doot

I think that this is a point that often gets understated. Most of us aren't important to be specifically targeted for being watched, but there is a significant amount of passive data collection / watching that goes on by governments and big tech. It definitely makes life a little better to not have outrage and echo chambers being the only internet you see.

Unfortunately you will almost certainly be almost hit again. Maybe you'll even be lucky and end up in an actual collision.

However, if you are smart about where and when you ride,you can dramatically reduce the risks you expose yourself to.

• Understand that drivers are dumber than you can ever give them credit for
• Eye contact is your friend. Drivers are less likely to kill you if they realize you're a person too, and not just a strange 2 wheeled contraption
• Counterpoint to above: Just because someone looked in your direction does not mean they made eye contact or saw you.
• TAKE THE LANE I've gotten into more trouble tucking into the sides of a lane vs taking it

You are the only one who can keep you safe. So take the lane and ride like you belong.

That's why I turn off chat history. There's no way I can be tracked when I'm being told that the chats will be deleted! /s

For us young people: Because the system feels broken, and that there's little future to grow towards.

I grew up privileged, I attended private school until 5th grade before moving to one of the best public schools in a US state known for having good education. I've had a safety net my entire life, and that has allowed me to take risks, and end up homeless, that otherwise could have permanently screwed me over.

I, only a few years later, finally feel somewhat stable with the path I've pursued. For me stable means ~2 months emergency savings, probably not getting evicted by my batshit landlord anytime soon, and only having to work 2 jobs.

If that is what it takes to feel stable, then I can only feel like the system is screwed. I will never have the money to buy a house anywhere near where I work, near being defined as within an hour. I spend my days working for people who can drop more than what I make in a year on vacations. People who live in neighborhoods where the 'cheap' houses start at $10 million. And I work with some amazing down to earth people. If I'm one of the lucky ones, and I definitely am for where I live, how can the system not be broken?

Our climate is fucked, my only hope of every owning property is a massive market crash, I will likely have to keep working till I'm close to dead, vacations are a distant dream, allwhile I make my landlord richer, the corporations take all my money, because I can't afford good, organic or local food, and the people at the top get even richer.

Our system has incentived turned all the workers into profit. At work we're measured by the value we add to the company, never officially, but punished for missing work or being sick, and at home we're measured by the value we add to corporations through our purchases. Even our attention has become a product. How long can companies get us to stare at their product, mindlessly consuming and being served ads.

Even in our own homes we are a product. We are an unwilling cog in a machine that makes us poorer and those with the power richer. The government should be here to protect the common man and woman. For every example of the gov. doing the right thing to protect us from monopolies and predatory practices, there are 10 or 100 examples of the opposite.

No change will come about under our current socio economic system, and you need to remember. I'm one of the lucky ones.