[*BCM*] This is the coolest thread I've ever been a member of

[Turtle]

On 9/28/07, Jeff Young <jeffyboz at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> My high-mindedness, however, breaks down with traffic violations; i.e.,
> something that affects me directly.  With your logic, I should take another
> look at the guy driving the garbage truck, who happens to be talking on his
> cell phone, and making a left turn in front of me...  I should think
> about how he was raised, perhaps in a law-of-the-jungle type Southie
> neighborhood, without ever having considered what it was like to be a
> cyclist on the streets of Boston, never having access to higher education,
> etc.
>
> And to be honest with you, I know in my mind that you are right: I should
> be be the bigger person.  After all, I am educated, I have a great job, two
> beautiful daughters, great legs (thanks to biking--no offense to you scooter
> malingerers) etc.  But, and I'm sure anybody who's ridden a bike in this
> city for five minutes knows what I'm taking about, I feel fear, tremendous
> fear, then anger, followed by rage, and finally hatred when that truck turns
> towards me.  I hate that guy.  I hate everyone who's ridden before me in
> this city that's braked because of a$$holes like him.  The legacy of 'bigger
> people,'  who have been letting that MF get away with it for years, has
> forced me to yield when it's my right to ride, free from fear...
>
> I have no idea whatsoever how to resolve this conflict...
>


The way to resolve the conflict is to deal with whatever baggage that causes
you to be mean and disrespectful to others, first.  Once you know how to be
a "bigger person" yourself, it will start to rub off on others, with an
avalanche effect that spreads out to everyone eventually.

At least that's the best theory I've seen...

Peace, Love, and Bicycles,
-Turtle

who's been working hard on being a better person a heck of a lot lately.
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