Two cyclists attacked and beaten in Portland - Page 2 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

01-15-2007, 09:04 AM

Gooserider wrote:
> Wow. And that's a bike friendly city. I hope the assailants are caught and
> sent to prison.
>
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> PORTLAND, Ore. - Two cyclists said they were attacked by three teenagers
> near a north Portland bus stop on Wednesday.
>
> The women, Ashley Gorman and her co-worker Heather Moles, were riding their
> bikes home from work when the attack occurred near Legacy Emanuel Hospital.
>
> The cyclists said the teen girls were standing in the bike lane waiting for
> the bus and they had to steer their bikes around the group. The teens may
> have thought the cyclists rode too closely.
>
> The next thing she knew, one of the teens kicked out Moles' tire, causing
> her to fall.
>
> "I felt the thud, and then the tire went, and I went skidding into the
> road," Moles said.
>
> That's when the beating began. Three teens punched both cyclists in the head
> and dislocated Moles' shoulder.
>
> Jonathan Corey was passing by and helped break up the fight, pulling the
> teens off the cyclists.
>
> "It became obvious who was the aggressor in the whole equation," he said.
>
> Corey added that the assailants were ruthless.
>
> "I felt like I almost didn't use enough force in retrospect as I might have
> wanted to to make the thing stop," he said.
>
> One witness heard a racial slur aimed at the cyclists, who said they didn't
> hear it. The teens were black while the cyclists were white.
>
> The cyclists wonder whether race had anything to do with the attack. They
> can't understand what caused it.
>
> "I could imagine if we had said something but nothing was said," Gorman
> said.
>
> Gorman suffered the worst beating. She went to the emergency room but has no
> insurance to pay for it.
>
> "I got bruised up pretty good," Gorman said. "I got my behind handed to me."
>
> A fourth teenager with the group apparently stood by during the attack but
> then apologized afterward just before everybody scattered and police
> arrived.
>
>

And I thought Portland was generally regarded as very cyclist friendly!
If thats friendly I would hate to see hostile. Strange (or maybe not)
that race was mentioned in the article. I wonder if it was a
predominately black (African American or whatever) part of town.

Ken
--
The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets
old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without
shocking the entire community. ~Ann Strong

01-15-2007, 09:07 AM

Bill Baka wrote:
:: Gooserider wrote:
::: "Tom Keats" <tkeats2005@hotmail.com> wrote in message
::: news

lreoe.57e.ln@bud.garden.local...
:::: In article <45aae71f.31804750@news.supernews.com>,
:::: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Random Waftings Of Bunker Blasts)
:::: writes:
::::
::::: I wonder what the assailants' Free Republic handles were.
:::: Sounds to me like a case of punk-ettes looking for
:::: peurile, bullying kicks, beligerently blocking a bike
:::: lane, and waiting for the next victimizable cyclist(s)
:::: to come along, to pick-on.
::::
:::: It's old hat stuff. Except cases of inter-female
:::: bullying are now being more publicized.
::::
::::
:::: cheers,
:::: Tom
::::
:::
::: Well, except for the racial aspect. If three white teenagers beat
::: two black cyclists while spouting racial slurs, this would be the
::: lead story on every networks' newscast, and the assailants' photos
::: would be splashed on every newspaper and magazine in the country.
::: But the victims were white so this story will remain a local one,
::: and a minor local one at that.
:::
:::
:: You've noticed that aspect? I am now a minority in California, being
:: white, yet discriminated against because of it.

So, who has discriminated against you, Bill?

:: Affirmative action
:: just means that my job will be given to a less qualified person 'of
:: some color'. It has gotten out of hand.

Are you sure that person, who goes your job, will be less qualified than
you? Also, many new hires, of any color, are less qualified that old hounds
and work for less pay. Watch out that you don't get replaced because you're
an old dog.

01-15-2007, 01:07 PM

Ken C. M. wrote:
:: Gooserider wrote:
::: Wow. And that's a bike friendly city. I hope the assailants are
::: caught and sent to prison.
:::
::: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
:::
::: PORTLAND, Ore. - Two cyclists said they were attacked by three
::: teenagers near a north Portland bus stop on Wednesday.
:::
::: The women, Ashley Gorman and her co-worker Heather Moles, were
::: riding their bikes home from work when the attack occurred near
::: Legacy Emanuel Hospital.
:::
::: The cyclists said the teen girls were standing in the bike lane
::: waiting for the bus and they had to steer their bikes around the
::: group. The teens may have thought the cyclists rode too closely.
:::
::: The next thing she knew, one of the teens kicked out Moles' tire,
::: causing her to fall.
:::
::: "I felt the thud, and then the tire went, and I went skidding into
::: the road," Moles said.
:::
::: That's when the beating began. Three teens punched both cyclists in
::: the head and dislocated Moles' shoulder.
:::
::: Jonathan Corey was passing by and helped break up the fight,
::: pulling the teens off the cyclists.
:::
::: "It became obvious who was the aggressor in the whole equation," he
::: said.
:::
::: Corey added that the assailants were ruthless.
:::
::: "I felt like I almost didn't use enough force in retrospect as I
::: might have wanted to to make the thing stop," he said.
:::
::: One witness heard a racial slur aimed at the cyclists, who said
::: they didn't hear it. The teens were black while the cyclists were
::: white.
:::
::: The cyclists wonder whether race had anything to do with the
::: attack. They can't understand what caused it.
:::
::: "I could imagine if we had said something but nothing was said,"
::: Gorman said.
:::
::: Gorman suffered the worst beating. She went to the emergency room
::: but has no insurance to pay for it.
:::
::: "I got bruised up pretty good," Gorman said. "I got my behind
::: handed to me."
:::
::: A fourth teenager with the group apparently stood by during the
::: attack but then apologized afterward just before everybody
::: scattered and police arrived.
:::
:::
::
:: And I thought Portland was generally regarded as very cyclist
:: friendly! If thats friendly I would hate to see hostile.

Surely you don't judge an entire city by the acts of a few stupid teens....

Strange (or
:: maybe not) that race was mentioned in the article. I wonder if it
:: was a predominately black (African American or whatever) part of
:: town.

Maybe it was just a random occurence. Who knows. Geez, people.

01-15-2007, 03:35 PM

"Roger Zoul" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> Ken C. M. wrote:
> :: Gooserider wrote:
> ::: Wow. And that's a bike friendly city. I hope the assailants are
> ::: caught and sent to prison.
> :::
> ::: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
> :::
> ::: PORTLAND, Ore. - Two cyclists said they were attacked by three
> ::: teenagers near a north Portland bus stop on Wednesday.
> :::
> ::: The women, Ashley Gorman and her co-worker Heather Moles, were
> ::: riding their bikes home from work when the attack occurred near
> ::: Legacy Emanuel Hospital.
> :::
> ::: The cyclists said the teen girls were standing in the bike lane
> ::: waiting for the bus and they had to steer their bikes around the
> ::: group. The teens may have thought the cyclists rode too closely.
> :::
> ::: The next thing she knew, one of the teens kicked out Moles' tire,
> ::: causing her to fall.
> :::
> ::: "I felt the thud, and then the tire went, and I went skidding into
> ::: the road," Moles said.
> :::
> ::: That's when the beating began. Three teens punched both cyclists in
> ::: the head and dislocated Moles' shoulder.
> :::
> ::: Jonathan Corey was passing by and helped break up the fight,
> ::: pulling the teens off the cyclists.
> :::
> ::: "It became obvious who was the aggressor in the whole equation," he
> ::: said.
> :::
> ::: Corey added that the assailants were ruthless.
> :::
> ::: "I felt like I almost didn't use enough force in retrospect as I
> ::: might have wanted to to make the thing stop," he said.
> :::
> ::: One witness heard a racial slur aimed at the cyclists, who said
> ::: they didn't hear it. The teens were black while the cyclists were
> ::: white.
> :::
> ::: The cyclists wonder whether race had anything to do with the
> ::: attack. They can't understand what caused it.
> :::
> ::: "I could imagine if we had said something but nothing was said,"
> ::: Gorman said.
> :::
> ::: Gorman suffered the worst beating. She went to the emergency room
> ::: but has no insurance to pay for it.
> :::
> ::: "I got bruised up pretty good," Gorman said. "I got my behind
> ::: handed to me."
> :::
> ::: A fourth teenager with the group apparently stood by during the
> ::: attack but then apologized afterward just before everybody
> ::: scattered and police arrived.
> :::
> :::
> ::
> :: And I thought Portland was generally regarded as very cyclist
> :: friendly! If thats friendly I would hate to see hostile.
>
> Surely you don't judge an entire city by the acts of a few stupid
> teens....
>
> Strange (or
> :: maybe not) that race was mentioned in the article. I wonder if it
> :: was a predominately black (African American or whatever) part of
> :: town.
>
> Maybe it was just a random occurence. Who knows. Geez, people.
>
>

And MAYBE the black girls attacked two white women because they were white,
and did so while calling them racial slurs. Geez, Roger.

01-15-2007, 06:34 PM

On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 05:37:03 -0500, "Gooserider"
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> said:

>Nice. You read a story about two white women being beaten up by four black
>teenagers---and your first instinct is to blame it on Freepers?

Where in the story does it say what color the assailants or the victims
are???

To me the attack sounded no different from what the Free Republic types have
done around here.

--

Buy my book about school bullying here:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (recommended)
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

01-15-2007, 07:48 PM

Random Waftings Of Bunker Blasts wrote:
> On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 05:37:03 -0500, "Gooserider"
> <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> said:
>
> >Nice. You read a story about two white women being beaten up by four black
> >teenagers---and your first instinct is to blame it on Freepers?
>
> Where in the story does it say what color the assailants or the victims
> are???
>
> To me the attack sounded no different from what the Free Republic types have
> done around here.
>
> --
>

Hi there.

Just curious, did you read the article? <G>

If you read the whole article you will see these lines:

> ::: One witness heard a racial slur aimed at the cyclists, who said
> ::: they didn't hear it. The teens were black while the cyclists were
> ::: white.

That is where the skin colours was mentioned.

Peter

01-15-2007, 09:51 PM

On 15 Jan 2007 19:48:37 -0800, "Sir Ridesalot" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>
said:

>If you read the whole article you will see these lines:

That was not mentioned in the original article.

--

Buy my book about school bullying here:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (recommended)
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

01-15-2007, 11:55 PM

Gooserider wrote:
:: "Roger Zoul" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
:: news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
::: Ken C. M. wrote:
::::: Gooserider wrote:
:::::: Wow. And that's a bike friendly city. I hope the assailants are
:::::: caught and sent to prison.
::::::
:::::: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
::::::
:::::: PORTLAND, Ore. - Two cyclists said they were attacked by three
:::::: teenagers near a north Portland bus stop on Wednesday.
::::::
:::::: The women, Ashley Gorman and her co-worker Heather Moles, were
:::::: riding their bikes home from work when the attack occurred near
:::::: Legacy Emanuel Hospital.
::::::
:::::: The cyclists said the teen girls were standing in the bike lane
:::::: waiting for the bus and they had to steer their bikes around the
:::::: group. The teens may have thought the cyclists rode too closely.
::::::
:::::: The next thing she knew, one of the teens kicked out Moles' tire,
:::::: causing her to fall.
::::::
:::::: "I felt the thud, and then the tire went, and I went skidding
:::::: into the road," Moles said.
::::::
:::::: That's when the beating began. Three teens punched both cyclists
:::::: in the head and dislocated Moles' shoulder.
::::::
:::::: Jonathan Corey was passing by and helped break up the fight,
:::::: pulling the teens off the cyclists.
::::::
:::::: "It became obvious who was the aggressor in the whole equation,"
:::::: he said.
::::::
:::::: Corey added that the assailants were ruthless.
::::::
:::::: "I felt like I almost didn't use enough force in retrospect as I
:::::: might have wanted to to make the thing stop," he said.
::::::
:::::: One witness heard a racial slur aimed at the cyclists, who said
:::::: they didn't hear it. The teens were black while the cyclists were
:::::: white.
::::::
:::::: The cyclists wonder whether race had anything to do with the
:::::: attack. They can't understand what caused it.
::::::
:::::: "I could imagine if we had said something but nothing was said,"
:::::: Gorman said.
::::::
:::::: Gorman suffered the worst beating. She went to the emergency room
:::::: but has no insurance to pay for it.
::::::
:::::: "I got bruised up pretty good," Gorman said. "I got my behind
:::::: handed to me."
::::::
:::::: A fourth teenager with the group apparently stood by during the
:::::: attack but then apologized afterward just before everybody
:::::: scattered and police arrived.
::::::
::::::
:::::
::::: And I thought Portland was generally regarded as very cyclist
::::: friendly! If thats friendly I would hate to see hostile.
:::
::: Surely you don't judge an entire city by the acts of a few stupid
::: teens....
:::
::: Strange (or
::::: maybe not) that race was mentioned in the article. I wonder if it
::::: was a predominately black (African American or whatever) part of
::::: town.
:::
::: Maybe it was just a random occurence. Who knows. Geez, people.
:::
:::
::
:: And MAYBE the black girls attacked two white women because they were
:: white, and did so while calling them racial slurs. Geez, Roger.

Given that you nor I were there, we'll never know. For all you know, one of
the women on bike could have said something to incite them.

01-16-2007, 01:14 AM

On 15 Jan 2007 19:48:37 -0800, "Sir Ridesalot"
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>
>> ::: One witness heard a racial slur aimed at the cyclists, who said
>> ::: they didn't hear it. The teens were black while the cyclists were
>> ::: white.
>
>That is where the skin colours was mentioned.
>
Had both the assailants and victims been the same skin colour the
story wouldn't have made ink unless one was trying to highlight the
gender angle.

It's probably a scenario that is repeated several times per week in
other cities across the country but Portland's awareness of bicycling
issues got it reported by the media there.
--
zk

01-16-2007, 01:18 AM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>,
"Roger Zoul" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> writes:

>::: Maybe it was just a random occurence. Who knows. Geez, people.
>:::
>:::
>::
>:: And MAYBE the black girls attacked two white women because they were
>:: white, and did so while calling them racial slurs. Geez, Roger.
>
> Given that you nor I were there, we'll never know. For all you know, one of
> the women on bike could have said something to incite them.

As you say, we weren't there.

But I just can't help intuitively feeling that
perceived affluence & corresponding attitudes was
a larger factor in this incident, than "race".
Maybe my own life experience of growing up in a
city with a distinct "east side" and "west side"
is affecting my view.

I don't know where Legacy Emanuel Hospital is in
Portland, but I do know that Portland is more
complicated that cities with simple east/west or
north/south economic demographics.

But the M.O. of punks from the working-class/industrial
area/immigrant-enclave part of town, standing in the way
and beligerently challenging oncomers (especially "rich"
interlopers) is all too familiar to me.

So I have the feeling these victims may have been
picked-on because they were /perceived/ as "rich chicks"
with fancy, expensive bikes, sticking their /perceived/
Conspicuous Consumerism in other people's faces.

Or maybe the perps thought the cyclists were gay,
and it's a case of [misguided] gay-bashing?

I dunno.

But as a life-long city boy, I do know when I'm
confrontin'. And I know when to back-off.

I guess these ladies didn't.

cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca