The Tension of Our Times
Posted on October 29th, 2005 in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »
Two tragic accidents in New York City this week highlighted what strikes me as a recurring tension in American culture.
In the first, a real estate executive was killed while rowing on the Harlem River. His scull was hit by a powerboat in the early morning light. The victim, 41-year-old Jim Rumsdorf, was probably hit head on by the powerboat. The other three rowers managed to swim to safety.
In the second accident, Newsweek editor Tom Masland was mowed down by a woman driving a 300-horsepower Volkswagen SUV as he crossed West End Avenue at 95th Street (quite close to where I live). The 55-year-old, married father of three died soon after.
One person rowing, one person walking, were killed by one person zipping along in a speedboat, by one person zipping along in a luxury SUV. Sane, solitary pleasures versus selfish ones. Two pursuits that suggest some harmony with the environment versus two that, in these days of dwindling oil, are increasingly hard to justify.
New York is a tough place for people who want to live a simpler life. (I wouldn’t ride a bike on the streets here if you gave it to me.) But why is it that you never hear of a walker or a rower or a cyclist killing a speedboater or motorcyclist or SUV driver? And how come no one ever seems to care?
7 Responses
10/31/2005 12:28 pm
what a load of overreaching twaddle.
the “speedboat” was (i believe) capable of 15mph, being driven at a speed no one claims was illegal, in early morning fog and it ran into the rowers’ boat (which sits extremely low in the water) while the rowers were making in essence a three point turn across the width of the waterway. does owning an engine-driven boat and having a tragic, but perhaps understandable, accident constitute evidence of anything other than life’s fragility?
as for the SUV, i happen to hate them, but who says the nature of the vehicle had anything to do with the accident?
in short, isn’t the “reporting” here on the level with, um, the NY Times’ discovery of the “Goth trend”?
10/31/2005 12:57 pm
I never said the boat was illegal or was being driven irresponsibly; what I said was that, in the tension between people who prefer simpler pleasures and people who prefer gas-guzzling ones, it’s always the former who get the raw end of the deal.
As for the SUV…I used to live on West End, and I couldn’t count the number of times I saw yuppies in $50,000 SUVs—which they ostensibly bought for safety’s sake—running red lights. Whether or not that happened, there’s no question that SUVs inflict more damage on cars and people than do regular-sized autos.
So no, I don’t think this goes to the fragility of human life at all. I think it goes to the tension between recreational machines that are hard to justify and simpler pleasures.
10/31/2005 1:22 pm
“recreational machines that are hard to justify” vs. “simpler pleasures”? do i hear an agenda?
you’ve successfuly avoided the point, which is that whatever the accidents may say about citygoers and their selfishness and/or bad driving habits (was the boat owner even a yuppie?), the nature of the boat/car being driven has nothing to do with the end result. its a city for god’s sake; pedestrians are obviously at risk from cars. the “tension” you’re talking about is inherent in the situation, not a product of anyone’s lifestyle choices. (i bet that newsweek editor used solar power to run his coffee grinder!)
10/31/2005 1:32 pm
Sure, an agenda, by all means. This is a blog, after all.
There are plenty of cities which emphasize walking and biking far more than New York does. Part of the point here is that New York has been very slow to embrace more progressive modes of transportation. Biking, except in parks, is discouraged. Private cars are encouraged. (Why, for example, is it free to park your car on the street? It’s public property.)
Why cars are even allowed in certain parts of Manhattan is something of a mystery to me….
10/31/2005 1:35 pm
perhaps because cars are an effective means of population control?
10/31/2005 1:38 pm
My point exactly!
10/31/2005 2:35 pm
all i can say is, i’d rather be diving than driving!