“My name is PJ Laughlin, I’m 32 years old. I’m originally from northern New York. I lived in Northwest Montana for about 10 years. Things that are important to me are bikes and bike advocacy. I’ve been traveling on a bicycle for about a year and a half now.”
Five Things I’ve Learned About America
- Generally, the smaller the group the more interested and welcoming we are.
“We’re able to express ourselves more clearly, more truthfully, more authentically in smaller one-on-one or three-person groups.”
- It's good to accept help.
“The sort of macho, “No, no I can do it myself” mentality: By definition, that limits community – because part of community is helping others and if you’re not allowing yourself to be helped you’re keeping yourself on the outside.”
- Every one of us is shaped by geography.
“I have always been a mountain person and will continue to be a mountain person – even though I have thoroughly enjoyed time in desert, time on the seacoast, time in lowland forest.”
- Privilege is alive and well in this country.
“(There are) things that I can get away with that other people – people of color, people of different minorities – would very likely have the cops called on them.”
- We don’t need to be so afraid of our neighbors.
“When I get to stay with someone, I get to be the recipient of their generosity and I get to help them feel a connection to someone who might not be their neighbor, who might not be a community member of theirs, but just another human. That in turn can help us both feel less disconnected, and less afraid of people we don’t know.”
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