[*BCM*] Battered Biker Syndrome

[Samra Rose]

somewhat tangential:

"when riding in a group, ride in single file. you'll be respected by the
people of your community. the bicyclist who weaves all over the road in
front of motorists is asking for trouble. he confuses the motorist and he
acts as though he might be somewhat confused himself"

http://vimeo.com/9702393

On Mon, Aug 9, 2010 at 4:21 PM, Jym Dyer <jym at econet.org> wrote:

> =v= In response to this _Globe_ article:
>
>
> http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/brookline/2010/07/by_jonathan_simmons_guest_colu_2.html
>
> Sean Roche wrote an astute "Battered Biker Syndrome" blog entry,
> appended below.
>    <_Jym_>
>
> =------------8<-------------Cut-Here-------------8<------------=
>
> http://newtonstreets.blogspot.com/2010/08/battered-biker-syndrome.html
>
> Battered Biker Syndrome
>        by Sean Roche
> Newton Streets and Sidewalks | Tuesday, 03-Aug-2010 at 6:08 AM
>
> A driver chatting on a cellphone almost hit Jonathan Simmons,
> the _Globe_'s On Biking columnist. When confronted, she told him
> he had no business on the road. His response? He wrote a column
> wondering how biker behavior has contributed to the "road rage"
> and proposing a 10-point share-the-road pledge, six of which
> points apply exclusively to bikes and one of which applies only
> to pedestrians.
>
> Let's break this down. Biker nearly gets killed. Biker promises
> to make drivers less angry.
>
> These are classic symptoms of someone in an abusive
> relationship. You harm me or threaten to harm me. It must
> be psomething I'm doing. I'll be a better person. Promise.
>
> Suggesting that there is some causal relationship between
> cyclists' behavior and the woman's potentially fatal actions
> is just wrong. Let's be clear. There is absolutely no behavior
> on the part of a cyclist that excuses or explains a motorist
> putting a cyclist in jeopardy. There is nothing that cyclists do
> that excuses or explains a motorist being ignorant of cyclists'
> right to the road.
>
> Nothing.
>
> Certainly, there are cyclists out there doing things that are
> wrong and things that are technically illegal. Let's identify
> and address those behaviors. But let's not even suggest that
> those behaviors somehow justify the anti-bicycle sentiment
> that's demonstrably out there on the road. Especially -- and
> this also reflective of abusive relationships -- because of the
> inherent power differential in the motorist/biker relationship:
> motorists' attitudes and behaviors can get a cyclist killed or
> seriously injured.
>
> Perhaps most importantly, it's foolish to think that drivers are
> going to respect cyclists and give them plenty of safe cushion
> if we could just convince those pesky two-wheeled scofflaws to
> stop at red lights. Dangerous driving, road rage, and rampant
> violations of the rules of the road pre-date the recent surge in
> bicycling. Cyclists have just become another target for the bad
> actors in our car-dominated culture.
>
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