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CYCLING_AROUND
April 23, 2018
January 28, 2022
On a local message board (nextdoor), a cyclist
was seeking help in tracking down a hit-and-run
that had clipped him from behind while they were
riding in a bike lane.
A few people decided this would be
an excellent time to air their (Nextdoor is an excellent
gripes about those damn cyclists-- place to lower your opinion
of your neighbors.)
The gripes against cyclists: March 2022: had another good
one recently-- someone
(1) we don't always posted a link to a New York
move over to Times story about traffic
the right to fatalities going up during
let cars by the pandemic. The car folks
once again started talking
(2) we don't always about scofflaw cyclists and
treat stops and reds the clueless "entitled"
exactly the way cars pedestrians of Berkeley.
are supposed to
Is this some weird
None of these have anything defensive guilt reaction
at all to do with someone on their part? Deaths
who was side-swiped while caused by bikes are
riding in a bike lane-- incredibly rare events
compared to cars...
Trying to explain to such people
that they appear to be villifying
an entire class of people because
they don't like what some of them There's an analogy that
do is a waste of breath, though occurs to many of us,
some of us try. though generaly regarded as
bad form to bring it up:
The implication would seem to
be that cyclists are so bad If you had just heard about an
they deserve to be run off the incident where a black guy had
road. Or should expect to done a break-in--
be run off the road?
What would you think about someone
Needless to say, if you who suddenly started lecturing
call them on this, they about black culture and how that
deny everything and accuse gangsta rap music has been
you of twisting their words. encouraging a lack-of-respect for
the law?
And the reason it's bad
form to indulge in these
analogies to racism is
that they risk
trivializing racism.
As much as I'm inclined
to complain about the
prejudice against
cyclists, I wouldn't
claim the degree of problems
cyclists face are anywhere
comparable to the kind
of thing the targets of
racism have to deal with.
It is however, interesting
to note that there's
overlap between these
problems: I've seen the
claim that cyclist injuries
disproportionately affect
people-of-color...
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