Originally Posted by
recumelectric
This thread is sure to antagonize, but I'm going for it anyway. Probably, I'll have to argue some rounds, just give up on the hopeless, and then kill it off.
Here's my beef. It seems to me that all the antagonistic cyclists out there are no different than SUV drivers who think they own the road. (Granted, they have much more steel and can do more damage, so that's not my argument.)
I've been reading various stuff about U-lock assaults/vandalism, pissing in peoples' gas tanks, deliberately blocking up traffic, and carrying weapons while looking for trouble. I do understand the need for self-defense when attacked, so don't get me wrong. What I take issue with is the idea of knocking off someone's rearview or denting their car when they p---ed you off. Most of this sentiment seems to come from areas where bicycling is highly endorsed and commonplace.
I'm reminded of the radicals "spiking trees" in order to kill loggers who were just doing their jobs. (BTW, some of us actually use products made from trees. Not to mention the fact that the local economies where these incidents occured benefited greatly from logging.)
I also understand that some of this is venting and joking. Unfortunately, there are folks who take this all way too seriously. I'm not entirely sure of the demographic on this forum, but it seems more "young," as in 20-somethings, who are often in college and trying to live up to some idealistic ideal. I went through college listening to various "revolutionaries" who were really just angry, mean people in general. They were definitely revolting...against what, in particular, I still don't know. But they were happy to attach themselves to any trendy cause and raise a stink.
There doesn't need to be open warfare between cars/SUV's and bicycles in order for things to change. In fact, that attitude is antagonistic and provokes a bunch of police action, bad press, and legislation that punishes all of us. BTW, I actually drive my car sometimes. I look out for cyclists. The hostility isn't necessary.
A couple of points because I really can't be bothered with this topic all over again.
1. This is the Internet, it's main purpose is venting and entertainment. It pays not to take everything you read here seriously. Most people are far more brave/obnoxious behind a keyboard than in any other aspect of life. Grain of salt.
2. Idiots will always be around, whether we like it or not. Sometimes they are on bicycles, sometimes they are in cars, sometimes they are pedestrians. It always astonishes me on fora such as this one to read posts where people seem to think all cyclists are saints or must behave like "good little cyclists so those big bad drivers don't hate us". In reality, the people who broke the laws or acted like idiots on their bikes are probably the same people who did the same thing in their car on another day.
3. The only real solution to this problem is the very "bunch of police action" that everyone seems so afraid of. Unfortunately, our accountability-phobic society seems to be moving away from that, meaning that the idiot problem is only going to become more pronounced as time goes on. For the moment, however, can any of the people whining about the idiots tell me why having the police simply remove them from the road (either by legislation or sheer force) would be a bad thing?
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That is all.