Thursday, February 2, 2023

Nice

 







It is surely not reasonable to judge a city properly on the basis of a vacation. The fact that we were temporarily rich, lived with one of the best daily food and flower markets I have ever been to out our front door, and had a view of the ocean ripped straight from a Matisse painting, were all highly distorting. So it would be improper for me to jump to conclusions and pass judgement on the Southern French city of Nice.

But what the hell. The world has grown prudent, measured, painstaking, and careful in its condemnation of evil, and brash and reckless in its expression. So why not then turn "evil" to "good"?

You don't want to turn evil to good?

Okay then, let us all, forever more, be prudent, measured, painstaking, and careful in our condemnation of good, and brash and reckless in its expression.

Nice is the best city ever.

It is full of ocean, which sparkles accessibly along its whole length. It has nearly enough trains and trams to go anywhere. The food is glorious and without fetishism, healthful and varied. It has some arts (though not enough).  And it is full of dense, charming areas either entirely without cars, or where they are much limited.

And this last grows increasingly essential to me. It is the cornerstone.



Here is my reckless idea for all of you out in Internetland today:

Cars should be illegal in cities.

No, not taxed, or limited, or discouraged, or phased out. 

Illegal. 

Like smoking in public, now reasonably banned, cars kill people. And yet like a relentless diet of fast food, cars also kill people. They cause toxic noise pollution, obesity, constant hazards to any other form of transportation, and profound economic distress on any city or country. Oh, also cars crash into things, and people, and animals, 20,000 times a day.

Yes, 20,000.

And so I have torn off the gloves. I have become brash and reckless in my condemnation of cars. Ban them. Crush them. If you see one, which I doubt will be a challenge for you, go ahead and SLASH ITS TIRES!!!!!

I mean, unless it's mine.


I'm not on vacation and, sadly, it's still the only decent way I have to get to work.






 

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