[*BCM*] critical mass feature

[russell a willis iii]

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 11:48:08 -0500 "Evan Solochek"
<esolochek at hotmail.com> writes:

> 1)your name, town, age?

-- Russell A. Willis III, St. Louis, MO, age 51
 
> 2) how many critical mass rides have you been on?

-- Okay, lemme think, probably forty or so.

> 3) why do you participate in critical mass rides?

-- Camaraderie?

> 4) what is the one thing you'd like people to understand about this
movement?

-- Hmmn.  I don't much care what "people" (whoever they might be)
"understand" about "this movement," but for, like, legalistic reasons,
they need to understand that "critical mass" is an occurrance, not an
organization, and maybe that the "demonstration," if that is what it is,
is about equal access to roads.

> 5) what are your thoughts on the massive arrests and harassment by the
cops 
during the past two rides in NYC?

-- All I have on this is third-hand hearsay, because I was not there, but
in general my view would be (a) that police can legitimately arrest
people for actual violations of traffic laws, (b) that "corking"
intersections to allow the entire mass to go through a light that has
turned red, etc., technically subjects CM riders to this kind of thing,
etc., and that if someone wants "parade" or "funeral procession" rules to
apply, then they need to get into the whole application process, which is
kinda contrary to the idea of CM being an "occurrence," rather than an
"organization" . . . 

6) have you ever had any run-ins with the police during a critical mass
ride?

-- Actually, in St. Louis we have been kinda blessed, in that on one or
two occaisons the police have joined the group and asked "who's in
charge," and gotten the politcally correct answer, "no one," and they
have pretty much accepted this, and on other occasions (when there is
downtown sports arena traffic competing) they have actually directed us
through  . . . 
 
7) any general comments you'd like to make about critical mass?

-- Not really.  In St. Louis, with the departure of the initial
organizer, the event has somewhat faded, but in the meantime a rather
effective advocacy organization has risen up, which probably would not
have come into existence but for CM, which is quite involved in state and
local politics re road construction, signage, etc., etc., etc.

rawillis3 at juno.com

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