Originally Posted by
Smokehouse
Many hate us because we, as a group, inconvenience them on the roads. To add to that, some of us are FAR worse than others about that too...
I get your point, but I am hesitant to give people a pass just because of that. Lots of people bug the hell out of me, but I don't go doing pompous or rude stuff that are equivalent of placing tacks on the road and the other things people do to cyclists. It
drives me crazy that as a normal size person I have to be crammed into a seat when someone whose too big for theirs sits next to me, but we're supposed to be accepting of something 99.9 percent of people -- myself included -- have absolute control over. Add to that, I'm actually paying for that through higher health care costs.
Why do I use that example? To point out that the only difference in whose rights get defended and protected are the ones who stand up for them the most. If we started wearing shirts lampooning or targeting local politicians that introduce stupid laws and organized group rides wearing them, idiot politicos would get nervous and back off a lot of the crazy rules/regulations that have been proposed -- thankfully most not adopted.