As an afterthought to yesterday's post, it strikes me that it also touches on how the name we attach to something is more than just a label. Call a tax 'road tax', and the belief can become entrenched that the payer is funding the roads (and therefore enjoys proprietorial rights). Call it 'vehicle excise duty' and that direct linkage is broken, instead connecting (more accurately) with the personal transportation (vehicle) the payer chooses to own.
Does this matter? Yes, it does matter when someone high on proprietorial frustration, in charge of half a ton of metal, encounters someone slower and more vulnerable in 'their' road space. The behavioural and all too likely physical consequences of belief that drivers pay a 'road tax' are clearly apparent in that helmet camera video. Who says that 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me'?
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