Two cyclists attacked and beaten in Portland - Page 3 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

01-16-2007, 01:46 AM

Roger Zoul wrote:
> 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?

Working in electronics I would now have to be Chinese or East Indian or
willing to move there to train more replacements for the few remaining
high tech jobs. Not me, all American born engineers.
>
> :: 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.
>
I'm an old dog who knows a lot more than the kiddies they bring in at
half the price. I've had to train (and once fire) guys with Ph.d.s who
really almost did not know which end of a screwdriver to hold. It would
have been fun with the soldering iron on the bench.
Big degrees, no real bigger brains.
The new world order, remember?
Bill Baka

01-16-2007, 02:02 AM

On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 15:53:08 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, Bill Baka
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

> You've noticed that aspect? I am now a minority in California, being
> white, yet discriminated against because of it. Affirmative action just
> means that my job will be given to a less qualified person 'of some
> color'.

i thought baka the bigot had been killfiled! oh well, PLONK

01-16-2007, 02:44 AM

"Random Waftings Of Bunker Blasts" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in
message news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> 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.

YES IT WAS.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

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.

Can you read? It's right there in black and white, along with a nice
picture of the two white victims. This was a racial attack.

> 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. ]

01-16-2007, 02:46 AM

"Roger Zoul" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> 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.

Nothing they could have said(and they insist they said nothing) justifies a
BEATING. What kind of bull is that, Roger? Even if the two cyclists were
n-word spouting skinheads, no words justify a beating. Why are you so
unwilling to believe this is what it obviously is---a racial attack?
Unbelievable.

01-16-2007, 04:36 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]l (Tom Keats) wrote:

>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.

Would you say the same about if the victims had been black and a group
of affluent white girls had attacked them because of their hip-hop
dress and attitude? If only they had "backed off"...

Exactly how DO you "back off" when your "insult" is being white and
riding a bike? Personally, I'm not quite sure how to do that. I've
ridden thousands of miles through predominantly black neighborhoods
and never realized that I needed to "back off".

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Home of the $795 ti frame

01-16-2007, 05:33 AM

On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 05:51:17 GMT, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Random
Waftings Of Bunker Blasts) wrote:

>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.

Yes it was:

<quote from the web-page>

"The teens were black while the cyclists were white."

<end quote>

And it was repeated in the newsgroup posting, and in the reply to you.

That's four times now, wanna try again?

01-16-2007, 06:54 AM

Gooserider wrote:

> Nothing they could have said(and they insist they said nothing) justifies a
> BEATING. What kind of bull is that, Roger? Even if the two cyclists were
> n-word spouting skinheads, no words justify a beating. Why are you so
> unwilling to believe this is what it obviously is---a racial attack?
> Unbelievable.

While I believe there may have been racism involved in the
attack, there is also the aspect of the attackers just being
idiot teenagers.

Sometimes the behavior of teenagers toward non-members of
their group is amazing!

I typically use a bike path for part of my work commute and
have occasionally had to deal with knucklehead teenagers
walking down the path 3-4 abreast and refusing to share the
path whatsoever. They knew I was behind them: I rang my bell
and did the "trying to pass" finally giving up and riding on
to the grass off the path to get by them (muttering "it's a
herd of idiots" not too weakly under my breath in passing).

Sometimes teenagers [especially in groups] do really dumb
things and race doesn't really have any root cause in it.

But I agree that "racism" is largely defined as white persons
doing harm to black/brown/red/yellow persons in this country
now. "Racism is a white man's disease" was stated by a local
Hispanic city council member some years back; which only goes
to prove there really is equality between races: we're all
equally capable of racist thinking.

SMH

01-16-2007, 06:56 AM

Bill Baka wrote:

> half the price. I've had to train (and once fire) guys with Ph.d.s who
> really almost did not know which end of a screwdriver to hold. It would

PhD's making use of screwdrivers???

What sort of jobs were they doing?

SMH

01-16-2007, 09:26 AM

Bill Baka wrote:
:: Roger Zoul wrote:
::: 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?
::
:: Working in electronics I would now have to be Chinese or East Indian
:: or willing to move there to train more replacements for the few
:: remaining high tech jobs. Not me, all American born engineers.
:::
::::: 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.
:::
:: I'm an old dog who knows a lot more than the kiddies they bring in at
:: half the price. I've had to train (and once fire) guys with Ph.d.s
:: who really almost did not know which end of a screwdriver to hold.

Why in the world did they have you training them? Obvious mismatch.

:: It would have been fun with the soldering iron on the bench.
:: Big degrees, no real bigger brains.
:: The new world order, remember?

Not really.

:: Bill Baka

01-16-2007, 09:32 AM

Tom Keats wrote:
:: 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".

Could very well be...

:: 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.
::

Very possible.....

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

Again, very possible...

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

I tell you what....I'm surprised the ladies on bikes let them get so close.
It's hard to know the circumstances, but if I were riding and saw them
threatening kids ahead in the bike lane, I'd have either turned around or
swung wide with speed. Could be the problem started with the kids standing
in the bike lane and the cyclists trying to use that lane too.

::
:: I guess these ladies didn't.
::

Right. Perhaps the kids were gang members trying to earn some respect.

::
:: 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