Date:         Wed, 13 Sep 1995 22:52:10 GMT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         jdeleeuw@oz.net (SenseMedia)
Subject:      Re: Waving Vanagon drivers (again)

>Well, here's the scene in BC as experienced by a loaf driver:
>
>- Splitties ALWAYS wave back, even in city traffic.  <snip>
>- Loafs wave back about 1/3 of the time in heavy city traffic, almost all
>the time on 2-lane highways.  Westies wave more.  <snip>
>- Lowered busses (when I rarely see them, and if I can't shoot them
>first) never wave.
>- Air-cooled bricks sometimes wave, but rarely.  Water-pumper bricks wave
>back even less frequently.<snip>
>- Eurovans: are you kidding?  <snip> I've
>NEVER gotten a wave, or even an eye-to-eye look, from ANY Eurovan around
>here on a paved road.  Yuppie mobile. <snip>

Oh, I get it...it's a social hierarchy! A pyramid of coolness. Let's see
here, check if I've got this straight--splitties are the coolest, step
down, step down, step down, and EVs are yuppie-mobiles (read "scum").

Hmmm....something bothers me about this...can't quite put my finger on it,
but it smacks of, YES, THAT'S IT!     "stereotypes"

Stereotyping. Let's personalize this. I used to have long hair and drove a
loaf for many years. In fact, Tobin, I've loved reading your trip saga
because it reminded me very, very much of a trip I took to Mexico in my '74
VW van back in 1980 (but that's another looong story). I guess you would
have liked me then. I'd have waved back.

Now my hair is shorter and I drive a Eurovan. I'm driving a yuppie-mobile
you say, deductively then, I must be a yuppie! (in your eyes) Gee, I guess
I'm not cool anymore. I'd still wave though.

Funny thing, I feel like exactly the same person! By God, I think I am the
same person.

To paraphrase an old song: (sung to the tune of "War")

        Stereotypes, uh, what are they good for?
        Absolutely nuthin'.....say it again, uh...

I've caught this feeling of "cooler than thou 'cuz my veedub is (fill in
the blank-older, newer, air cooled, water cooled, super modified, stock,
etc.)" from a number of posts in the past and let it go by. This time
(right phase of the moon, just enough caffeine, right time of day) I just
felt like responding. It kinda bugged me; I feel better now.

Jeff