| Re: Critical Mass Tunnel Freaks
Zoot Katz <zootkatz@operamail.com> wrote in message news:<3f102e81.552211@public-news.look.ca>...
> Sat, 12 Jul 2003 12:47:45 GMT,
> <RrTPa.55654$XV.3658089@twister.austin.rr.com>,
> "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m> wrote:
>
> > Perhaps there is no proof that CM causes a backlash (and it would be
> >difficult to prove anyway),
>
> Then why continue spewing it? Without proof, it's a myth. It's your
> movie. Fantasyland material you created to shift the blame for
> drivers' ****ty attitudes.
It's simple. I don't like CM tactics. Period. If you claim that I have
no proof of the harm CM does, then neither can you make any claims
about the effectiveness of the rides. You can't have it both ways,
Zoot.
>
> >but it has been observed, as has been posted
> >here several times, that traffic reacts differently (and not in a positive
> >way) after a CM ride.
>
> And I'm saying that's bulldadda. A figment of overactive imaginations
> on the part of persons who, without having any direct experience,
> decided CM is a bad thing because it doesn't conveniently fit into
> their world view.
Perhaps you are so accustomed to getting accosted that you cannot tell
the difference the day after a CM ride. I wonder about someone who has
so many stories about how bad drivers are. I have been hit by a car
ONCE, yet I can only think of one time that someone has purposely
accosted me on my bike and only three other really stupid moves by
drivers that put me at risk. But the one attack came the day after a
CM ride. I maintain the position that CM rides cannot do any good
because of the tactics they use, nothing more.
> I gave putznutz a plausible out by suggesting he may have been
> reacting to a sticker or just a random self-righteous asswipe on a
> mission instead of suggesting, without any proof, that his behaviour
> was excusable because he may have at some time past been delayed by a
> CM ride in which I may have participated.
Have you forgotten how to read? Perhaps your anger has elevated your
blood pressure to the point where you cannot comprehend what you are
reading. Let me put this into caps so you don't miss it: NOBODY HAS
SAID THAT ANY OF THE BEHAVIORS YOU HAVE DESCRIBED ARE EXCUSABLE!!!!!
Sheesh. Why is it that any time someone opposes your point of view,
they are immediately viewed by you as supporting assault with an
automobile? The question at hand is WHY he did it, not whether or not
it was an appropriate behavior.
> Why couldn't his stupidity have been a reaction to some roadies
> blatant disregard for traffic laws when they're out training? Or maybe
> his panties get wadded over curb-jumping BMX riders. To zealously lay
> blame for the caged jerks reactions directly at the feet of CM seems
> to be your mission. And you seem to think it's okay to do because 'CM
> riders' have an identifiable look you apparently don't like.
For all anyone knows, he has a deep-seated fear of cyclists and feels
the need to intimidate them every chance he gets. My mission here is
to point out that the tactics CM uses are objectionable to a large
number of drivers as well as other cyclists. I do not suggest that
every objectionable driver action is a direct result of CM actions.
But I do realize that CM is more likely to get a bad reaction than a
good one. Which rider is most likely to set off a moron like you
describe? The rider that gathers with hundreds of others to cause a
traffic jam, or the one that he passes without incident?
Now as for why you are focused on the "look" of a CM cyclist, I cannot
say. I have pointed out that many put on costumes for the ride. Do you
deny this? In fact, I only mentioned the way CMers dress in two posts,
one over two years ago. Are you afraid that everyone has you
stereotyped somehow? From what I have seen and read, there is no
identifiable look to a CM rider. Well, other than the guy riding in a
dinosaur costume.
Part of my point is that there is no way to determine who was at the
last CM unless the driver recognizes the person or the bike. That's
why I said maybe he recognized YOU. Any backlash that occurs from a CM
ride will be aimed at any and all cyclists. In fact, it will likely be
the lone cyclist on an otherwise empty road so there aren't any
witnesses....
I suppose I wish that all CMers were required to wear a big flashing
CM banner all the time so that the blame for the traffic jam would be
placed on the right people. Are you starting to understand why I don't
appreciate CM tactics? They reflect on ME although I have nothing to
do with them!
-Buck
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