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| OUR OPINIONS PAGE This is the part of the website where people can post their personal views regarding cycling-related issues in the State of Hawaii. If you have an article you would like to submit to the site for posting, send it to the Webmaster. No personal attacks or flame wars will be permitted. All I ask is that you keep your article free of profanity, libel, threats of violence, etc. Other than that, your article will be published as received. Errors in spelling or grammar will be left as they are. If some one wishes to post a response to your article, it will appear on the same page as the original. Send articles here webmaster@criticalmasshonolulu.org |
| From: anonymous To: webmaster “Some CM riders try to tie up traffic as much as possible and be otherwise confrontational with motorists. Such riders are missing the point about Critical Mass. CM is a celebration of cycling, not a war against motorists. CM is about asserting our right to the road, not denying others their right to the road. Those who want to play juvenile games are encouraged to stay at home instead.” “Reports On Previous Monthly Rides by Matt I cannot describe it. I can only suppose that the media will cover this Mass, since traffic was snarled for miles and the police made a couple of (unsuccessful) attempts to stop (or break up or arrest, hard to tell) the Mass... It was fantastic. The best ever. Fucking wild and rude and unapologetic of its rudeness.” I fully support the mission of Critical Mass and had ridden in several in San Francisco, but some of the comments go contrary to the mission of CM. It is not a public rebellion or revolt. Honestly, I think even the S.F. ride is getting out of hand. What started as a mission has become a mockery when every who rides a bike uses CM as an excuse to rebel. CM is about obeying traffic laws (including having our bicycles registered), asserting our rights as cyclists and share awareness in a manner that shows that cyclists do have a voice. It is a peaceful demonstration of cycling rights in a manner that is lawful, yet will open the eyes of others to the need for safety and access for all bicyclists. Matt is really missing the point with his comments and to allow him to write recaps on the rides only further cements others view and turns away support for us. The goal is not the snarl traffic for hours and make some kind of statement akin to anarchy. “fucking wild, rude. . .” will not sway many into taking cyclists seriously. I think it is a shame that people are making light of the incident with HPD during the March ride. We are not there to taunt the police or public! We ride lawfully. If that means we stop when a police officer says so, then that’s what we do. Although this is not civil disobedience, some of the riders that rode with us are cowards. If you are going to make a statement of civil disobedience, like in the 70’s, then willing to be arrested for your cause is noble. The cowards that rode with us broke laws not for a purpose, but to incite and encourage delinquency. Running away from the authorities after they break some law, rather than standing up and fighting for what they believe in. Please encourage our riders to follow the mission of CM! Don’t make it a mockery. We need to encourage our riders to show respect to get respect! If we do this correctly, we have the power to use the police “escorting” us and ensuring safety for riders motorists and pedestrians . . . which is really what we are trying to do. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: "C.F.G." To: webmaster we need control I am all for CM when it is done properly. Crazy antics and needlessly upsetting others is not helping the ultimate goal of CM, but damaging it in the public eyes. Enough bicycles on the road obeying ALL rules of the road should be enough to snarl traffic appropriately, just as volumes of cars choke up the streets. THAT is what would get our message out properly, having polite law abiding cyclists in such high quantities (stopping at lights and for pedestrians at crosswalks adds delays!) that cars are stalled says so much more about the cause than getting everyone angry about some renegade cyclists. If one motorists goes unhinged and sometime in the future buzzes too close to a cyclist (whether or not the cyclist was even associated with CM) and injures him/her than the whole intention of CM is invalidated. PLEASE urge restraint and caution. I am a former messenger from Atlanta, GA and have been riding all kinds of bikes for the last 25 years competitively, and I commute daily everywhere I go, and the last thing I need is for another car to hit me in anger. If it is not done right, it is being done WRONG. If you want a crazy ride, do an urban assault ride at some other time and go crazy by yourself, but stop hurting the rest of us with stupid antics. Believe me, I would be the first one to sign up for a car free society, but until gas hits $20/gal that won't happen, so instead lets try to practice improving the image of cycling as an alternative to sitting in a car and maybe win over a few individuals at a time by showing the city that bike riding can be fun and not just a sport for hooligans. |