On Aug 6, 2008, at 1:24 PM, Michael D. Barrett wrote:
Re:
> Huh? What does that have to do with the price of rice in Shanghai?
I mentioned cops because Robin's posting mentioned cops. There
have been
some high-profile cases of police attacks on Critical Massers in
New York
and other places.
Apparently you missed the video. The cop was the aggressor, not the
cyclist. That has generally been the case in police behavior during
NYC's CM activities.
Or is JRA now a crime?
I saw the video, the cop was definitely the aggressor, and it was
unprovoked. Because the attack was on video, and clearly unprovoked,
the cop got in a lot of trouble. What would have happened if the
attack had been preceded by provocative behavior by bikers? The cop
would probably be off the hook, and a few bikers (mostly innocent)
would be in jail.
>
or a driver who
outweighs you by an order or magnitude.
Allowing bullies to be bullies invites only more bullying.
History is
replete with examples that illustrate just how bad an idea it is to
> cower before bullies.
If you can find a way to prevent bullies from being bullies,
that's fine
with me. If giving the finger to an *sshole in an Escalade makes
you feel
better, I suppose it's good for your blood pressure, but it won't
prevent
him from being a bully at the next opportunity? Do you really think
confronting him causes him to go home, meditate on his past evil
behavior,
and resolve to be a better person in the future? Really?
Actually, I think we're starting to see quite a lot of rethinking
about SUVs, and driving-as-bullying in general. Speeds are down.
Vehicle sizes are down. Vehicular deaths are at an all-time low.
Bike sales are through the roof. More people are on bikes than
ever. When a growing population actually *reduces* car travel by
+/-3% over the course of a year, yes, I think people do have the
capacity to rethink and re-work their lives into less bullying
modes of getting around.
Are you saying that CM raised the price of gas to $4.00/gallon? How
did that work?
I think CM had a lot to do with raising awareness over the years.
It helped lay the groundwork for everyone else to hop back on their
bikes. 'Peaceable assemblers' on the cutting edge like CM are
always good for building up the mental acuity of the duller members
of society in any case--high gas prices or no.
I would guess that the price of gas, along with non-confrontational
events like Bike to Work Week, and city programs to make biking
safer, probably deserve more credit than CM.
I also think that people who fail to cower on their daily bike
rides have a lot to do with socially enforcing better motoring
behavior.
You seem to be fixated on the middle finger. I'm concerned about
uncivil, illegal, and deadly actions. Abuses of power, if you will.
Middle fingers don't kill, deadly actions--abuses of power-- do.
The middle finger is merely a political statement *in reaction to*
an abuse of power. I think abuses of power should always be called
down in the strongest terms possible. It isn't a feel good thing.
It is a civilization thing.
You seem to be fixated on bullying. I don't advocate cowering when
attacked by bullies. But I don't think it's a good idea to pick
fights unnecessarily with drivers who are not bullies.
In every instance I have been attacked by bullies-behind-the-wheel
I have defended myself vigorously. I've also vigorously engaged
motorists who tried bullying other cyclists in scenes I've
witnessed. I've also had other people come to my defense. Other
friends have had similar experiences. I can guarantee you that none
of the bullies in any of those scenarios will try it again. I'm not
talking about dealing knock out blows either. It usually amounts to
a lot of yelling to bring attention to the situation (yell for
someone to call the police--that instantaneously cues witnesses as
to who is attacking whom). By bringing more responsible eyes to the
situation, that usually is enough in itself to back down the bully.
In the end, the original bullying ends up being highly unprofitable
and/or unpleasant for the bully. But it is apparent that they were
all well practiced in bullying cowering cyclists. They always
become quite confused when they encounter someone who fails to cower.
Can you describe some specific occasions when you and your friends
fought off bullies?
I believe that establishing and vigorously defending social norms
on our public rights-of-way has a lot to do with the safety in
numbers effect that we find when there are more cyclists on the
street.
So yes, failing to cower does work. In fact, I'd direct you here .....
http://bikeleague.org/programs/education/index.php
Which course in the curriculum covers confrontation with bullies?
...for more information about riding in a vigorous, vehicular
manner that essentially calls the automotive bullies' bluff.
Riding in a "vigorous vehicular manner" is a good idea. Corking
intersections and blocking all available lanes, as some CM rides do,
may be "vigorous" but it's not "vehicular." As I understand
RideCivil, it tries to address that tendency, and I think that's a
good idea.
Face it, the mere act of riding in the street, instead of the
gutter or (worse) the sidewalk, is infinitely more obnoxious than a
middle finger to many deathmobilers. Some act on it, some are able
to restrain their baser impulses. But our existence enrages them.
The middle finger is ex post facto in the extreme. The origins of
the bullying occur in the brain of the one who thinks they have the
power advantage. Take away that advantage, and they aren't so tough
anymore.
But that's not what I was posting about. Be nasty to nasty people
if you
want, but *don't pick fights* When Critical Mass run red lights
and block
ordinary, non-aggressive, relatively law-abiding riders, by
keeping them
from going where they want to go, they're picking fights with
people who
are not bullies or *ssholes.
OOOOOOOOOOOo Dem wascawy CMers! Actually, I'd just call them
practicioners of the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution. A fine
document. My favorite political work, I might add. Peaceable
assembly is a fine muscle toner for democracy. Just keep in mind
that when the deathmobilers massed in their cars in the '50s, they
got the Interstate system.
Civil disobedience is a valuable American tradition. If CMers want
to break traffic laws to make a point, and get arrested in the
process, they are following in the footsteps of Thoreau and Martin
Luther King, and that's fine with me. But I don't think that's what
CM is about.
The standard line, of course, is that these people are
participating in
evil by driving cars and destroying the earth -- and that's true in
general, theoretical sense. But you wont get them to change their
behavior -- at least not for the better -- by unprovoked nastiness.
It seems that the nastier EXXON-Mobile gets with the motorists, the
less they drive. So I'd say that nasty object lessons do seem to be
working quite nicely against the bullies.
Exxon-Mobil is pretty nasty, but it's also too big to get run over by
an angry motorist. Are you?
-Mike
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