[dc-critmass-list] Re: being principled.

[David Cristeal]

Well said.  In my opinion, unless the rides are fun and most of the folks 
show an openness toward some variety of views, there will never be a 
critical mass of folks going on the rides.  Perhaps that is what some folks 
in the group prefer, just a small mass.  I think the suggestion somebody 
made of having a meeting to talk about these issues is a good idea.
David

>From: "DC Rider" <dc-rider at hotmail.com>
>To: dc-critmass-list at lists.mutualaid.org
>Subject: RE: [dc-critmass-list] Re: being principled.
>Date: Sat, 09 Jul 2005 11:55:23 -0400
>
>I understand that this discussion is frustrating, not only because of how 
>people are engaging in it, but also because it is a difficult topic with 
>few clear and simple points. As someone else mentioned, this topic comes up 
>at least every other year on this list. I have talked to lots of people in 
>DC who do not come to CM because they are uncomfortable with the level of 
>aggression. I have also talked to people visiting from other cities who 
>were turned-off by it.
>
>CM in DC has been struggling for years with getting people to participate. 
>I think that by constantly avoiding this difficult topic, we are avoiding 
>dealing with one of the main reasons why the CM ride is small. We handed 
>out THOUSANDS of color calendars in 2002 and lots of people came, but they 
>stopped coming. Heavy police harassment started only in the Spring of 2003, 
>after lots of the people that "joined" in 2002 had already dropped-out, so 
>blaming the low numbers mostly on the police does not really hold-up. We 
>can obviously choose to once again sweep this topic under the rug, but I 
>believe that will continue to mean the inability to sustain a sizable ride.
>
>By the logic of "everyone do as they wish" and "principles are 
>authoritarian", it is OK for people to come on the ride wear an 
>anti-Semitic t-shit (i.e. "Jews are a plague"). It is also OK for someone 
>to come on the ride and yell about how bad women are as drivers.
>
>Do you want to be grouped with someone who is promoting these things? The 
>truth is that this is not OK with most of us and we are already imposing 
>principles during the ride. The question is why are some unspoken 
>principles applied while others are not even welcome to be discussed?
>
>I don't think that we need to work out the fine detail of any principles 
>that we agree to for the ride. They’re not rules to be enforced, they're 
>supposed to be ideas that guide us.
>
>Please note that quite a few people have written to the list recently to 
>say that they appreciate some of the things that have been said in this 
>discussion. This and the fact that people are actually engaging in this 
>topic says to me that it is important.
>
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