I am discriminated against in Anchorage by business and government alike. It's because I carry a daypack. Everywhere. All the time.
You see, I don't own an automobile (and haven't for about 15 years). I ride my bicycle all summer, and I ride People Mover all winter.
As a bus rider I might be waiting for a bus in a steady rain for 20 minutes, and most bus stops don't have shelters. Or I may bicycle all the way across town in a downpour. Unless I want to become miserably soaked, I need to wear a rain jacket and rain pants. I carry rain gear in my daypack.
The same holds true for winter weather. To avoid hypothermia and frostbite, I make sure to have appropriate winter gear. When I'm not wearing it, I carry it in my daypack.
Whenever I ride the bus, I carry the bus schedule with me. It's a little too big to comfortably stuff in my pocket, so I carry it in my pack. On all but the shortest bicycle trips, I carry a spare tube, small pump, and tire irons. Except at the height of summer, I also bring front and back lights which I wear when I bicycle in the dark.
Guess where I carry them.
For sunny weather, I take sunglasses and a cap with a visor. I carry toothbrush and toothpaste. I keep a pen and small notebook handy. I always bring something to read -- a book or a magazine or the day's newspaper; reading is one of the pleasures of traveling by bus. I carry all these items in my daypack.
The problem arises when establishments don't allow packs inside.
Automobile drivers probably don't take note of such restrictions, but I encounter them much more often than I'd like.
The large-chain grocery store nearest to my home has posted a sign prohibiting daypacks within. At least one of Anchorage's major movie theatres doesn't allow customers to bring packs or bags inside. At the Sullivan Arena I have encountered several different responses over the years. Sometimes they let me in without a fuss; occasionally I have been allowed to leave my daypack in the security office; sometimes I have been refused admission. I may have paid $80 for a concert ticket, but if I bicycled there in rough weather, wearing crucial clothing and carrying essential gear, they won't let me in.
This just isn't right. Bicyclists, bus riders, and everyone else who doesn't drive a car should be applauded -- cherished, even -- by our community for lessening air pollution, traffic congestion, and dependence on foreign oil. Living a non-driving lifestyle requires us to carry a lot of stuff with us. Don't punish us for that.
George Nagel lives in Anchorage.
By GEORGE NAGEL