Comments on: Critical (Violent) Mass or how a group of bicyclists alienated me

By: R700 Rider

R700 Rider — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 10:07:25 +0000

Anytime that you get large groups together, shyte can happen. Thats why there has to be some level of organization. The problem is when you get too “democratic” within groups like critical mass, they lose control of their groups, and voila. Chaos. And now Critical Mass has a black eye due to some “hooligans”.

I appreciate what they are about in principal, but it is the same with any extremists…They get too damn EXTREME, and ruin it for the rest of us.

It comes down to ARROGANCE,CONTEMPT, and IGNORANCE.

I bike between 20-35 Miles a day, and I have seen jackass motorists who don’t know the law, and should go BACK to drivers training and learn it before they open up their dumbass cakeholes about how “bicylists aren’t supposed to be on the road, they should ride on the sidewalks”.

F*ck them..Those are the ones I want to punch in their f*cking mouths. (Only because I run into at LEAST 3-5 of these assholes a week)

By the same token, I have seen ARROGANT bicyclists who run stopsigns redlights and make illegal turns that SHOULD get clipped just to show them that THEY don’t have a set of rules JUST FOR THEM.

The solution?

EDUCATION, EDUCATION EDUCATION.

There should be more education in drivers safety courses concerning bicycles. And maybe even Bicycle safety courses should be mandatory as well. God knows the bureaucrats could use it as a way to generate more revenue, and maybe this knowledge could save a few lives as well.

By: doviende

doviende — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 09:39:30 +0000

That sounds unfortunate, but as you described, Critical Mass is open to everyone. Sometimes jerks show up…but that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be accountability for bad behaviour. Perhaps the people in your city need to have a discussion about what they think are appropriate actions on critical mass.

i think that you should still go to critical mass, though. do you want to let a couple of yahoos prevent you from having a good time? it sounds like everyone could use your help in creating a friendly and inclusive space for cyclists. don’t let those couple of guys dictate to you how it’ll be. you should have a say too.

By: Christopher Allen

Christopher Allen — Mon, 09 May 2005 01:39:16 +0000

I had similar experience with the Iraq war protests last year. I am quite sympathetic with the idea behind the protests, but the anarchists used the protests as an opportunity to terrify those around them. In my particular case, I was in the front of an SF intersection waiting for the protests to move on, and people were jumping on my hood and keying my car to scratch it. They left as the police approached, but leaving me quite angry and unsupportive.

By: Sarah Bluehouse

Sarah Bluehouse — Thu, 05 May 2005 12:22:41 +0000

See.. since the NYC Arrests Critical Mass has had a major turnover of the types of folks who ride. It used to be big hippies, and enthusiasts and whatnot, but since the law cracked down, the hippies went home, and left the anarcho-gutterpunks, and thier hardcore ilk to their tom-foolery.

It ain’t right for bicyclists to behave like this is ok… but then Critical Mass is about *Stealing the road* and it has a very law breaking mentality… they run red lights (to stay as a group) they tie up traffic, and now they fuck shit up… That’s not how you show the world that “biking is fun and efficient!”

By: sucka pants

sucka pants — Wed, 04 May 2005 10:31:38 +0000

damn, that sucks. maybe this will help you feel better. . .

NYC Critical Mass

By: Thad

Thad — Tue, 03 May 2005 08:22:00 +0000

Some interesting reading on an event that took place in Austin.

http://bicycleaustin.info/newsletter/2001-10-31.html

By: fling93

fling93 — Mon, 02 May 2005 17:09:30 +0000

From your subsequent post on this, which I can’t seem to comment upon because I get a “this post doesn’t exist” error. You quote an activist friend of yours who says: “Critical Mass is an “open source” activity where you cannot have a central organization with rules.”

Well as I understand it, the former does not necessitate the latter. For example, wikis are “open source” activities with plenty of rules and guidelines, and they work better that way. There’s no reason people within the movement can’t realize that these incidents are counterproductive and do something about it. This talk of “open source” stuff just seems like a lame abdication of responsibility. If you’re in a group that does something like this, I think you are morally obligated either to do something to change it — or quit the group.

By: tony

tony — Mon, 02 May 2005 01:30:33 +0000

no-gandhi wasn’t a fool

By: jeremy

jeremy — Sun, 01 May 2005 15:53:51 +0000

You ask “Why is it that the protesters for the movements i believe in always alienate me?”

My guess is that you know the answer, which is (IMO) that fanatics are almost always broken.

By: tony

tony — Sun, 01 May 2005 01:50:13 +0000

Is this for real????

jessh,in arizona,people get shot for small things(like looking at someone “the wrong way”).Such audacious behavior by a bicyclist is stunning to me.

Such folks give the gun lobby a valid excuse,unfortunately(self defense).

Seriously,(no, I’m not a gun nut) sociopathic behavior is always more likely in risk-takers(protestors,gamblers,politicians,actors,hedge fund mgrs),so it shouldn’t be too shocking to find bad examples of any movement/group.