Alternatives to Critical Mass
12-02-04, 10:54 PM
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I'm working this weekend and next weekend I'll be upstate. Maybe Sunday afternoon/evening depending on what time I'll be getting back. Although I'm probably doing a lot of riding on Saturday, I might be tired...
12-02-04, 10:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Yoshi
I'm working this weekend and next weekend I'll be upstate. Maybe Sunday afternoon/evening depending on what time I'll be getting back. Although I'm probably doing a lot of riding on Saturday, I might be tired...
We're taliking about Tuesday night, 7pm at columbus circle.
12-03-04, 01:51 PM
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Here's another idea: Portland has a Community Cycling Center that does the following:
1. Provides free bicycles to low-income adults and children
2. Teaches kids safe cycling habits
3. Teaches kids how to wrench / fix their bikes
Right now, they're in the midst of their holiday bike drive, their goal is to provide 1000 free bikes to deserving kids during the holidays. They also have a shop where they sell used bikes and the usual parts and accessories at reasonable prices, and some of the staff there are kids they trained to wrench.
This is 'hands-on' advocacy, it teaches skills, it gets more people on bikes, it trains them how to ride safely and how to maintain their machines.
https://www.communitycyclingcenter.org/
1. Provides free bicycles to low-income adults and children
2. Teaches kids safe cycling habits
3. Teaches kids how to wrench / fix their bikes
Right now, they're in the midst of their holiday bike drive, their goal is to provide 1000 free bikes to deserving kids during the holidays. They also have a shop where they sell used bikes and the usual parts and accessories at reasonable prices, and some of the staff there are kids they trained to wrench.
This is 'hands-on' advocacy, it teaches skills, it gets more people on bikes, it trains them how to ride safely and how to maintain their machines.
https://www.communitycyclingcenter.org/
12-07-04, 04:41 PM
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Originally Posted by teadoggg
I started a pretty good thread yesterday talking about why I'm opposed to Critical Mass. Since I don't want to be one of those people to complains about a problem but does not offer any alternatives, I'm starting this thread.
What are some feasible alternatives to critical mass (including changing the style of the Mass) that still promote cycling as an alternate form of transportation, and raise awarness to the unjust treatment of cyclists in general?
There were some great ideas in the "why i'm against critical mass" and to increase exposure, let's discuss those here.
What are some feasible alternatives to critical mass (including changing the style of the Mass) that still promote cycling as an alternate form of transportation, and raise awarness to the unjust treatment of cyclists in general?
There were some great ideas in the "why i'm against critical mass" and to increase exposure, let's discuss those here.
https://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/
https://www.bikesagainstbush.com/blog/index.php
https://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/2005/index.html
https://www.aeolian-ride.info/
12-07-04, 05:10 PM
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Originally Posted by randya
There was a time when CM in Portland was relatively peaceful, too. I can tell you when all that changed: it was just after an August 2002 visit to Portland by George W. at which numerous peaceful demonstrators were pepper-sprayed by the police. Critical Mass wasn't even there. Ten days later, on the monthly CM ride, there was a police riot. Although it was 'Bike Summer' in Portland that year, and there were some out of town participants, this was still mostly a local ride.
I have to believe that the majority of the NYC RNC CM participants were also local. So, I think the police crackdown on CM in NYC has more to do with the fact that the Republicans were in town for their convention and they don't like CM because of its anarchic philosophy and nature, and willingness to speak out on important issues of concern, than it has to do with whether or not there were out-of-town participants on the ride.
In fact, if you were the paranoid sort, you might conclude that in national police circles, information is circulating regarding how to most effectively suppress CM; perhaps this information is even being disseminated through national police agencies like the FBI or the Dept. of Homeland Security. I personally find the similarities between the cop's tactics in Portland, NYC, Buffalo, Santa Cruz and other towns where CM is being actively suppressed too disconcerting to believe that it's all mere coincidence.
So go ahead and blame it on 'out-of-towners' if you want, but I think you need to look a little closer to home than that - it's our own government pulling crazy ***** like this on its own citizens, right in our own backyards. Just another step closer to a police state...
By the way - in the 60's during the civil rights and anti-war era, the US government used so-called outside agitators to infiltrate civil rights and antiwar organizations to try and get these groups to do stupid criminal ***** that would get them into trouble. No reason the government isn't still doing this today. These are the real outsiders you should be concerned about, not the people who came to NYC to legitimately and legally raise their voice in protest against the RNC because of their patriotism and concern for the direction this country's leadership has taken us in.
I have always viewed Critical Mass as the heart of the cyclists' rights movement. If CM wasn't percieved as a threat by the powers that be, they would just ignore it. The amount of attention given by the NYPD and other police agencies to CM only reinforces my belief that they and their handlers view CM as a threat to their power.
I have to believe that the majority of the NYC RNC CM participants were also local. So, I think the police crackdown on CM in NYC has more to do with the fact that the Republicans were in town for their convention and they don't like CM because of its anarchic philosophy and nature, and willingness to speak out on important issues of concern, than it has to do with whether or not there were out-of-town participants on the ride.
In fact, if you were the paranoid sort, you might conclude that in national police circles, information is circulating regarding how to most effectively suppress CM; perhaps this information is even being disseminated through national police agencies like the FBI or the Dept. of Homeland Security. I personally find the similarities between the cop's tactics in Portland, NYC, Buffalo, Santa Cruz and other towns where CM is being actively suppressed too disconcerting to believe that it's all mere coincidence.
So go ahead and blame it on 'out-of-towners' if you want, but I think you need to look a little closer to home than that - it's our own government pulling crazy ***** like this on its own citizens, right in our own backyards. Just another step closer to a police state...
By the way - in the 60's during the civil rights and anti-war era, the US government used so-called outside agitators to infiltrate civil rights and antiwar organizations to try and get these groups to do stupid criminal ***** that would get them into trouble. No reason the government isn't still doing this today. These are the real outsiders you should be concerned about, not the people who came to NYC to legitimately and legally raise their voice in protest against the RNC because of their patriotism and concern for the direction this country's leadership has taken us in.
I have always viewed Critical Mass as the heart of the cyclists' rights movement. If CM wasn't percieved as a threat by the powers that be, they would just ignore it. The amount of attention given by the NYPD and other police agencies to CM only reinforces my belief that they and their handlers view CM as a threat to their power.
Oh, there's no question the police think CM is a threat. Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Ghandi, the Burning Buddhist Monk Movement of South Vietnam were all threats to the power d'jour. And, they didn't even carry guns. The Iraqi "insurgents" have a lot to learn.
CM is free speech. It is non-violent direct action civil disobedience. THAT is precisely what scares the police.
12-07-04, 10:33 PM
#31
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How about organizing lots of small group rides and obtaining permits for each of them? If the permit costs money, make the groups just large enough that the per-participant cost of the permit is bearable. Then, when riding, obey all of the traffic laws to the letter. Obey all the lights even if the police show up to control the intersections for you. Better yet, get to know the police and invite them to ride with you. The more of them you get to ride, the more effective the result.
The point of this exercise would be to prove to the police that the permit requirement is silly, and to prove to CM that obeying the basic traffic laws is important to protecting the right to travel on public ways - without a permit.
-Steve Goodridge
https://humantransport.org
The point of this exercise would be to prove to the police that the permit requirement is silly, and to prove to CM that obeying the basic traffic laws is important to protecting the right to travel on public ways - without a permit.
-Steve Goodridge
https://humantransport.org
12-08-04, 06:14 AM
#32
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It's not just a permit. In NYC the permit itself is a couple of thousand dollars. On top of that you need:
1. Insurance.
2. Sanitation (Porta-potties or something similar somewhere).
3. EMT's standing by.
4. Police escort and traffic control to close streets
And so on.
In other words, unless you're a group that's pretty large, logistically the "parade permit" makes doing anything virtually impossible.
1. Insurance.
2. Sanitation (Porta-potties or something similar somewhere).
3. EMT's standing by.
4. Police escort and traffic control to close streets
And so on.
In other words, unless you're a group that's pretty large, logistically the "parade permit" makes doing anything virtually impossible.
12-08-04, 09:07 AM
#33
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Originally Posted by vincenzosi
It's not just a permit. In NYC the permit itself is a couple of thousand dollars. On top of that you need:
1. Insurance.
2. Sanitation (Porta-potties or something similar somewhere).
3. EMT's standing by.
4. Police escort and traffic control to close streets
And so on.
In other words, unless you're a group that's pretty large, logistically the "parade permit" makes doing anything virtually impossible.
1. Insurance.
2. Sanitation (Porta-potties or something similar somewhere).
3. EMT's standing by.
4. Police escort and traffic control to close streets
And so on.
In other words, unless you're a group that's pretty large, logistically the "parade permit" makes doing anything virtually impossible.
Our bike club in North Carolina holds rallys with >>100 cyclists; we do have insurance, and we provide garbage barrels and porta-potties, all paid for by registration fees. We haven't been required to obtain permits, however, since we follow the road rules well enough to have avoided police concern. We do create spot congestion sometimes, but the police have supported our right to do that. Some of the bike shops and even the town of Cary itself have held larger rides where the police did assist with closing intersections during the mass starts. I do not know if permits or fees were involved or if the police support was free.
Our smaller local group rides don't have sanitation or participation fees. On one occasion a lone, unknowing Cary police officer ticketed one or more cyclists for impeding traffic on a narrow-lane 2-lane road. The cyclists appealed the ticket, and the town's transportation planner in charge of bicycling issues intervened on the cyclists' behalf. The police soon dropped the charge, since under state law it cannot apply to vehicles that must travel slowly by design. In general the police have been very supportive of cyclists' rights to the roadway here. I have recently heard several stories of Raleigh police arriving at the scenes of (fortunately non-fatal) car-bike collisions where, after hearing both sides of the story, the police verbally tore apart the motorists for failure to yield, unsafe passing, or failure to reduce speed, and lectured the motorists on the cyclists' right to use the roadway. I think it is very useful for cycling clubs to have regular outreach to the police.
-Steve Goodridge
https://humantransport.org
Advocacy officer, North Carolina Bicycle Club
12-08-04, 09:50 AM
#34
Senior Member
Maybe Critical Mass could reorganize as a sort of Guardian Angels police auxiliary to deter street crime, report/document traffic offences, and provide first aid? They have certainly demonstrated a much higher level of mobility than have the police. The "flash mob" quick reaction tactics developed for demonstrations might have public safety implications. A good working partnership with the police/fire department would be key, I think.
Paul
Paul
12-08-04, 10:01 AM
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That's a terrific idea, Paul... I really like that one...
12-08-04, 12:47 PM
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CM isn't a parade, it's traffic! The City of Portland has also tried to make CM go the permit route in the past. Not as much cost or logistics as in NYC, but it still didn't fly...one individual stepped up and got a permit one time. All the motocops left with about a dozen riders on the 'permitted ride route' and one hundred and fifty other cyclists went on an unescorted, unpermitted ride on a different route at the same time.... 
ZooBomb's motto is "Fight Evil Crime" (go ahead, google it and see what comes up). We got some press last summer when some ZooBomb Century riders stopped a purse snatching in progress and held the perp until the cops arrived...
ZooBomb's motto is "Fight Evil Crime" (go ahead, google it and see what comes up). We got some press last summer when some ZooBomb Century riders stopped a purse snatching in progress and held the perp until the cops arrived...
12-08-04, 04:14 PM
#37
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Originally Posted by randya
CM isn't a parade, it's traffic!
-Steve Goodridge
12-08-04, 05:28 PM
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Originally Posted by sggoodri
Bike clubs with lawfully behaving members don't have this problem.
The bottom line is that the cops are doing their darndest to both (1) make CM an unpleasant experience for participants, and in doing so, are way overstepping their authority vis-a-vis the treatment of cyclists vs. motorists accused of the same traffic violations, and (2) put as negative a PR spin on CM for the benefit of the press and the public as possible.
Any city that's got a vibrant CM ride that enjoys at least police neutrality, if not support, has a much more active cycling scene and advocacy community in general.
As I've stated here before, I've been on CM rides where all traffic laws were scrupulously followed, but the cops still went ahead and gave out a bunch of tickets on fabricated charges, anyway...
If all you can focus on are the laws broken by cyclists during CM, both real and alleged, then you indeed have tunnel vision.
12-08-04, 08:35 PM
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I have to tell you... At the last CM, you couldn't even get on a damned bike, so tell me what traffic laws were violated before people even started riding!
Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.
Sorry, just had to get that off my chest.
12-09-04, 09:19 AM
#40
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Originally Posted by randya
There's been plenty of testimony in these forums that 'club' riders routinely do the same ***** that everyone's so down on CM for - blocking traffic and blowing stop signs and even traffic signals while on group rides.
So what is it that Critical Mass is doing to excite the NY police? Either CM is too flagrant in their traffic law violations, or they are dragging other forms of civil disobedience into their activities.
Steve Goodridge
12-09-04, 09:36 AM
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Or stepping on a pedal at Union Square south is a crime which warrants your arrest.
12-09-04, 10:53 AM
#42
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Originally Posted by vincenzosi
Or stepping on a pedal at Union Square south is a crime which warrants your arrest.
I support the right to enjoy group rides in urban areas, but I disagree with the lawlessness and efforts to provoke police to no constructive end. We get a lot more cyclist-friendly action from government where I live when we (1) show that we can cooperate very effectively, and (2) explain clearly what we need, want, and expect.
12-09-04, 11:09 AM
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Police won't bother cyclists at Union Square if they aren't associated with an activity specifically designed to congest traffic and frustrate other road users
12-09-04, 04:43 PM
#44
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Originally Posted by vincenzosi
Wrong, and already proven wrong on multiple occasions where people who weren't even on the ride got bagged.
12-09-04, 04:47 PM
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Originally Posted by sggoodri
But the police *thought* they were associated with CM. I'm discussing the cops' motive, not their accuracy.
12-09-04, 08:00 PM
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Originally Posted by sggoodri
I have worked with police in various parts of the county including NYPD. Police are sometimes subject to overreaction and groupthink, but in general they don't have it in for cyclists, not even in NY. Rather, they are in an authority battle over Critical Mass specifically, and are casting a wide net during CM events. CM's insistence on being uncooperative with police, violating traffic laws, and attempting to maximize the public disruption (as opposed to minimize, as the leaders of other cycling clubs do) is the primary reason why CM incurs the wrath of local police. Police won't bother cyclists at Union Square if they aren't associated with an activity specifically designed to congest traffic and frustrate other road users, nor will they bother cyclists who they know obtained a permit to have their parade.
I support the right to enjoy group rides in urban areas, but I disagree with the lawlessness and efforts to provoke police to no constructive end. We get a lot more cyclist-friendly action from government where I live when we (1) show that we can cooperate very effectively, and (2) explain clearly what we need, want, and expect.
I support the right to enjoy group rides in urban areas, but I disagree with the lawlessness and efforts to provoke police to no constructive end. We get a lot more cyclist-friendly action from government where I live when we (1) show that we can cooperate very effectively, and (2) explain clearly what we need, want, and expect.
1. 5,000 to 10,000 people on bicycles spontenously gathered for a group ride.
2. It was the Friday before the Republican National Convention.
3. A large number of extremists CM participants believed in the First Amendment of the Constitution, their right to the roadway, and the freedom of assembly.
The police cracked down on CM for the same reasons they cracked down on the extremists who participated in the civil rights movements of the 60's. Extremists such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Ghandi, Nelson Mendela, and the Burning Buddhist Monks of South Vietnam.
There's no question CM is a political movement, non-violent direct action civil disobdience. No one provoked the police. No participants carried guns or advocated violence. No one suggested using bicycles as pipe bombs.
When you consider that bicycle drivers are ******s of the roadway, second-class users, in the eyes of most motorists, CM is a civil rights movement. Yes, there were probably a number of bicyclists who ran red lights and stop signs during the CM.
But, the police also indiscriminately arrested people who were merely in the vacinity.
In Sun Tzu's Art of War, the superior power defeated "insurgents" by co-opting their ideas. Before the fall of segregation, South Vietnam, and apartheid, there were many arrests. Many were attacked by police dogs and sprayed with firehoses. And, many died for the cause of civil rights.
When the police deprive the the people of the First Amendment rights, what recourse do the people have? The Second Amendment. Long live the United States Constitution.
12-09-04, 08:06 PM
#47
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Originally Posted by sggoodri
How about organizing lots of small group rides and obtaining permits for each of them? If the permit costs money, make the groups just large enough that the per-participant cost of the permit is bearable. Then, when riding, obey all of the traffic laws to the letter. Obey all the lights even if the police show up to control the intersections for you. Better yet, get to know the police and invite them to ride with you. The more of them you get to ride, the more effective the result.
The point of this exercise would be to prove to the police that the permit requirement is silly, and to prove to CM that obeying the basic traffic laws is important to protecting the right to travel on public ways - without a permit.
-Steve Goodridge
https://humantransport.org
The point of this exercise would be to prove to the police that the permit requirement is silly, and to prove to CM that obeying the basic traffic laws is important to protecting the right to travel on public ways - without a permit.
-Steve Goodridge
https://humantransport.org
12-09-04, 08:11 PM
#48
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Originally Posted by sggoodri
But the police *thought* they were associated with CM. I'm discussing the cops' motive, not their accuracy.
12-09-04, 08:12 PM
#49
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Originally Posted by sggoodri
But the police *thought* they were associated with CM. I'm discussing the cops' motive, not their accuracy.
The NYPD *thought* Patrick Dorismond was a little too beligerent after their officers tried to entrap him into selling them drugs, and they shot him for it.
The NYPD *thought* that arresting 256 on August 27th and 1200+ on August 29th was a good way to respect their fellow citizens and the First Amendment.
The NYPD *thought* that it was OK to disregard completely the ruling of a federal judge who told them that no permit was required for the Critical Mass rides in September, October and November.
The NYPD is the problem in this specific case, and in many of the "problems" we have in this city. This is a police force the size of many armies, run as a paramilitary organization and staffed by men who, for the most part, do not even live in the city they are sworn to protect. They drive to and from work, park not just in reserved spaces but haphazardly and illegally (in some cases, in the middle of marked, signed and painted bike lanes!) and so don't even mingle on the trains and subways with their fellow citizens. The culture of distrust and brutality among the NYPD leads to such disparate but consistent events as the ones I named, and many, many more. Things are so bad that they have to paint "Courtesy/Professionalism/Respect" on the sides of their cars to remind officers of the bare minimum they should deliver to the citizens who employ them.
This is an entrenched culture and one which has to be destroyed, as the men in command now came of age during New York's darkest years and see the ghosts of Bushwick and Harlem and East New York every time two or three gather in the name of dissent. These men are still fighting rioters in the dark days of the 77 blackouts. These are men, in short, who see New Yorkers who do anything but scuttle nervously from home to work and back again as a problem to be managed.
CM is one tip of an enormous black iceberg as far as the NYPD is concerned. And the saddest thing is that, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on this city, when the police had a chance to embrace and cherish the public they are charged with protecting, the very civilians who died in far greater numbers than they on that horriffic day, they chose instead to circle their wagons against the public.
12-09-04, 09:00 PM
#50
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as a LAST resort, should our rights to the road be in jeopardy: I would be sympathetic to their goals and maybe even methods.