Ignorant civilians.
Thread started by
larsenf at 12.25.09 - 2:25 am
So tonight I'm at a holiday party with a friend of mine, Sloane. Sloane doesn't ride bikes and has civilian friends. Towards the end of the night one of the civilians brought up riding a bike with a group and I mentioned my involvement with riding bikes and ridazz. The host of the party who is one of Sloane's "great friends" then states "oh then you should tell them I am going to hit them with my car. They make me so mad, they come down my hill and don't stop." I don't know is she was talking about individual cyclists (how I took it) or running into mass rides but my first instinct was to jump across the table and hit her. Luckily I just ended up kicking the table. We then thankfully left soon after. All I could think about was kicking her drivers side mirror off when I got outside. Seeing as she was such a "great friend" of Sloane i thought better of it and instead just told her "I hope someone wants to kill you too." With all the recent events this ignorant civilian, as you can probably tell, really upset me.
So ridazz have any of you been in similar situations? Whats your story, how did you react, what did you wish to do?
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Interestingly enough I haven't encountered many ignorant commentaries on cyclists from "Class-C" drivers.
If anything, I've heard the Class-C crowd talk more shit about truck drivers and myself going on the defensive for them more often.
But, nonetheless, Class-C holders tend to be the most overall, misinformed and inexperienced operators when it comes to dealing with anything that has less or more than four-wheels.
Sometimes a little information will get them to straighten up and fly right, other times it will take an ass-tickling with a size 13 to get it through the system.
As to why I'm up at this hour, I've got pain in my left ankle that is preventing any movement whatsoever.
bentstrider12.25.09 - 2:32 am
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One time group of my friends and I were walking through Beverly Hills and a car honks angrily at a bicyclist, then swerves around him. I react pretty pissed off at the car, then one of my friends pipes up that the bicyclist should have been riding on the sidewalk, and that the cyclist was holding up traffic. She's pretty set firm in her opinion that 'roads are for cars'. Nothing can convince her otherwise, and she chides me occasionally that I'll 'get killed' for bicycling in Los Angeles. She says it out of concern, but her attitude certainly doesn't help.. On facebook, some guy on my friend's list posts this 'funny' craislist listing:
"Me - Bicyclist, heading to jury duty on 10th Street, Friday at 8:50am.You - Prius driver, crossing over two lanes, hitting me with your car and speeding away. I was hoping we could catch up for a cup of coffee, so I could get your views on the environment, and strangle you"
His friend posts: So even the tree hugging prius drivers do it... kinda expected some obnoxious camero/f250 driver to do that...Yay Prius!
I chew his ass out, saying hit and runs aren't funny and linked him to a bunch of MR posts with serious injuries from hit and runs. He replies:
"Obviously you need to chill out. Did laugh or say that it was acceptable? I just said I didn't expected it from a small Prius."
Hello, moron said 'yay prius' which = 'yay for hitting a cyclist and getting away with it'. I didn't say anything back, it was too stupid to do anything about.
dusky12.25.09 - 7:28 am
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One time my childhood friend, Roxie, cursed at cyclists and went on a rant about they take up space in the road and yada yada. She knew I was involved with ridazz and rode my bike on a daily basis. Anyway, that weekend (this time last year), I took her on a bike ride and she loved it. Her perspective changed after she was ONE OF US for a night.
Coe coe buttaa12.25.09 - 9:59 am
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I am constantly trying to educate the civili friends about cyclistas. But people are human and by human nature they are selfish and uncaring. It is a uphill battle, but I keep trying to help people understand a cyclist's POV.
Foldie12.25.09 - 10:08 am
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I think very very few people would actually intentionally hurt a random cyclist.
But there are those people out there.
I think there is a lot of people who ignorantly make hyperbolic statements or "jokes" about cyclists and don't realize that a lot of us have been traumatized by harassment, aggression, close calls, accidents, and worse; personally, to our friends, and in our community.
Just how some people have a hard time coming to terms with the fact that "funny" racist, sexist, and !@#$?phobic comments can be really hurtful and offensive to some people based on real live experiences of oppression. People have to learn that there is a ot of people out there that find nothing funny or interesting in fantasies of exacting violent revenge on cyclists.
Its hard to react to these people without being hurt, angry, and pissed off. But I think it's important to do so. People need to understand that that shit isn't funny when you have or have had friends in the hospital because of such ignorance and carelessness.
Unfortunately since we are the ones striving for justice and fair treatment, the onus is on us to reach out to the ignorant people in the larger culture. Its an uphill battle, but one I think is worth fighting on behalf of the next generation of ridazz.
Not that it isn't fun to fuck with ignorant ass muthafuckas ... Its just not very productive in most cases.
trickmilla12.25.09 - 10:18 am
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Fight fear with fear. I just tell them if u hit a biker when he's on a bike ride with other riderz. Chances are someone will get ur plates and they'll end up getting sued for everything they have....fear of loosing everything is a strong motivator... this uaually pipes them down...
Debut21312.25.09 - 10:32 am
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The other time when I was spending time w/ my father we saw a group of riders pass us by while we were driving home. He said,"I know youre into that bike riding but why do you guys have to cross the red lights and get yourselfs nearly killed by incoming traffic?" So I replied," Well not all of us cross the red light, theres just that small group of people who think they can get away with it." So my father wrapped it up by saying," I dont know but I think you cyclist should obey the traffic laws, you guys arent exempt." Which I agree with my father. All the times Ive talked to people who dont ride they always point out the fact that we dont follow the traffic laws. Ive yet ran into someone who hates cyclist but the whole following the traffic laws always comes up w/ non cycling people:.
john.1312.25.09 - 10:48 am
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i once had a heated conversation with a former triathalete about taking the full lane. in spite of the fact that he was formerly a cyclist, he felt that bikes didnt belong in the middle of the lane. i pointed out that he was just biking for exercise, and therefore could pick-and-choose which streets to take, whereas, if i need to go to the grocery store or laundromat, i am forced to ride in unsafe streets where i am forced to take the lane.
larsen, im glad you said something to your friend, and im glad that something was so witty.
+1 gold star.
oodlesofpoodles12.25.09 - 5:46 pm
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All my Class-C friends have verbally acknowledged their desire to "kill those [expletive deleted]s." ...these are my friends, right? I try to explain it to them civilly and they just get that infamous holier-than-thou, stubborn attitude that you just can't defeat with words. Usually I just get too mad and flustered to argue and tell them I hope
they die.
The worst time was with my cousin. He said "you go on those rides? Man, I wanna
kill those guys." What, wait... he just acknowledged that I go on those rides, and that he wants to kill the people on those rides. Doesn't that mean my cousin wants to kill me?
I am a very poor speaker and not a good debater, I am not good at pulling useful facts and laws and arguments out on the fly. So I just told him I hope when he eventually does kill one of them it's me, so he can feel guilty about it for the rest of his life and some random cyclist's family somewhere doesn't have to suffer the pain he'll cause. He got quieter then.
outerspace12.26.09 - 4:18 pm
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I've given up on arguing and trying to explain cycling to civilians. I can't help that they are still plugged in to the matrix.
Velocipede12.26.09 - 4:56 pm
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I've had people tell me they hate the group rides. I dont know what to say. I just say "that must be a real bummer for you."
Roadblock12.27.09 - 12:39 am
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My mind's recreation of your voice saying this phrase in such a matter of fact way (as I'm sure it was) made me literally chuckle out loud.
Thank you for that Don, haha
jonnyboy responding to a
comment by Roadblock
12.27.09 - 12:52 am
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hahaha it also works in whispery creepy perv voice....
Roadblock responding to a
comment by jonnyboy
12.27.09 - 1:02 am
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The best voice to uuuuuuuuuuuuuussssssssssssseeeee.
bentstrider responding to a
comment by Roadblock
12.27.09 - 1:05 am
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larson, i hear you. that would have been my reflex reaction. unfortunately it would have only given her more ammunition in her little mind to justify her crazy behavior. those people are ground zero whom we need to bring over to our side. not an easy task at all, but worth the shot.
my thinking is her hate is born out of jealousy. afterall, seeing a community of people having fun riding by your house as you're taking out the garbage, how do you think most people would feel? i, as you may have tried, would have told her how much i would have loved to have her ride with us and shown her how to make that possible, easily and safely.
indigis12.27.09 - 8:42 am
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