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I read the article as the intro to the video (which I’m still watching in the background, admittedly), and I dunno, my biggest criticism as an out-of-stater was that I wasn’t sure why Tehachapi would be all that scary. I’ve passed through that area a few times and aside from iffy cell service, it seemed okay? IDK what might’ve changed in the past almost-decade, though. It’s been a while.
I picked up on what Griffin said about being in more remote territory right away, though, and I didn’t need the disclaimer to understand the exact feeling: you can be from and appreciate similar places, but know there’s still a higher likelihood of meeting That Person who might be Yikes for no other reason than you’re different. Maybe this is more of a universal experience for everyone who isn’t a white cis dude, but I feel like I have to vet my sellers/buyers a little beforehand before I’m comfortable meeting up. Even if I’m meeting up to hand off a Buy Nothing item, I do a gut check on their profile to see how public the meetup spot needs to be, and if I really don’t know, I take someone with me.
I do get DUG’s point about not wanting to stigmatize different communities, though. That being said, I think the unfortunate reality of why someone might feel out of place or even vulnerable in certain places was handled pretty tactfully here even without the disclaimer. When I read it, the main danger didn’t seem to be the community itself, but rather, the giant pile of unknowns about the specific seller in a remote location.
I agree it should’ve been left out. It brings the mood of the article down, and actually for the entire site in general to draw attention to a lighthearted comment like that.
Though maybe an alternate note with a more lighthearted tone would’ve been good. Or alternatively, pick a word less jarringly violent than skinned. Tarred?
I also don’t agree with Discord guy. True that the likelihood of something bad happening in some remote area is low, but the severity of something bad actually happening could be super high. It would be foolish not to be cautious.
Eh, probably not a bad idea to include the disclaimer note here. Some people are breathlessly awaiting their chance to be offended over something that’s obviously overdone for humorous effect.
Is this the start of a “Tales from the Discord” regular feature?
welp, I’m doomed lol
I think NotoriousDUG was right in his comments. The article was a bit more fearmongering than what was probably necessary. I realize some part of the US may be more intolerant or violent than others,but the article was really just about buying a damn truck. To me at least,both articles did come across as a bit small minded and petulant although I am sure it wasn’t intended to.
It’s never easy making those kinds of decisions, and like others have said you’ll get complaints either way.
I will say that I feel the people who complain the most about that type of story don’t seem to understand people might have vastly different life experiences. “Well I’ve never felt that way or seen bad things happen to [minority group], so they must be exaggerating.”
The only answer yes and no. There is no perfect answer bc because people get annoyed along an axis. You can’t go all in one way or another, trust you gut
I live in the South but I was born elsewhere. I have lots of “Good Old Boy” friends that have always welcomed me. Some of them are bigoted towards those of other cultures but treat individuals with respect and would not harm anyone without provocation.
That said, of course I’d be nervous visiting someone’s rural home at night but I’d take my friend with me instead of leaving them to find my body.
Sigh. I had to look up “Streisand Effect.” Don’t make me do research. Even though I know he was using good natured hyperbole, I think the editorial decision was sound. I look forward to more from Griffin.
I thought that the article was fine without the note. Griffin did a good job of playing up the humor of the situation without being mean about it. I’m looking forward to his next article.
Still trying to figure out how to access content behind the subscription even though I am a Vinyl member. Yall have tech support?
Which content?
Ah, that happens from time to time. Email Matt at matt@TheAutopian.com
I don’t know, man… I just re-read the article and I had the exact same feeling about it as when I first read it. Yes, it is very clear Griffin is joking and playing up the danger for comedic effect. The problem with the joke is threefold:
The joke was repeated enough times that however funny it was to begin with, it wasn’t anymore by the end. I didn’t find it offensive or insensitive, it just didn’t land. Which brings me to my next point…
The joke derives its comedic value from Griffin’s lived experience, which can make it easy to read as not-really-a-joke, not okay for those of us who don’t share said lived experience to laugh at, or both. Which brings me to my next point…
Sad as it is, said lived experience is, especially in the present climate, impossible to divorce from politics, so I don’t think Peter’s point about “raising the specter of politics” is well taken at all, particularly taking into account that you’re always gonna have a That Guy in the comments going out of their way to take this kind of joke very personally.
Now, what would I have done? Leave in a one-sentence disclaimer, make it shorter so it doesn’t read as uh… “trying too hard”, if you get what I mean (Hautewheels beat me to it: it has a “some of my best friends are X” vibe to it as written). I personally would’ve preferred an article with a different tone altogether (make the joke once, maybe a second time in an over-the-top kind of way), but I’m a believer in author autonomy and cannot in good conscience advocate for a major tonal overhaul by editors.
I recognize the lengths to which the Autopian goes to be non-political (minus the intersection of cars and policy), and as someone who is very politically active, I appreciate them – an automotive website is not an avenue for political discourse. I also applaud the boldness of this decision, knowing it’ll piss off people on both sides of the aisle. That said, in this case, no major action to “stay apolitical” feels necessary – nothing wrong with the idea of a disclaimer at least.
Point of clarification: The article as published did not bug me enough to feel compelled to comment, nor would it have if it had been published as written. I just figured this post was meant to invite discussion 🙂
Having grown up in a small (northern) town that has a significant number of people flying Confederate flags, I’ve seen the way strangers, mixed race people, and LGBTQ+ folks were treated there (and, really, I’ve been seeing that get even worse recently, rather than better). My sister lives in another small town with a very different culture and vibe (much more accepting and closer to the idyllic small towns people like to envision). Not knowing the vibe where they went (and whether they had any idea what they were getting into), I can’t say which type of town they were in. I can certainly dig putting in the note about both appreciating some of that culture and being appropriately wary. I can also understand not wishing to draw attention to it, especially since it can be read in a few different ways, not all of them positive.
I think that there’s really no right way to do it. David’s piece did include the bit about the seller pointing out his new AR. (Depending on the features, the AR was very possibly not California-compliant, which would not surprise me in a small town–I read that as both the implied defense if DT and Griffin were not on the level and a way to determine whether the seller was dealing with like-minded people, or at least people who wouldn’t be too taken aback by the rifle.) That’s the sort of thing that is both common and makes it fair to feel nervous.
If you acknowledge that justifiable trepidation, but have nothing more overt to point to, it’s going to frustrate people who like the rural life and haven’t experienced issues. If you remove all of it, there’s no flavor to the story. If you end with that coda, there’ll be people who think that coda disparages small towns and people who think it’s apologia for the worst parts of small-town culture.
tl;dr, I think the articles worked well as published and I think that whatever comes out can have people read too far into it.
I greatly appreciate that my whining was not dismissed, and the peak behind the curtain showed the thought that did go into how the piece may be taken.
It is more important, I think that you put thought into these things than you get it right every single time.
As I stated before, this is a thing I am probably more sensitive to than most; the NFP I work with has missed out on funding opportunities because of its location in what is viewed as a ‘spicy’ area.
Y’all are doing all the right things.
Also worth noting that I grew up in Kansas and in an army community, so this kind of thing IS my comfort zone.
Not sure that it was Griffin’s, which is why I took some extra precautions: I didn’t want him to feel unsafe.
I was good. Seller was a solid guy. I wasn’t even a tiny bit concerned about me.
We also kinda play things up a bit for storytelling purposes. (Example: the Aztek revs a bit, but it’s not really dangerous; the guy had an AR, but that’s not really relevant other than it’s a fun bit of added color).
If anything, I would of left out the “politics aside” “left and right”
Plus, AZ isn’t really know for “good ole boys” and it’s mostly Miller Lite 🙂
I think you made the right choice to pull it. IMHO, the note had a bit of a “seriously some of my best friends are (fill in the blank)” feel to it. I know that wasn’t Griffin’s intent or meaning, but that’s how it struck me. No matter what you write or how you hedge, some people are gonna take it hard and there’s nothing you can do about it. I think the story was just fine. I mean, we’re all sometimes uncomfortable when we’re outside our comfort zone, right? It’s called that for a reason. And while we should all strive to widen our comfort zones and be as inclusive as possible, the fact is that we’re mere humans who have our failings, no matter how pure our intentions might be.
Yes! I this is the analogue I was rummaging around in my brain for.
In reading both articles and watching the video I feel like the main danger was late at night, middle of nowhere, no cell signal, and it’s Cali but still winter, and did they ever fix that issue with the Aztek random acceleration? Against all that, the ‘type’ of neighborhood didn’t come across as a big deal, other than the lack of people in it was part of the ‘danger’.
I think DT’s comment about the AK may be some stereotyping, but as others have commented, random guy showing up in his driveway, in a remote area, it’s dark, I mean if it were me I’d at least be like “let me lock my dogs up” as a hedge.
And in the end they got french fries so all ends well.
Oh, it’s not random anymore. It consistently accelerates up to highway speed entirely on its own. As it turns out, GM’s had the secret to self-driving this whole time! 😀
Yay? 😮
This is likely not a hard fix.
Why is nobody fixing a thing that is absolutely a hazard to both the operator and other road users!?
That would have to be a question for David. 🙂
I drove it when I visited Cali for the Autopian car show and its behavior was shocking. I was just trying to go down a steep hill from Mount Hollywood when the bloody thing started running away from me. Thankfully, I acted quickly by slapping the stick into neutral and nursing the brakes on the way down. I also found out that it didn’t rev over 3,500 RPM on its own, so putting it into a low gear did produce engine braking over 3,500 RPM.
David says it has gotten worse since then and, honestly, I’m not even sure how that’s possible!
This entire situation makes my teeth itch.
Please advocate that they either make it stop.
I think David might be getting rid of it!
I thought your bras were leaking silicone oil/gel, not brake fluid.
Has david replaced the tps yet?? That sounds like the issue, and its a cheap fix!
Y’all need to fix this.
David: you guys do a bunch of fun wacky stuff on this site. Operating an obviously unsafe vehicle on public streets with other people around cannot be one of them. I don’t care what you promised to the members about the Aztek, the implicit promise you make us is that your shenanigans will be wacky and fun, not dangerous to others. If we’re going to be pro-car, we’ve got the same kind of responsibility as the pro-gun people do to demonstrate responsible ownership, and an Aztek that’s cooking its brakes ain’t it.
It’s the lack of self stopping that bothers me. Somebody once tried to use a Buick as the braking system for the VW Bug I was riding in – it worked, the Bug broke.
Sounds like Teslas still have issues with this from time to time. Fortunately for me I don’t drive an emergency vehicle.
Typical GM, pioneer advanced technology and then abandon it for others to overtake them.
But seriously they need to get that fixed, even if it’s just a giant stop button on the dash that cuts the engine like in prototypes.