minnesota bicyclists arrested

On Sep 1, 6:08 pm, "Leo Lichtman" wrote:

I have very little use for Critical Mass, because their actions are
calculated to create inconvenience,

Protests that cause no inconvenience have zero effect. Civil
disobedience is just that. In the case of Critical Mass rides, there
is very little inconvenience relative to what happened in the '60s. In
larger cities, they have a police escort for public safety. Hard to
see how that is more inconvenient than streets closed off for a
marathon or bike race.

I think the protest message that Critical Mass is trying to impart is
the difficulty and inequity that bicycles have commuting in cities
versus cars. Amazing that even posters here find that small
inconvenience offensive!

In article
,
!Jones wrote:

On Sat, 01 Sep 2007 15:04:19 -0500, in rec.bicycles.tech Tim McNamara
wrote:

In article ,
!Jones wrote:

On Sat, 01 Sep 2007 11:06:34 -0600, in rec.bicycles.tech
wrote:

http://www.startribune.com/crime/story/1396202.html

A friend there said they were "Critical Mass"; I thought that bunch
was defunct.

Critical Mass rides happen monthly in dozens of cities. Far from
defunct.

Put 'em under the jail, I say!

While I have doubts about the efficacy of Critical Mass rides in
reducing the car culture, that seems a bit harsh to me.

Well, essentially Critical Mass (CM) is what's wrong with our social
fabric. It's not about bicycles, it's about civil behavior... the
fact that I believe myself to be a victim does not allow me to
infringe the rights of others. When a CM rider runs a red light and
causes a driver with a clear right of way to slam on his or her
brakes, then the cyclist is wrong.

How did Pogo put it back in '70? "We have met the enemy and he is
us." It's an identical mentality... the only difference is the number
of wheels your vehicle has on the ground, which, IMO, is irrelevant.

No, not the 1970's. Walt Kelly drew and wrote Pogo.

----------------
Deck us all with Boston Charlie,
Walla Walla, Wash., an' Kalamazoo!
Nora's freezin' on the trolley,
Swaller dollar cauliflower alley-garoo!

Don't we know archaic barrel,
Lullaby Lilla boy, Louisville Lou?
Trolley Molly don't love Harold,
Boola boola Pensacoola hullabaloo!

Bark us all bow-wows of folly,
Polly wolly cracker n' too-da-loo!
Hunky Dory's pop is lolly gaggin' on the wagon,
Willy, folly go through!

Donkey Bonny brays a carol,
Antelope Cantaloup, 'lope with you!
Chollie's collie barks at Barrow,
Harum scarum five alarum bung-a-loo!
----------------

I think I know what happened to Gene Daniels.

--
Michael Press

!Jones wrote:

My wife and I were riding in Austin, TX when a CM ride passed us. We
dismounted our tandem and walked. And I *agree* with CM's position...
but I will not be associated in any way with their behavior.

But you'll drive in freeway traffic, I guess. Behavior
notwithstanding.

If you've never ridden in a Critical Mass, you're missing out. It's
fun. It's wholesome. (If it ain't fun, it ain't a proper Mass.)

All of us have to do a lot of unnecessary waiting for car traffic, by
design. If once a month, a handful of car drivers have to do a bit of
unnecessary waiting for us, so much the better. How else are we to
make our point (in a way that will actually be heard, that is)?

Chalo

On Sun, 02 Sep 2007 06:49:34 -0000, in rec.bicycles.tech Chalo
wrote:

How else are we to
make our point (in a way that will actually be heard, that is)?

When you're on the road, regardless of what you happen to be
operating, observe the traffic laws and be considerate of others. I
learned *that* in grade school. Realize that the fact that some
people did not get it then does not excuse rude or boorish behavior on
your part (generic second person).

You won't be heard; however you will make a difference! By refusing
to be a jerk, you will insure that there will be one fewer jerk on the
road. I find that it helps my attitude to know that, today at least,
I was not a part of the madness... and CM is.

Jones

On Sun, 02 Sep 2007 04:57:25 GMT, in rec.bicycles.tech Michael Press
wrote:

How did Pogo put it back in '70? "We have met the enemy and he is
us." It's an identical mentality... the only difference is the number
of wheels your vehicle has on the ground, which, IMO, is irrelevant.

No, not the 1970's. Walt Kelly drew and wrote Pogo.

Well, I had a copy of the poster above my army bunk in Vietnam. That
would have been '71. As I recall, Kelly released it for the first
"Earth Day" in 1970 and the cartoon version was slightly earlier.
Yes... I just found the poster, yellow with age and tattered... and it
says, "Copyright 1970" in still visable printing.

Can't believe I could find that. Now, where are my house keys?

Jones

On Sep 1, 11:06 am, wrote:
http://www.startribune.com/crime/story/1396202.html

How about-'protesters who were riding bicycles got arrested'..it was
about civil disobedience, not riding a bike.

On Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:32:13 -0400, in rec.bicycles.tech Doug Taylor
wrote:

"We've never had a problem with Critical Mass, the rally," she
said. "We agree with them that we need to lessen our dependence on the
automobile. Apparently, they had some infiltrators or outsiders who
joined the rally tonight. And these outsiders were trying to provoke
the officers."

I didn't know CM had formal "membership", per se. Yup; according to
http://www.critical-mass.org/ (which is probably as valid information
as one can get), "Critical Mass is not an organization, it's an
unorganized coincidence..." So, my question is: how does an outsider
infiltrate an unorganized coincidence? It's nonsense!

As I recall, every CM "coincidence" I have witnessed usually included
a couple of fist fights and some arrests... and the one I saw was
between two cyclists because one got in the other's way. My favorite
part was watching the riders hoist their bikes into their pick-up
trucks after the ride... I did get a belly laugh out of that!

The adults were arrested on suspicion of rioting, a gross
misdemeanor.

"Suspicion of rioting", huh? I like that almost as much as the
riders' pick-up trucks.

Essentially, I would agree with CM. Philosophically, I agree with
Timothy McVeigh... or did before he was strapped to the gurney. There
are lots of things wrong with our society and, many times, I feel like
acting... and this probably involves sustained automatic weapons fire.
I don't *do* that because such behavior carries severe penalties. I
am fully in favor of allowing the people who choose to participate in
a CM "coincidence" and subsequently violate the law in any way to
suffer the consequences thereof.

Jones

On Sun, 02 Sep 2007 05:32:02 -0700, in rec.bicycles.tech "Qui si parla
Campagnolo-www.vecchios.com" wrote:

On Sep 1, 11:06 am, wrote:
http://www.startribune.com/crime/story/1396202.html

How about-'protesters who were riding bicycles got arrested'..it was
about civil disobedience, not riding a bike.

Agree. "Protesters Arrested" and leave it there. Cycles had nothing
to do with it.

Jones

On Sep 1, 6:32 pm, Doug Taylor wrote:
On Sat, 01 Sep 2007 18:10:27 -0500, Tim McNamara

wrote:

Being nasty is not a crime. Being self-righteous is not a crime. Being
a "trustafarian" (which IME is not who is showing up at Critical Mass
rides- they are usually the ones in the SUVs with a cell phone and a Red
Bull and the subwoofer cranked up blasting out rap to show that they are
down with the brothers, fuming while they have to wait for the
procession of mere cyclists) is not a crime although it frequently leads
to poor taste and self-indulgence.

Violence is a crime. Attacking a police officer or interfering with an
arrest is a crime. For that, an arrest and possible prosecution is
appropriate. 48 officers were involved in the arrest of 19 individuals
on "suspicion of rioting" charges, a gross misdemeanor:

Also quoting from the article:

"We've never had a problem with Critical Mass, the rally," she
said. "We agree with them that we need to lessen our dependence on the
automobile. Apparently, they had some infiltrators or outsiders who
joined the rally tonight. And these outsiders were trying to provoke
the officers."

The adults were arrested on suspicion of rioting, a gross
misdemeanor.

I have no problem with the notion of an adult assaulting a police
officer being arre4sted and prosecuted. The misdemeanor riot charge
is a gift.

Yup.

I'm NO fan of cops, mind, I'm one of those folks that believe that
this country is teetering on the precipice of fascism--but smug civil
disorder is not the answer. Stopping traffic with a protest for equal
rights for the races might very well be the appropriate thing to do to
gain attention for a human rights issue--I'd extend that to shutting
down a city center non-violently for equal rights for gays--but
deliberately snarling traffic with bicycles is absurd, and serves no
purpose other than to enrage, inconvenience, and to inflate the
righteousness of the trustafarians. I'm saying that as a guy that
rides far more than he drives. I'm not for randomly jailing folks by
any means--but if you create civil disorder, you need to be detained.
Hopefully the cops will give you a soda and a vegan cutlet while
you're cooling down.

Do think about purchasing a tactical length Mossberg shotgun do defend
against a future police state:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G63FE...elated&search=

In article om,
landotter wrote:

I'm one of those folks that believe that this country is teetering on
the precipice of fascism--

It's not so much a precipice as a downhill slide; the past 27 years have
put us further and further down that slope and the past 7 years in
particular. Fascists always claim that they are protecting the values
of the society, it's the smokescreen to confuse the naive and those who
believe they are threatened by change and buys time to consolidate power.

but smug civil disorder is not the answer.

Civil disobedience, not civil disorder. Critical Mass is supposed to be
an example of civil disobedience (but often misses the mark).