Critical Mass: Douchebag of the Month - March 2011

[Yoj]

If bikes want the same respect, and rites, as cars they need to follow the same laws as cars.

If there is a red light, I as a motorist have to stop, bikes should, they do not.

If there is an emergency vehicle, I as a motorist have to pull over, bikes should to, they do not.

If there is a school bus with it's lights flashing, I as a motorist have to stop, bikes should to, they do not.

I have seen a cyclist run into a child who was trying to get on the bus because the cyclist chose to ride up onto the sidewalk to avoid the cars that had stopped for the same school bus.

I bike, I enjoy biking, but I bike off road as much as possible, both for safety, and because I can get places faster off road then on.

I agree.

[ignatzami]

I agree.

Sadly, a large portion of my local cycling community wouldn't agree.

[bobyclumsyninja]

They do the mass cycling at night here, that I've seen (not as a protest, but an awesome thing). It's spectacular, as many of them are on penny farthings, or other oddly shaped bikes.

Very surreal.

[Permalost]

They do the mass cycling at night here, that I've seen (not as a protest, but an awesome thing). It's spectacular, as many of them are on penny farthings, or other oddly shaped bikes.

Very surreal.

I used to wonder why those penny farthing bikes went out of style, because you get to sit up really high and look awesome, then I saw what happens when you fall off one.

[ChenPengFi]

I used to wonder why those penny farthing bikes went out of style, because you get to sit up really high and look awesome, then I saw what happens when you fall off one.

The only way to get higher gearing was to get a taller front wheel, so the tallest bikes were for the "manliest" of riders.
A choppy pedal stroke gets you ejected like the above.

While i am all for common sense bicycle advocacy and abohr the massholes it is worth noting that in the US paved roads were originally built for bicycles due to the lobbying efforts of the League of American Wheelmen (LAW).
Bicycles are in fact traffic and have a "right" to be there, physics notwithstanding.
That said while driving i am very careful around cyclists and am even more wary while on a bike.
An ex-gf was hit from behind while doing everything she was supposed to.
Guy was drunk and methed out and hit her square at about 60mph.
Blew her clean out of her shoes, causing multiple spinal fractures among other broken bones and glass lacerations.
She survived but had several surgeries after spending a couple months in icu.
Getting hit by a car is no joke...

[Bneterasedmynam]

I have no problem sharing the road with bikes just as long as they can keep up with the traffic flow so come on at least do 30.

[peeowee]

I cycle in London every day. It's not to just fuck about but my main means of transport. I do pretty much everything by the book, no red light jumping and none of that shit.

There are hardly any bike lanes in London, and if, they're painted on the road and never get respected.

Anyway, the amount of times I have to slam on the brakes because people feel inclined to overtake just to turn into a street right afterwards, throw cigarettes at me out of open windows or pass me by 1 inch and clip me with their mirror or stuff like that is so high that I stopped counting or even getting much more annoyed than muttering "fuck off".

Best of all is people that get out of their car at a red light and start wanting to fight you for "being in their way" ... because I am inconveniencing them by being in the lane I am supposed to be in.

I can understand that others get annoyed and form something like Critical Mass.

Laughing at a car ploughing down a bunch of people and saying "serves em right for being in Critical Mass" is about as intelligent as laughing about civilians getting killed by some random fire by a Helicopter and saying "serves em right for being Iraqui".

[Snake Plissken]

Laughing at a car ploughing down a bunch of people and saying "serves em right for being in Critical Mass" is about as intelligent as laughing about civilians getting killed by some random fire by a Helicopter and saying "serves em right for being Iraqui".

No.
It isn't the same.

[Soldiermedic]

Laughing at a car ploughing down a bunch of people and saying "serves em right for being in Critical Mass" is about as intelligent as laughing about civilians getting killed by some random fire by a Helicopter and saying "serves em right for being Iraqui".

So you're saying that organizing a mass protest on bicycles that inconveniences hundreds of people trying to get to their job and make a living, or get home to your family is the exact same thing as having the intense misfortune of being born in a warzone?

[It is Fake]

Laughing at a car ploughing down a bunch of people and saying "serves em right for being in Critical Mass" is about as intelligent as laughing about civilians getting killed by some random fire by a Helicopter and saying "serves em right for being Iraqui".

What?

People CHOOSING to organize a protest is similar to living in a war torn region?

[peeowee]

Since when does "saying x is about as intelligent as laughing about y" translate into "x is the same as y"? It doesn't. It just makes a statement about the intelligence of those laughing.

But I admit that I picked this analogy because I wanted to hammer home a point.
The point was that it's fucking stupid to laugh at people getting killed because the happened to be there, be that out of choice or not.

[Snake Plissken]

Since when does "saying x is about as intelligent as laughing about y" translate into "x is the same as y"? It doesn't. It just makes a statement about the intelligence of those laughing.

Since you said it.

But I admit that I picked this analogy because I wanted to hammer home a point.
The point was that it's fucking stupid to laugh at people getting killed because the happened to be there, be that out of choice or not.

You poorly picked a loaded analogy to make a statement which benefits you, yet doesn't accurately relay the facts.

The bike riders have chosen to ride their bikes slowly across all lanes of the road, deliberately impeding traffic without regards to the needs or consequences of those they are impacting.

One frustrated driver chose to harm all the cyclists and then their actions prevented Emergency Medical services from being able to properly attend to the wounded.

Now, how does this related to your War Zone analogy, again?

[It is Fake]

Guys, I didn't say it was the same. Read!

I said similar. That's why you used an analogy and you are still wrong. Yes, even with your nitpicking your analogy failed.

But I admit that I picked this analogy

We've had this discussion before. First learn the definition of analogy. You didn't pick it you made it up.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/analogy

a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based: the analogy between the heart and a pump.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/analogy

1
: inference that if two or more things agree with one another in some respects they will probably agree in others
2
a : resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike : similarity

So, we inferred correctly.

because I wanted to hammer home a point.

Do not Want.

The point was that it's fucking stupid to laugh at people getting killed because the happened to be there, be that out of choice or not.
Just because you organize a protest doesn't make it OK or funny if you get killed by some weirdo.

I'd give you a facepalm, but wow.
Depends on the context and personal opinion. If this happened to some of the WEIRDOS protesting military funerals it would be okay and funny to me.

[peeowee]

You poorly picked a loaded analogy to make a statement which benefits you ...

Point taken about highly charged. I shall choose more carefully in the future.

But maybe, just maybe, for people that do get nearly mowed down on a regular basis a post that makes fun of people getting ran over for whatever reason is as highly charged?

In any case, how does my poor choice of analogy make it OK to laugh about that tragic incident again?

[peeowee]

It is Fake: I appreciate your command of the english language, which happens to not be my native one. Much faster than I can pick up on my own posts and edit them.

I don't appreciate what you'd think is OK laugh at though, at least not in this case.