[*BCM*] WGBH inquiry

[Paul Schimek]

Jym Dyer's comment (" =v= Yet she [Corinna] lurks on the Boston
Critical Mass list, waiting for her chance to opine at the media with
the same old tired complaints") is as unpleasant as it is unfair.

Corinna makes two good points:
1) that Critical Mass is not "about the benefits and challenges of
commuting by bike in boston"
2) that, in her opinion, Critical Mass does not raise awareness in a
positive way.

The WGBH producer may be genuinely confused about CM -- or perhaps just looking for any Boston bike-related mailing list. In terms of raising awareness, I agree that CM can be counterproductive to bicycle commuters, to the extent that it exacerbates motorist hostility. The recent discussion on this list about the negative comments about bicyclists, and specifically Boston Critical Mass, on the yelp site, is a concrete example of the negative effect of Critical Mass. One could say that too frequently, rather than being a joyful celebration of urban cycling (as it could be), Critical Mass rides reinforce the stereotypes of the dominant paradigm -- that bicyclists are inconsiderate jerks who do not belong on the road. Perhaps one day people such as Jym Dyer will realize that they are really supporting the anti-bicycling motorists (probably the day GWB realizes he has been the biggest asset to OBL).

Paul Schimek
http://bicycledriving.com
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