[dc-critmass-list] response to Jeff re politeness

[Michael Thompson]

In response to Bob x (Jeff) (savetheenvironmentx at yahoo.com)

first off,
I am glad you bicycle.  It is good for you, me, and everyone else out there
that you do.  But just because you ride a bicycle does not mean you are
detached from the system that is polluting the earth and causing rapid
climate destabilization.
(Do you live in a tent?  Are you detached from the grid? Do you grow your
own food without using pesticides? Unless the answer is yes to all three,
you are still part of the problem, and you still use a ton of oil).

secondly, does it seem like this confrontational way of doing things has
been effective?  It doesn't seem like that to me.  If there were more of us,
to a limited extent, we could scare people into sharing more of the road
with us.  But people that are scared of us, aren't going to join us. how
many people's actions have you changed by being rude to them while they are
driving?  how many people have you convinced to get on a bicycle by being a
dick to them on the street?

third, it is so false to say that stopping for the police doesn't help our
fellow bikers.  the reason I say this is because by not stopping and pissing
people off, they are much more likely to act like dicks the next time
around, treat us poorly, or target us, rather than understanding why our
presence is actually really good for the city.

you envision yourself fighting a valiant fight when you are rude to
motorists but that's just the picture thats been painted for you.
by re-enforcing an image people have of us as selfish, you make it easier
for them to not listen and in fact, you are doing their work for them by
playing a role they need you to play that will allow them to dismiss you as
unreasonable, which will then allow them to not change a goddamn thing and
continue to drive to work everyday convince "they" are right, and "we" are
unreasonable, therefore wrong.

If your intention is to feel good about yourself, then maybe this is what
you need to do.  But if your intention is to help all of us, (and generally
help save the environment), then you should find a way to change how things
are.  Right now, you are doing the opposite.

From: bob x <savetheenvironmentx at yahoo.com>
First off people should delete all of the previous
emails from their replies that way it makes the digest
easier to read! Secondly in response to tickets and
being ticketed don't stop don't take their tickets, it
is not worth it, you end up losing money and wasting
time and it doesn't help your fellow cyclists out in
any form.
Now onto politeness, I don't think we need to be
polite to cars or their drivers. They are out there
polluting our air hogging our streets and hurting and
sometimes killing our comrade cyclists and children
and pedestrians and others  even their own car driving
kind. I think following laws set up for them is stupid
we are not cars we don't really pollute or hog the
road we can't really door anyone or spill oil and
ignite, we normally don't honk loudly unless it is
mocking cars nor do we require things like car washes
and gas stations and huge repair shops (which could be
turned into parks or bike centers) I think we do need
to be more polite to pedestrians and respect them a
lot more but cars and motorized stuff not so much. Now
especially with all of these new "eco-friendly" cars
we shouldn't respect them because a car is never going
to be eco friendly no matter how many hybird engines
you put in or how much waste oil you use, I will say
they are slightly better for the environment but they
are just a placebo to the real problem.

Anyways hope to see all of you tonight and if you are
a lurker stop lurking and ride, I remember way back a
few years ago when I was just about the only one on
this list who actually came out too the rides and
those on the rides for the most part hadn't heard
about the list and it was funny. So come and ride and
have a good time!

Toodles
Jeff
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