I take a welding class at my school district's technical center, and today we were slacking off and a group of the other students started talking about practical jokes. There was talk of farting on food and all sorts of other slightly amusing infantile pranks, but then one kid brought up the fact that he and a bunch of his friends had filled a McDonalds cup up with urine and nocked a man off his bike into a ditch, poured the piss on him, and stolen his bike. At that, the other kids started cracking up. Then they related similar storys. ("I threw a milkshake out my window and hit some guy on a bike in the back of the head, and he almost caught me at the stoplight." And "I wacked this dude on a bike with a 2 liter coke." are just two examples.) Why do these little ****s feel that its ok to hit cyclists. Throwing a 2 liter coke out of a car at a cyclist has potential for an assault with a deadly weapon charge. What the ****. I hate to say it, but every one of those kids was black and poor. I really try to not stereotype people, but when people just try to fit their stereotype I cant help myself.
The BikeForums Team
-adv-
This is an archived thread, you can find the full version of this thread, with images, links and more content here.
Well it is not a stereotype issue... I have had folks that do not fit your descriptions try to throw things at me. (I have only been hit once, and that was with a cup of beer from a bus load of baseball fans...
The bottom line is that all sorts of idiots may try to do this. Why? Your guess is as good as any one's.
But indeed it is not safe and NO WE are NOT TARGETS!
thirdin77
You could try to reason with them. If they're kids as you say, they might not be so far gone as adults are. Just imply that it's a show of low class.. try to appeal to whatever sense of right & wrong or shame they have.
Are you teaching this class or taking it with them?
PaulH
All you had to do was relate some hyperbolic lie about something nasty you did to somebody in a car.
Paul
ivegotabike
I was about to tell them that was why i carry a metal t-ball bat when im riding in sketchy areas, to beat the **** out of anyone that tried some stupid stunt like that. Im taking the class with them. Im outnumbered 9 to 2.
Butterthebean
I was about to tell them that was why i carry a metal t-ball bat when im riding in sketchy areas, to beat the **** out of anyone that tried some stupid stunt like that. Im taking the class with them. Im outnumbered 9 to 2.
There's 2 of you???
ivegotabike
no, there is one other guy in there that isnt an inconsiderate moron.
murphstahoe
The other day I was having a beer with some "kids" after a long ride, they happened to be in the beer garden." "Don't ride bikes on Fitch Mountain, all these guys I know street race up there and a biker guy almost got killed"
"So what's the problem? The cyclists or the street racers?"
"Well, the street racers but..."
"If I see that ****, the cops will be called. Period. That's bull****. Street racing. What the hell, this is Healdsburg, not Fonzietown. And what's with the meth around here. Stupid punks, not sure if I want them in jail or the grave. Can I buy you guys a beer? Of course I'll need to see an ID."
John C. Ratliff
If you want someone to blame for these attitudes, start with the car commercials, and the stupid things that they promote having to do with wrecking cars and lives. Right now, this is in our culture, black, white, or whatever. The root cause is a disengagement from reality that the auto industry is trying to sell to the American public, and this fun-at-any-cost type of "humor" desensitizes people to the actual consequences of these kinds of acts.
So, how do we influence that culture? It may not be possible in the setting that you are in right now, ivegotabike. But if there is an opening, ask them if they would do that to their own loved ones, their brothers or sisters, their family? If that is not something they would do, than ask the follow-up question about why they think it's okay to do it to someone's else's loved one, potentially causing that father, son, or daughter a grievous injury or worse? Sometimes, if you put it into those kinds of terms, you can come to some understanding.
John
KrisPistofferson
I've taken a welding class, too. Don't expect too much from those people, it's simply a fact of life that career paths that don't require much education are going to have more mouth-breathers than those that do. Seriously, I worked a lot of construction in my twenties, and you'll meet some nice. easy-going people, but you'll also meet plenty of folks who think the KKK are heroic and that evolution never happened, and they will be antagonistic towards you when they figure out you read a book after high-school. Don't let it get to you, but realize you were the one who signed up for it.
sauerwald
Check out todays 'Yehuda Moon' strip ( http://www.yehudamoon.com/ ) - very appropriate for this topic....
mconlonx
I've taken a welding class, too. Don't expect too much from those people, it's simply a fact of life that career paths that don't require much education are going to have more mouth-breathers than those that do. Seriously, I worked a lot of construction in my twenties, and you'll meet some nice. easy-going people, but you'll also meet plenty of folks who think the KKK are heroic and that evolution never happened, and they will be antagonistic towards you when they figure out you read a book after high-school. Don't let it get to you, but realize you were the one who signed up for it.
Definitely not just a black thing--take a shop class in ME and you'll find equally ignorant white folk... For that matter, in our neck of the woods, you're more likely to have stuff thrown at you from a hand-me-down BMW or mommy's Volvo, than the truck with the gun rack in the back window. Stupid doesn't discriminate.
harleyfrog
^^^^^ Or to quote Forrest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does."
John C. Ratliff
Check out todays 'Yehuda Moon' strip ( http://www.yehudamoon.com/ ) - very appropriate for this topic....
I did this once with a smoker in those wonderful gardens just outside Victoria. We were waiting for the fireworks display, and she was smoking. Then she simply dropped her cigarette onto the lawn. I picked it up, and handed it to her, saying "I think you dropped this." She said "Thanks," and took it away. She had this funny look on her face too. ;)