thread.

It's also by my favorite blogger (full-timer at Deadspin, KSK, etc). Buy his book: The Postmortal.

Also, the bulls run in Pamplona.

[TA]

Well, right, and there's kind of a cultural difference at work where Canadians don't think anything of just striking up a conversation with a random passerby and Americans find it somewhat rude if not outright aggressive.

That said, my understanding is that wandering around Calgary without knowing about the Stampede is like wandering around Barcelona without knowing about the Running of the Bulls.  It implies a huge degree of cultural tone-deafness and lack of preparation and doesn't make us look any less like goddam hicks.

Even then, correct response is "Sorry, I don't know what that is."  If you just happen to be in Rio de Janeiro in mid February and have no idea what Carnival is, that's fine - I had to look it up - but you don't wave a gun.

[Mongrel]

That said, my understanding is that wandering around Calgary without knowing about the Stampede is like wandering around Barcelona without knowing about the Running of the Bulls.  It implies a huge degree of cultural tone-deafness and lack of preparation and doesn't make us look any less like goddam hicks.

Sort of this. There's basically no other big international-level event in Alberta that would attract anybody, so unless you're there just to high-five other rednecks or buy oil, it's somewhat fair to assume a tourist is in town to visit the Stampede (or to urge them to go if they're in town for other reasons but the Stampede is on).

EDIT: Being in Rio during Carnavale is also an acceptable analogue. Sure, maybe you don't know what it is. But it's normal for locals to ask.

[Thad]

This is also the problem with transportation.  There's a strong argument for just doing away with private vehicles, but people want to climb into the fucking things and jet them off at 110 mph and kill each other.

I've never much cared for the guns/cars analogy because there's a pretty fundamental difference between a device whose primary purpose is to cause physical harm and a device whose primary purpose is transportation.

Driving CAN be fun, but I'd say the vast majority of the time I do it is not.  I don't think anybody else on my commute is enjoying themselves either.

While I'm sure there ARE people who oppose public transportation because they love their fast cars, I'd say the majority who oppose it do so because it's inconvenient.

I'd quit driving in a damn heartbeat if the light rail went north-south, but it doesn't.  I could take several buses but it would at least double my commute time; I've priced out shuttles and they cost more than gas.

But somebody gives me public transportation that goes where I need it to and costs less than what I'm paying now, I'm all over that shit.  Hell, raise my taxes if that's what it takes.

And reducing car travel doesn't even need to mean giving up car ownership.  I'd be happy to take a train to work and use my car to carry groceries and occasionally for a trip.

[Royal☭]

I feel like the subject of transportation is one that deserves its own thread, but I also don't think the guns/car comparison is apt because most transportation advocates don't mind everyone owning a car, they just want it to be slowed down and to make other forms of transportation viable again. Part of the reason you HAVE to commute by car is because you live more than 10 miles from where you work, which is kind of crazy in and of itself, and totally the result of a car-first city design.

You can alter the system to make cars less necessary and alternatives better. With guns, you can either have access to them or not. There's not much way to make a gun safer.

[Thad]

Part of the reason you HAVE to commute by car is because you live more than 10 miles from where you work, which is kind of crazy in and of itself, and totally the result of a car-first city design.

Part of the reason, sure.

The other part is that today's high is 113 and walking or riding are pretty much right out the damn window when it's like this.  And even waiting at a bus stop is rough.

[TA]

You can alter the system to make cars less necessary and alternatives better.

If you tear down the cities and start from scratch, sure.

[Brentai]

Don't tempt him.

[Royal☭]

You can alter the system to make cars less necessary and alternatives better.

If you tear down the cities and start from scratch, sure.

It's already been happening the other way around (take a look at your downtown. Everywhere a parking lot is probably used to be a building), so I see no reason that current roads couldn't be narrowed, sidewalks widened and covered with trees and the actual physical size of city blocks reduced.

[Shinra]

Part of the reason you HAVE to commute by car is because you live more than 10 miles from where you work, which is kind of crazy in and of itself, and totally the result of a car-first city design.

Part of the reason, sure.

The other part is that today's high is 113 and walking or riding are pretty much right out the damn window when it's like this.  And even waiting at a bus stop is rough.

The AC is busted in my car. We're driving down the road and my wife starts complaining about how hot it is, and I hit the thermostat button on my car to see how hot it is and I'm like "It's not that bad, it's only 101"

And then I realized what I just said, and I felt like driving into oncoming traffic.

[Niku]

Buy his book: The Postmortal.

ignoring everything else in this thread to second this

[Mongrel]

(take a look at your downtown. Everywhere a parking lot is probably used to be a building)

Exactly the opposite here. If there's a parking lot, it's being consumed to build condos.

[Silversong]

Hey wait, to be fair all the crime happens north of downtown Kalamazoo. South of there is campus and at worse campus kids just puke on your car.

[sei]

every time