Why Do Some People Still Hate Citibike?
And, apparently, Rabinowitz (who has been openly mocked by both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert for her comparison of the introduction of Citibike to the programs of totalitarian governments) is not alone. She recounts being approached on the street by people who walk up to her “and say, ‘I’m so glad you said that about the bikes.'” Rabinowitz says she replies, “‘What the hell are we whispering about? What is this, East Germany?'” Yes! Exactly right, Dorothy. This is East Germany and the recent revelation that the NSA spies on all of us all the time is definitely evocative of the programs of the East German Stasi. In fact, what are your views on NSA spying? Well, Rabinowitz tells Gurley, “Surveillance is important in the war against terror, which exists. Snooping into what? Most sane people would say, ‘Go ahead, look at my e-mail correspondence, what do I care? As long you stop the bombers in Boston.’ I mean, that is the normal, visceral American response.”
Sure it is. The “normal, visceral American response” is definitely to want the government looking at your email because if the government didn’t have that power, then they never would have been able to stop the bombing in Boston. And think how much destruction would have been caused! Terrible. So glad that didn’t happen. Whew.
So, basically, Dorothy Rabinowitz thinks that we are living in a totalitarian state because of a bike share program, but not because the government is checking our every Facebook status update. This is the kind of person who still hates Citibike, despite it being overwhelmingly popular (72% approval rate via recent polling.) I guess the answer to the question of why some people still hate Citibike is simple: they’re cranky old people whose logic is as riddled with holes as city streets are with potholes.
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