[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
1) staging false accidents: If emergency services are called, that
is grounds for a citation and obviously diverts them from citizens
who truly need them, while wasting taxpayer dollars.
2) taking up the entire roadway: Against the statutes.
3) impedes the travel of those citizens using mass transit as well as
those traveling in the cars you hate.
On a related note, Rep. Kahn said baldly that pedestrians have the right
of way at all intersections. I believe that a pedestrian who crosses
against a red light does not have the right of way, since the law prohibits
them from entering the roadway at that time. You could argue that a
pedestrian has the right of way if he walks onto a freeway. I doubt that
a judge would uphold either case. That's not to say that a driver is free
to run down the pedestrian if there is a way to avoid it. The pedestrian
at an uncontrolled intersection, by statute, must not enter the crosswalk
if the driver would not have enough time to stop.
I would like to make just a few quick clarifying points:
#1) You are right that it is illegal, and you can be ticketed for crossing
at a red light (jaywalking). You are wrong about the right of
way....according to Mn statutes the pedestrian always has the right of way at
all marked and unmarked intersections, even if they are jaywalking. I feel
this is fair since the car is a hunk of speeding metal and the jaywalker is a
soft, breakable human being.
#2) Yes Critical Mass is illegal, but so is every occasion of brave direct
action that has helped us reach the level of freedom we have in our country.
Rosa Parks was breaking the law, that doesn't mean she wasn't right.
reclaiming the streets from cars during a Critical Mass isn't about our
immediate wants, it's about the need for restructuring our society so that it
will last long enough for our children to enjoy it.
Chris Allison
Green Party of MN Coordinating Committee
Chair, Bastille Consulting
Whittier
Non-car owner by conscious choice
