Originally Posted by
gevad
I had no idea that helmet wearing is controversial. I've had two falls where my helmet hit the pavement hard enough to crack the styrofoam lining. I'm glad my helmet and not my head took those blows. I think I'll keep wearing a helmet when I ride.
The reason it's controversial is not necessarily that anyone is "anti helmet" or stupid (which is name-calling result of these conversations). It's just that some of us believe that lore and "conventional wisdom" has inflated the perception of danger associated with cycling beyond reason. We don't feel that cycling is so dangerous that it requires any more safety measures than other sources of head injury such as driving a car, walking in the winter or after a rain, or stepping in and out of a bath tub. Therefore, anyone who makes the personal choice to not wear a helmet is not an idiot or organ donor, but simply someone who makes a rational decision about the necessity for safety equipment.
People can disagree with this, but I'd bet that if you did some research into threads on the subject that the nasty labels and insults are almost always aimed at those who don't agree that cycling is dangerous as if they're clueless idiots.