Road design, safety and Vision Zero

[tomh009]

It doesn't matter if you consider it a slur, it *IS* a slur...the term "jay" is like hillbilly or redneck, and the car industry usurped it to described pedestrians in their successful 1920's campaign to steal our streets.

Let me throw in one of my favourite quotes here.

Okie use' ta mean you was from Oklahoma. Now it means you're a dirty son-of-a-bitch. Okie means you're scum. Don't mean nothing itself, it's the way they say it.

This is from Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck, 1939). The point is that words may describe something, but they may become offensive (okie, negro) or they may become just descriptive (jaywalking).

1920s was a long time ago. I don't think "Okie" is so offensive any more, either.

(And, yes, I jaywalk, too, but only after ensuring the street is clear.)