Agoraphobia and The Motorcyclist

I think I have agoraphobia!

You may think it's nonsense. How could a motorcyclist can have agoraphobia? A fear of open spaces? That can't be - a motorcyclist loves the open road, and coudn't possibly have a clinical phobia about open roads.

But let's dig a little deeper into the etymological roots of agoraphobia. Phobia is of course fear, and agora means "of the marketplace". In its time, it was an open space, an open market, but today's markets bear little resemblence to them.

So, as an agoraphobic in the literal sense, I am afraid of the marketplace.

I hate buying and selling things - particularly large objects such as vehicles in general, and anything I have to negotiate in particular.

This to me is the beauty of eBay, and why it's 1,000 times better than Craigslist or its ilk. eBay allows me to sell at auction, without having to dicker. Craiglist embodies the "ditigal want-ads" -- nothing more than an "ad in the newspaper" moved into the digital age.

For me, collecting payment and handing over the title is enough stress for one face-to-face transaction. To add dickering and dithering on price, as the glorified want ads do, makes it an unbearable transaction.

Maybe my motorcycle blog isn't a forum for discussing our phobias...but I chose to do it.

Am I alone in the way I feel about the modern marketplace?