[*BCM*] WGBH inquiry

[Brian Frye]

Julie-- please note that this list isn't necessarily representative of the
BCM because there are people on here who don't ride and people who ride who
aren't on here. Many people involved use it as a platform for their own
individual agenda, but there is rarely any consensus and no form of
leadership. Your best bet is to experience it yourself if you want to know
what it is. Even then, its different every time!

Corinna-- I definitely share some of your sentiments about BCM occasionally
acting in ways that I don't completely agree with, but I still choose to
ride for recreation and to express myself. Maybe consider giving it another
shot, cuz again its always different!

Greg and Paul-- Thanks for the CONSTRUCTIVE comments, we need more of that!

Jym-- Enough hawking the list just to take stabs at people and dance around
the issues. You never post anything CONSTRUCTIVE to the discussion. A good
rule when you criticize someone or something, especially if you truly want
it to change, is to suggest a better alternative!

BF



On Sat, May 10, 2008 at 10:08 PM, Paul Schimek <paul.schimek at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Jym Dyer's comment (" =v= Yet she [Corrina] 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 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 fools 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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