I think we all agree that promoting more cycling by being out there and riding lawfully is the best way to gain acceptance. And this is why I disagree with the tactics of CM which often result in people being greeting by police in riot gear and the cyclists getting hauled away in large windowless vehicles. Someone looking at this is going to think twice in being associated with or participating in an activity that ends up in a night in jail. Additionally, the amount of respect they'll have for other cyclists deminishes. Hardcore zealots may like CM and believe in the cause all they want but I have a feeling that it doesn't change the perception by much of the real-world population who, like the people of villages facing the other end of a Viking's sword, don't really view CMers as heros who deserve ascension to Valhalla in burning funeral boats upon their deaths. To them Critical Mass is just Critical A$$.