Ah, but you're only looking at accidental deaths by firearms--include intentional shootings as well and you get a different story.

True, but then I would be comparing apples to oranges since firearms are designed as weapons while bicycles are not (I'm not even sure how I would use my bicycle as a weapon). Comparing the gun hobbyist to the bicyclist, the figures are quite similar. I used 2008 out of laziness, it was easy to find, but I wouldn't be surprised that if we did a chart of twenty years the top spot for accidents would vary between the two. But both statistics pale if we throw accidental drownings into the mix. They exceed either figure by a factor of five or six times. And, as I often do, I am leading us off topic.

I'm really only responding to the first few responses and comments in this thread, as I started to see my interest drift the more I read. In any event, my experience leads me to believe the following. Hate is something, that once you have it, gets spread around in lots of different ways. Those who manifest "cyclist hate" probably hate many other things too.

+1

I think you are right on the nose.