Originally Posted by
JeffOYB
My hunch is that cycling will get over the hump into total public acceptance and protection by invoking zero "specialness" but by an overwhelming assertion that "bikers are people too."
This is part of the "normalizing of the bike" campaign concept. ...That we get our best gains and potential from behaving just like regular folks. The more outlandish we appear and if we ask for special handling then we isolate ourselves.
Bad drivers hit bikers but they also hit everyone else. The overwhelming campaign should be against bad driving so that all road users are better off.
What would happen if hundreds of bikers and also thousands of people converged every day on every capitol. Or maybe once a week. Demanding better driving, a shunning of all macho driving, a new valuing of human life on roadways. Yeah, it would take some work but it might all be over sooner than we think.
What could be achieved by a month of national protests with millions of all kinds of folks?
So far, so good...
Originally Posted by
JeffOYB
And the bare and obvious humanity of bikers might be an ideal format for such a public outcry against "motor privilege."
There is a sub-current in the USA that thinks it's OK to not pay attention and also to menace the vulnerable.
First, maybe we could get vulnerable user laws passed everywhere. But also there might be trickle-out benefits for everyone.
It's possible even that negative/negligent acting out against all those who are vulnerable could be reduced. Even beyond car driving.
...and then it goes off the rails and straight to...
[/QUOTE]Now, to do that violence might need to be understood better: why does it happen? Each country has its own reasons for its own expression of violence. We might need to focus in on the basics of the American style a bit better. ...I assume it is directly related to the behavior of our leadership or anyone in a position of guiding our dominant cultural styles.[/QUOTE]
Pie in the sky. "First, we need to educate people..." = doomed to fail.
The first group of quotes is inclusive, get stuff done, wake people up, and enact sensible regulation kind of reasoning and action. Pass more severe negligent and distracted driving laws, with harsher penalties, and fund enforcement. Not just for vulnerable road users, but for all road users and those impacted by them.
The second group of quotes is divisive, either subtly or outright. Victim mentality. Us v. them, and counterproductive to a more cohesive, less violent culture.