[*BCM*] Cambridge po-po sighting

[rogerbwinn at letterboxes.org]

hey turtle,

when i group motorists together as dangerous, it has nothing to do with
them being bad people or out to get me or whatnot.  it's merely the
physics of it all.  cars weigh significantly more than us cyclists and
they usually travel at least the same speed, if not faster.  so when a
car-cyclist collision happens, it is extremely dangerous for the
cyclist.  it's just a fact of the situation, whether it's george bush or
lance armstrong or the president of massbikes driving a car, they're all
dangerous just because of the laws of physics.  i hope that clarifies my
comments lumping all drivers together.  and i do feel forced into the
situation, because cars aren't getting any smaller and even if i really
bulk up, there's no chance of me getting that big.  and i feel like i
take responsibility for my actions.  i wave when someone lets me in or i
fuck up on the road.  and i'm not trying to glorify running lights.
there's no moral purity i get from it.  have fun looking for a new
place.  

love,
roger

On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 07:53:55 -0700, "turtle" <turtle at zworg.com> said:
> As I said, I didn't want it to be taken as an insult.  Please don't take
> my e-mail seriously.  I thought it was really funny, so I posted it.  
> 
> But as to why I though of you when I was reading about Bush...  
> 
> I'm sure you don't think of your philosophy as being as bad as King
> George's, but to some of us it really does seem that way.  To me it
> appears that you blame everyone else for your problems, and seem to
> lump motorists in to a big category of "dangerous" creatures (thus the
> "terrorist" comment).  Now, I know that bicyclists (and pedestrians,
> and scooter operators, and even some car drivers) often do get treated
> unfairly, and we do have every reason to protest such treatment, but
> I've found that we often like to play the victim more than we really
> should, and many times refuse to take any responsibility for our own
> dangerous and disrespectul actions by blaming others for "forcing us"
> into committing them (thus the scapegoat comment).
> 
> I'd be happy to have a further discussion if you like (and may be able
> to look back for any questions from you that I may have missed), but
> I'm not going to be around a computer for a few days, so it will have
> wait a bit.  (My husband and I are looking for a place to live where
> most of the people aren't so stressed! Vermont and Canada are on our
> list...)
> 
> Finally, I do have to say that I completely sympathise with you as a
> cyclist!  It does suck to bike in the Boston area (and much of
> Massachusetts in general).  I've tried to make it a better place for
> everyone, but I often see that there is just too much animosity all
> around to make any decent headway.  Fortunately, others have not given
> up hope of peaceful coexistance in the streets.
> 
> -Turtle
> who wakes up every morning to the sound of birds chirping :-)
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-- 
  
  rogerbwinn at letterboxes.org