During a ride a few days ago on a back country road I happened along some construction (replacing a utility pole) and a flagperson.

I stop, as insructed by the sign, just short of the flagperson and the following conversation ensues:

FP:
"There's cars coming the other way but you could probably squeeze through if you want." (maybe....the pylons where halfway out in my travel lane and he was just trying to help, he meant no harm).

Me:
"Naw, I don't think I will take the chance, some of those motorists can get a little bit ansy"

FP:
"Come oooooon you can do it!" (I want to stress here that the tone of his voice was some friendly teasing, he had resigned to the fact that I wasn't going to move).

Me:
"Nope (laughs) some of those people are quick to anger my friend and don't like cyclists. I'll just stay here and wait my turn"

FP:
"Jeez, why would anyone hate cyclists? They hate motorbikers, THAT'S for sure"

Me:
..........erk........?

FP:
(into radio after last car passed) "ok sending biker."

Me:
"Thanks man".


That guy through me for a loop, I thought that most people knew that cyclsits are hated. There IS humanity, innocence and kindness out there!!

Digger

The dude was trying to break up a boring day.

Here motorcyclists are hated because they are faster and not stuck in traffic, bicyclists are hated because they are slower and not stuck in traffic.
Guess if your not one of the sheep your hated...Baa Baa

That's what I think. Motorists don't even make eye contact with these guys. He was happy to have someone treat HIM like a human.

I usually say hi and occasionally have a chat. Their job looks immensely boring. Plus, they tend to take flack from impatient motorists. Most do seem puzzled when you actually acknowledge them.

You may have hit the nail right on the head for the whole reason...

Motorists are isolated in their little boxes... often seeking a form of anonominity, only desiring to be recognized by the face they present... their vehicle. Hence motorists chose a particular face to present... the Vette, the Hummer, the SUV, etc.

Going inside of their cage violates this anonominity. We cyclists seek eye contact, we of course also set up a certain face by what we wear... the Racer, the Student, the quiet Commuter, the Messenger... but we are open and exposed and seek to see the inner "motorist." This is why for instance that some cyclists here tell us to use the term "motorist." Instead of saying "some car almost hit me;" we are supposted to "say some motorist almost hit me." But how often do you really see the motorist? Most of the time it is a face behind a glaring, darkened, windshield, with sunglasses.

Anyway the motorist is seeking to go about their business in anonominity (including the picking of one's nose in their own environoment), while we cyclists are exposed and want to see the humanity in others. Sets up a strange dichotomy that motorists don't want... hence the "hate."

Simply put, they don't want to deal with us, but are forced to by our presence.

They resent us for our freedoms.

From reading BF posts I have begun to think some bicyclists are suffering from paranoia.

Paranoia is a survival trait under many circumstances, as long as it doesn't rule your life!

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to kill you.

Why do people hate?

I disagree, Los Angeles drivers aren't any better or worse than any other city I've cycled in. There are certainly jerk motorists, but they are jerks to other drivers too and not just cyclists and motorcyclists. These people would be PO'd if you were in sherman tank or a hovercraft. I experienced nothing but courtesy and respect on my ride through South Central today, but then that's what I sent out to.

And cyclists hate the motorists. And motorists hate the truckers. And truckers hate the motorists. But most telling is that motorists also hate all the other motorists. Haven't you noticed that everyone else out there on the road is an *******? Except yourself...

I love everyone! Group hug everyone!

or not

I am indifferent to everyone provided that they do not attempt to kill or injure me.
However, fellow cyclists are a different story due to a bit of comradery.

...heh....... <slowly raises hand> Paranoia is getting worse every year too.

I've started to develop a chip on my shoulder also, damn thing has gotta go.

+1 I have noticed that!

I had a flagman working the far end of a construction zone intentionally start an opposite-direction flow of cars toward me while I was still in the one-lane section. I was the last vehicle in the platoon and I guess he didn't care to wait for me to reach him.

Since the flagman was on foot, and you were rolling along on a bike, it might have been a good opportunity to stop and discuss it with him. A bit of face to face sometimes can make all the difference.

Unless you have a hovertank. Then they fear you.

Cheers to that. Some folks are just jerks and there's no more to it.

Because hating is easy. It is hard to actually understand other people. It is hard to take the time to learn why people may not like something. It is dead easy to hate though, and hatred can bring a real sense of comraderie to people who are confused, hurt, or feel abandoned by society since it gives them someone to see that is worse off than them, and gives them a convienient excuse to do nothing about what is going on around them. Think about how many people, no matter what their social or economic situation, feel picked on, feel left out, feel abandoned and alone, and ask if there is any wonder that people lash out at those who are different or "not normal"? Add to this the fact that hate, particularly "group hate", is something that can give someone who feels dispossessed a sense of belonging to a group of like minded people, and you have a powerful force that is hard to overcome.


The shorter version is that people hate because they suck

Sure, but those folks are really in the minority... odds are you don't really see the jerks all that often.

I think what a lot of us run into are the drivers that are just getting by. They know how to drive, but not really defensively, they are not sure of cyclists and probably just think they are doing us a favor by letting us drive in their street.

I think it is not hate, but just a lack of understanding.

Just today at lunch, I posed the question I love to ask... to a group of folks sitting at the table... "What are the rights of cyclists on the street... does anyone know?" Now all these folk know me, and know where I stand... so this was not a blind question. None of them knew... one guy commented that motorcycles have all the rights of car... but he was not sure about bikes. The others flat out did not know.

When I told them that cyclists have the same rights and responsiblities as motorists... the next commets were... "why do bicycles always run stop lights and stop signs... "

I guess we create the very image that most motorists have of us.

This reminded me of the lyrics from "Jesus was a Capricorn," by Kris Kristofferson

"Some folks hate the whites who hate the blacks who hate the Klan.
Most of us hate anything that we don't understand."

The song also answers the "Why do people hate?" question.

So if we just understood the Klan we wouldn't hate them??