The Cyclist Disposition

As disillusioned as I am about the so-called good natured
personalities of bicyclists, I actually didn't post this topic to
perpetuate the name-calling and flaming. The truth is, I actually
feel badly for some of these guys who are so full of rage that
virtually ANYTHING can set them off.

In another bicycling news group, I started a thread about what I feel
has been irresponsible, biased reporting of car/bicycle collisions in
a local Long Island newspaper. Essentially, my argument is that the
reporting consistently (perhaps not consciously) demonstrates a knee-
jerk assumption that the bicyclist is always somehow at fault. This,
in my opinion, fuels the attitude among drivers that cyclists are no
more than dangerous nuisances who should not be anywhere near the
roads - which, in turn, causes drivers to react a certain way to
cyclists - WHICH often winds up in deadly collisions. I've been
passionate about this issue since a kid in my youth group was killed
by a reckless driver a few years back. By all witness accounts, the
boy was doing everything right as a vehicle on the road; yet, the
paper reported the story in such a way that made him look as if he was
killed in the act of being a daredevil. His parents were devastated;
once by the death of their son, and again by the depiction of this
outstanding student and community servant in the news as just another
goofy kid acting irresponsibly on his bicycle.

As if my entire point was just a puff of gas, one member of the
discussion group immediately jumped on my ass for not showing enough
emotion for the victims of the bicycle accidents that were the topic
of my thread. To me, just the fact that I took the time to collect
these articles and post the thread seems enough evidence that I feel
horribly for these victims and their friends and families. However,
this member, who apparently had not been following the thread very
closely, waited no time at all to blow a capillary and spew all kinds
of insults and expletives in my direction. I tried to clarify my
point to this person, but it soon became clear that nothing was going
to satisfy him/her. He/she just needed to blow and feel smart and
powerful.

This is just one of many times I've been attacked in this manner, as
I'm sure many of you also have. I guess we all just want to feel
important, and in this age that affords anyone with an Internet
connection the opportunity to gain fame and credibility just by
shouting loud enough, it's become almost an obsession for some people
to shout about anything just to be heard.

Perhaps THAT's it? Maybe it's just that, as cyclists, nobody wants to
listen to us. Therefore, when presented with a forum of somewhat like-
minded people, we can't seem to shut up...the current rambling post
included!

On Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:58:56 -0700, "Leo Lichtman"
wrote:

I think it's newsgroups in
general that seem to collect personalities that get their jollies by acting
superior, putting people down, finding fault, and feeding their egos by in
this way.

But also this newsgroup in particular. I belong to several newsgroups
where civil discussion is the rule. In these newsgroups, ignoring
malicious posts is part of the culture, and nobody jumps on a civil
post just because the author is a sociopath.

When people refuse to play schoolyard games, the bullies have to go
elsewhere to get their jollies.

One bully who likes to pick on women (and is under the delusion that
only women sew) got so frustrated in alt.sewing that he started
forging the names of regulars. When even that didn't persuade anyone
to play yah-yah-you're-another with him, he went away.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net

In article ,
Papa Tom writes:

In another bicycling news group, I started a thread about what I feel
has been irresponsible, biased reporting of car/bicycle collisions in
a local Long Island newspaper. Essentially, my argument is that the
reporting consistently (perhaps not consciously) demonstrates a knee-
jerk assumption that the bicyclist is always somehow at fault. This,
in my opinion, fuels the attitude among drivers that cyclists are no
more than dangerous nuisances who should not be anywhere near the
roads - which, in turn, causes drivers to react a certain way to
cyclists - WHICH often winds up in deadly collisions. I've been
passionate about this issue since a kid in my youth group was killed
by a reckless driver a few years back. By all witness accounts, the
boy was doing everything right as a vehicle on the road; yet, the
paper reported the story in such a way that made him look as if he was
killed in the act of being a daredevil. His parents were devastated;
once by the death of their son, and again by the depiction of this
outstanding student and community servant in the news as just another
goofy kid acting irresponsibly on his bicycle.

As if my entire point was just a puff of gas, one member of the
discussion group immediately jumped on my ass for not showing enough
emotion for the victims of the bicycle accidents that were the topic
of my thread. To me, just the fact that I took the time to collect
these articles and post the thread seems enough evidence that I feel
horribly for these victims and their friends and families. However,
this member, who apparently had not been following the thread very
closely, waited no time at all to blow a capillary and spew all kinds
of insults and expletives in my direction. I tried to clarify my
point to this person, but it soon became clear that nothing was going
to satisfy him/her. He/she just needed to blow and feel smart and
powerful.

Illigitimi non carborundum.


cheers,
Tom


--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

Illigitimi non carborundum

To save everybody the trouble, it means "Don't let the *******s grind
you down."

When people refuse to play schoolyard games, the bullies have to go
elsewhere to get their jollies

Good observation, but the scariest thing is that I've seen people
participate civilly in a group for months or years before, one day,
they just explode and start spitting venom all over the place. And
usually, once the devil is out of them, there's no turning back.

Don't worry, it's not the fact they're cyclists, in endorphin or pot
withdrawals. The anonymity of the web can allow the 'beast within' to
emerge, just like the anonymity of a car incites road rage in some
susceptible people.