Posts Tagged: Waterloo

31
Mar

2011

“Gondolas Are For Ski Hills”

Above: The Aerobus. Let's just ignore the fact that this is not a gondola, okay?

That’s what rail transit advocate Tim Mollison of the Tri-Cities Transport Action Group said about a proposal to bring the Aerobus to the Kitchener-Waterloo region in Ontario, Canada.

“Gondolas are for ski hills.”

Now, listen. Just because you’re an advocate of one thing doesn’t mean you need to be ignorant about another thing.

In fact, the exact opposite is the better strategic choice. Being informed about those things you don’t agree with only reinforces and strengthens your position.

To be ignorant of that which you oppose only invalidates your opposition and makes you look foolish.

Had Tim actually taken the time to research his position (he could’ve started here) and reasonably articulated why he didn’t like the Aerobus concept (and there are many, many legitimate reasons why one shouldn’t like the Aerobus), he wouldn’t have come across as so – how shall I put this delicately? – thick.

Advocacy and ignorance often go hand-in-hand, but they don’t necessarily have to.

Update: I just realized I never actually linked to the original article that quoted Mr. Mollison. That’s been remedied.



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