Originally posted by Andy Dreisch
There are those of us that realize that we're smaller than cars and that we share the roads with vehicles for which the roads were originally built. (Can this be argued? Roads are for cars, buses, and trucks. If this weren't true, then all roads would be, maybe, 10 feet wide.)
Well, as a matter of fact, it can be argued. How about the fact that roads were there long before cars were? How about the fact that the League of American Bicyclists were campaigning for improved roads before the motor vehicle was even thought of? As I've said before, if they don't want bikes on the road, don't take cyclist's taxes to fund the road. Very simple.
Originally posted by Andy Dreisch
Then there are the militant cyclists who seem to think otherwise; and manage to offend a cadre of motorists who then, in their thinking, turn their wrath back on us.
Then they are fools. I generally don't lose a lot of sleep over the opinions of fools. The mere fact that a motoring primate was pissed off by a cyclist earlier in the day gives them no right to simply abuse or threaten the next cyclist they see. I've heard the old "you are responsible for what others like you do" argument directed at minorities for years and it really is a load of crap.
15 years ago people were trying to beat *****exuals with the old "pedophile" stick because 1% of them happened to have that tendency, when we all know it's just as common in heterosexuals too. People in this country are still trying to beat Aboriginal Australians over the head with the old "drunk" tag, even though most of them aren't. As I said, it's just another excuse for bigotry. Nothing more.
Originally posted by Andy Dreisch
For those miltants, please get off the road. You're making it more dangerous for the rest of us.
Maybe you could define "militant" for me. Do I fit the militant tag because I actually stop at red lights and marked pedestrian crossings? Those occasions seem to be when I get most of the abuse, yet all I'm doing is following the road rules. Does that make me militant? Does that mean I should get off the road because some cager thinks of me that way? Or should I just ignore the bigots and get on with life?