Thursday, October 20, 2011

Draining the Lizard: The Scaly Scales of Justice

Like most of my fellow Americans, I do my best to keep my head buried either in the sand or else in the recesses of my own posterior, depending upon availability and space. Sure, this is partially due to apathy, but it's also an essential survival instinct. This is especially true of cycling, because if you pay too much attention to how bad you have it as a cyclist in this country you'll either become a vigilante or else resolve to never touch a bicycle again.

But no matter how resolutely you avert your eyes, you're eventually going to see something infuriating, and for me it was this brief posting on sarcastic local news blog Gothamist:

Reading about someone getting killed is upsetting enough, but then I made the big mistake of looking at the comments. Blog comments about fatal bicycle accidents are like a glimpse into our collective national super-ego, and they are very revealing as to just how profoundly stupid we are. For example, the first one was this:

I don't drive along side trucks. Why would you bike beside one?

Hopefully this person gets shot walking out of his house one day so someone can post a comment that says, "I don't ride my bike past guns. Why would you walk in front of one?"

More revealing of what idiots we are though was this one:

I do both regularly and the bikers i encounter while driving dont' have much respect for the power of a car. I get the sense that they think they're on equal footing in regards to the road and it's not the case. A tap from a car can kill you and you're not always visible. It's really annoying to watch because there are so many potential accidents waiting to happen.

Someone is dead here, and these are the conclusions people are drawing? That victims are merely "potential accidents" with nobody to blame but themselves? Sure, cyclists should ride intelligently, but having respect for the power of a car is the driver's job. If they lack that respect then the car should be taken from them. Cyclists are "on equal footing in regards to the road." Saying they're not is like saying women should have more respect for the Park Slope Groper, and that they're wrong to think they're on equal footing with men.

Amazingly though, the comment above accurately reflects how a great many people think. It's fascinating how readily we've come to accept this notion that we must have respect for a car's "power," as though it's some force of nature beyond all human control. Sure, someone who goes into the wilderness, starts poking grizzlys with a stick, and then gets eaten should maybe have a little more respect for the power of the bear, but that's a different scenario. Oddly though, if a bear is just doing its bear thing and kills somebody we'll go out of our way to destroy the bear. Yet if a human being kills somebody with a car we just charge them $42 and blame the victim.

So why is this? Why does something made by human hands that we pay lots of money for and register with the government and obtain a license in order to operate suddenly become this unstoppable beast once it's out on the open road? And more importantly, why are we so accepting of this, as though it's an inevitability, and as though it's common sense that a human being in a car should be afforded all manner of privileges and protections that another human being is not, and that everybody else should just get out of the way?

I was considerably vexed by all these questions until I read something that, while depressing, was strangely comforting. It was actually that Vanity Fair article I mentioned awhile back, which contains a description of Arnold Schwarzenegger's barbarian riding style. The article is about the dire financial situation in California, and in it a neuroscientist at UCLA explains why Americans are so bad with money:

In academic papers and a popular book, American Mania, Whybrow argues, in effect, that human beings are neurologically ill-designed to be modern Americans. The human brain evolved over hundreds of thousands of years in an environment defined by scarcity. It was not designed, at least originally, for an environment of extreme abundance. "Human beings are wandering around with brains that are fabulously limited," he says cheerfully. "We've got the core of the average lizard."

Basically, we make stupid decisions because we are lizards:

The succession of financial bubbles, and the amassing of personal and public debt, Whybrow views as simply an expression of the lizard-brained way of life... The boom in trading activity in individual stock portfolios; the spread of legalized gambling; the rise of drug and alcohol addiction--it is all of a piece. Everywhere you turn you see Americans sacrifice their long-term intersts for short-term rewards.

What happens when a society loses its ability to self-regulate, and insists on sacrificing its long-term interest for short-term rewards? How Does the story end? "We could regulate ourselves if we chose to think about it," Whybrow says. "But it does not appear that is what we are going to do."


Suddenly, it all made sense to me--of course our lizard brains want the cars, which deliver the short-term reward of travel without physical effort. And of course we want the biggest, plushest cars we can possibly wrangle and spend ourselves into, and once we've succeeded in doing so it follows naturally that we'd resent anybody or anything that impedes our effortless forward progress. Sure, this involves sacrificing long-term interests such as our financial well-being and our good credit and our ability to cross the street without getting flattened, but according to Whybrow we're not really even able to conceive of that--at least until something really awful happens to us, or we die.

Of course, as I read this, I did my best to ignore the fact that I was doing so in "Vanity Fair," a magazine bursting with ads for useless luxury goods and literally reeking of expensive fragrances. This was easy to do, since having recently attained "Full Douche" I'm a master of cognitive dissonance.

Anyway, it's a dire state of affairs to be sure, but I suppose until now much of my frustration came from disappointment in my fellow human beings. At least now I realize we're not human beings but lizards, so I know not to expect so much in the first place.

But what if you persist in refusing to surrender and know your place as a cyclist among the lizard-brained? Sadly, you have only two choices:

1) Be an "outlaw;"

or

2) Be one of those smug people who memorizes traffic statutes, wears a camera on his head, and tries confound police officers, as in this video that came to me by means of the Twitter:



Sadly, neither of these options is for me. As a father of 17 children I'm far too old, tired, and uncool to be an outlaw. And as for becoming one of those helmet cam-wearing amateur lawyer types, I've never been very good at confronting authority figures. Plus, I live in New York, where the above scenario tends to play out out like this:



And so I just ride, savoring the good days, doing my best to avoid trouble, and keeping in mind that when it does strike the Motor-Vehicular Industrial Complex will somehow find a way to punish me.

Then, when I get to where I'm going, I watch everybody's favorite TV show, "Ushi & The Family," which features an entertaining interview with The Frandy Schleck starting at about 14:10:



Frank, it turns out, is the funny one:

And, lest we forget, there's one kind of bicycle that Americans are comfortable with, and that's the beach cruiser:

When I spotted this on Craigslist I thought this was an actual Landshark, but the paint was not nearly horrendous enough. I was rather compelled by the post though:

Date: 2011-10-19, 7:23AM EDT
Reply to: [deleted]

Be the envy of the Boardwalk with this Limited Collectors Addition Land Shark Lager Beach Crusier Bicycle $110.00. Brand New/ Has never seen the boardwalk Single speed w/ coasting brakes. White wall tires . This bike could become a collectors item as only approximately 1100 of these bikes were manufactured. . Great for everyday commuting to work/school in style. A beer collectors dream bike. Great for restaurant/bar decor. 100% functional bicycle, can use at summer beach house or home by the lake.

Terms of sale as follows... Cash only, You pick up at my house. Respond to this ad and be sure to include your phone # with the area code and a good time to contact you. I will call you back. Sorry, I will not respond to emails/questions that do not include a good phone # that I can call you at. Any emails with out a phone # and area code will be deleted. There are too many spammers out there looking for email addresses.

Deliver of the bike is possible for a reasonable addition delivery charge but the bike and delivery fee must be paid for advance as stated above.

If you see this ad the bike is still available. I will remove the ad when the bike is sold.

In particular, I was intrigued by the claim that it had "never seen the boardwalk," and I wondered if boardwalks are to beach cruisers as velodromes are to track bikes. Presumably at some beach somewhere there are a bunch of people with sunburns and zinc oxide on their noses talking about all those damn "fakenbeach" riders will never ride their bikes on the boardwalk. Meanwhile, the "fakenbeach" riders all talk about how they can't wait to hit the boardwalk one day, if only they had enough time/the city would build them one/hadn't lost that eBay auction for those "vintage" Jams.

At least you won't get hit by a car on the beach. Well, actually you might. I'm only surprised someone didn't blame the victim for not wearing enough sunblock.

97 comments:

frenchie said...

ze renaissance of ze french cycling

Mason said...

ironic podium!

Anonymous said...

Yes baby!

frenchie said...

et deux?

Anonymous said...

sup qt

hillbilly said...

hola

theEel said...

topteneel!

andrew said...

Wee!!!

Anonymous said...

top 10

cycle

Anonymous said...

Top Ten???

Anonymous said...

Ok Now to read what the Snob hath gewritten.

Anonymous said...

Gray Poupon

GhostOfTyrone said...

So THAT'S what's been compelling me to lay motionless on rocks for hours on end...

I thought I was weird, or something.

OBA said...

I also was enraged (a bit more than usual) by the ignorant comments on the gothamist article -- the usual anti-bike trolls now seem to leave the reports of actual cycling deaths alone, perhaps out of some strained sense of restraint, but the idiots still find their way out of the woodwork.

Terre Haute Karl said...

"Limited Addition"? What does that mean, the bike can only add single digit numbers?

Bearder Quipper said...

That was crazy.

I'm having so many moments here. Maybe we can all have a drink.

Buy-cycle said...

Rusty chain. Y u no top 10!?

Bearded Quipper said...

Uh, actually I'm a bearded quipper. Now how about that drink?

RANTWICK said...

I am one of those freaks who rides with a camera on my head, although I'm not smug and I have never used my camera for legal reasons or argued with any cops.

Dude who got right hooked paid with his life, so I can't understand why people would continue to beat up on his behaviour in those comments.

Just the same, riding beside trucks is a really bad idea.

Is that smug? Should I just shut my hole a let people get squished if they want to take the risk? Maybe.

I certainly hate those stupid ever-present "my car could f*ckin' kill, you man" comments. Actually, I hate all comments, including this one.

I'm gonna go find my Jams.

Anonymous said...

Maybe not all is lost, this dude from Ottawa may or may not go to jail for hitting 5 cyclists, but at least he's been found guilty and will not be driving.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/10/20/ottawa-cyclist-crash-trial-verdict.html

R
Montreal

Kenny said...

100% agreement. I shall endeavour to memorize some of these quotes and share them with my atavistic car-driving friends and coworkers.

THank you, Mr. Snob.

CommieCanuck said...

If that Brit law student were in Toronto, he'd be on the Cherry Beach Express about 1/5th of the way into that conversation with a billy club dent in his head.
Maybe the Bobby would understand the law better if he didn't try and squeeze his head into a helmet designed for Snob's "L'il Eddy".

Anon 1:22, big fucking deal, he maimed 5 people during a "momentary lapse in judgment" (his actual defence) and the penalty is having to drive a bike.

wishiwasmerckx said...

Landshark lager is Jimmy Buffett's beer brand. The Parrottheads are, generally speaking, loyal to a fault, but far too mellow of a bunch to get involved in some flame war over some perceived sleight about a branded beach cruiser.

They are also generally of enough means to get into a real bidding war over this 1 in 1,100 limited edition piece of memorabilia.

See you all at the final show of this year's tour in Vegas this weekend!

Esteemed Commenter DaddoOne said...

hmmmm...

1. I wonder if the Brit actually did run a light.

2. that would be something, at least in my neck of the woods, that would be citation-worthy

3. And I'd support that on the basis of same roads/same laws - which also allows me to get righteous about both lizard drivers and lizard cyclists

4. Further, in my neck of the woods, cyclists are held to the laws of motor vehicles (MA general laws Chapter 85 Section 11b) So, if a cop pulls me over on my bike and requests my id, I'll give it to him.

5. Nope, I don't have to acknowledge the paperwork

6. Yep, cite the law to me, officer

7. Rant - there is a difference between riding SAFELY beside trucks and not riding beside them at all. Of course, we shouldn't try to sneak in the space created when they are making a right turn - we shouldn't do that in our cars either!

dcee604 said...

it's all coming to an end...again.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/10/19/f-family-radio-prediction-harold-camping.html

Anonymous said...

I once got my balls stuck under a truck.




balls.

Anonymous said...

TOP 30 DOUCHE

Fuelfool said...

Hey Snob,
It's even simpler than lizard brains:
You are witnessing the disintegration of the nation's moral consensus. No fear of Lob, no respect for the sanctity of human life. Most people live such shallow, vacuous little lives that powering that two-ton weapon each day is their only sense of power, control and accomplishment.
How do we fix it? Proselytize door-to-door with a copy of Zinnand the Art of Road Bike Maintenance? I wish it was that easy. It's over. We are lizard fodder.

Bob said...

Sadly, some of the posted comments to the Williamsburg tragedy has the same lizard tone as the morons on ESPN did commenting on the Hoogerland crash. Let's hope they are not the 99%.

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

Whybrow is right. Ever see a human fetus in early stages of development? Paint the little critter green and he can sell auto insurance.

Fuelfool is right too.

Unfortunately.

Anonymous said...

interesting stuff today. impacts of videos on police. cool.

Marcel Da Chump said...

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea afterall:
"the pursuit of happiness".

ervgopwr said...

I am the Lizard King!

4fuxake said...

THKarl 1:12,
That's what I was thinking. And therefore shouldn't the shipping carry an "editional" charge?

cephas said...

Interesting VF article on the accretion of centralized power. If the municipalities' credit ratings go bust, and the feds doesn't, where does all the power lie?

Bees blood.

Anonymous said...

Whybrow?

One of the 5 essential questions of brow journalism.

Etherhuffer said...

Damn. We had a fellow killed here in Seattle last year by a right hook.

Damn, I don't like the Gothamist tone, but I wouldn't ride on the right side of a truck either. Looking back and left over my shoulder at such intersections has prevented my early demise so far. In the city, best be in front of or behind the truck. Not always possible......

I guess I don't want to be "dead right" even if car drivers are in the wrong. We are just not Amsterdamm, and we are crappy drivers in this country as well. Let fear be your guide to a longer life. Damn. Shrug.

Blog Drafter said...

The triumvirate brain theory has been around awhile. Whether or not it is valid is debatable but what is observable is that HUMAN BEINGS are prone to delusional thinking. All human beings have this tendency. One of the manifestations of this is the notion that we can buy our way to security with ways and means that are, by nature, insecure. Good luck with that!

After all, they sell as many stiff bottom brackets and vertically compliant seatstays in Europe as in America, and the rest of the world would buy as many as they could if they had the means, in order to move up a Cat or two.

Anonymous said...

.....I can do anything....

(Can't seem to fly, though.)

hey nonny mouse

Norm said...

Weirdest youtube video ever?

Anonymous said...

in places like Texas and Florida, lots of people drive on the beach

grog said...

Today's post really brought me down. Guess it's my own fault for reading it, though.

Anonymous said...

I've had cars turn right on me at least 100 times without looking and often when I'm in a bike lane. Like snob says in his book, you always have to assume cars will do so. So unfortunately the onus is on the biker to watch out for bad drivers rather than the drivers just following the rules and driving safely and exercising due care not to mow people down. Pretty sad actually.

Anonymous said...

The camera guy feels guilty the next day so consults a leprechaun in the woods. See his YouTube channel.

Jasper said...

That smug Englishman is going to make an ace lawyer one day arguing like that. Still, if he was dumb enough to run the red light in the first place, it doesn't matter much how smug he wants to be about being right about everything else.
Esteemed Commenter - unless the law has changed since I was last paying attention, there is no obligation to carry any kind of ID in the UK, and when I used to drive a car, you could be asked to produce your documents at a police station if you didn't have them on you, the source for that great Smiley Culture track 'Police Officer, no give me producer'.
Cheers

cyclotourist said...

Be sure to include your phone number or I will not respond!

The King of Park Slope said...

Park Slope Gropper indeed.

It's almost not safe to triple with two lasses and a bottle of champagne in the park these days.

Almost.

Unknown said...

So why is this? Why does something made by human hands that we pay lots of money for and register with the government and obtain a license in order to operate suddenly become this unstoppable beast once it's out on the open road?

Two reasons:
* Exactly because we pay a lot of money for cars makes us feel an entitlement to drive them.
* Exactly because the license granted to us to drive is so easy it's nearly a rubber stamp also gives us even more entitlement.

As for the quoting of the vanity fair thing about "the rise of drugs". The funny part is according to an expert former federal drug enforcer the drug use rate in the US hasn't changed in recorded history. The war on drugs had no effect.

bikesgonewild said...

...bit of a sobering post today & on occasion, even here @ bsnyc, a look at reality's underbelly is not a bad thing...

...shame it involves human life & a bicycle...

...if you 'podiumed' today, great, all part of the 'fun' of bsnyc but to not then come back after reading the blog & make mention of the seriousness of the situation kinda makes you look like an idiot...at least in my book...

...just sayin'...

Marcel Da Chump said...

As we all know the Frandy Schleck are (is?) from Luxembourg.
Luxembourg's motto is:
"Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn" (Luxembourgish)
English traslation:
"We want to remain what we are".

Nebraska bike commuter (non-DWI edition) said...

Very sad situation.

Sometimes I'm extra happy to live where I do, where I don't need anywhere near the vigilance of a NYC cyclist, but even here in my little town of @6,500 souls I've been "right hooked" more than once. The first time I was lucky to have sensed it coming. It was a very near miss for me, and I doubt that the driver even noticed. Now I just expect it when being overtaken, even if it only happens one time out of 100 opportunities.

Not trying to be smug. Just sayin'...

I hope I don't forget.

bikesgonewild said...

...@Nebraska bike commuter (non-DWI edition)...i'm with you on that, bud...

...i live in an area that is prob'ly better for cycling than most but human nature being what it is, especially when it comes to the act of piloting a vehicle with all the inherent distractions, some of 'our' own choice, i wouldn't consider paying anything less than 100% attention in any traffic situation...

...hope for the best but ride like you expect the worse...once you learn to accept the need to always be vigilant, it doesn't detract from your ride, it just leaves you better prepared for the inevitable foolishness you'll likely encounter somewhere along the way...

...'blithe spirit' on a bike is fine & dandy but you gotta protect yourself by paying attention...

Gwenyth Paltrow said...

Bike Sthnob - Your whole posth today wasth justh too confuthing. You were all over the plathe!

Londoner said...

snob just move to europe.

Anonymous said...

I'd just like to say that, as a pack rider, my biggest danger is, by far, the pack. Other cyclists will screw you up faster than any car, only with less deadly consequences (usually).

leroy said...

One morning, at rush hour, at the corner of 59th and Fifth, an officer asked me to pull over onto the sidewalk. At the red light, I had moved from the right hand side of the street to the left hand side of the street. According to the cop, that meant I had run the red light.

Obviously, if I had run a red light and crossed Fifth Avenue at rush hour, I would have been flattened and any ticket would have to be deposited on whatever crumpled mass of me had not been dragged south to Saint Patrick's.

I didn't argue beyond asking the cop if he was sure I had run a light because I didn't think I had.

His partner sized me up from the other side of the street; I smiled and said good morning.

When asked for my drivers license, I realized I had left my wallet at home. I did have a photo ID with no address and a business card with no photo.

I showed those. (In NY, you don't have to carry ID, but if a cop "observes" a traffic offense and you do not have ID, you can be arrested instead of just receiving a ticket).

The thing is, it is difficult to write a moving violation ticket without a residential address or some sort of easily processed standard ID.

I didn't get a ticket.

It also didn't hurt that I was in too good a mood to be my normal wise ass self.

That would have not been in my enlightened self interest.

On a more serious subject, it is in all of our enlightened self interest -- short term and otherwise -- to stay alert whether riding, driving or walking. Remember how ridiculous the Park Slope Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes looked when they complained it was too difficult to remember to look both ways before crossing the Prospect Park West bike lane.

And on one last note, even if we stay alert, bad things can still happen. The Gothamist anti-cycle trolls would do well to remember that pissing on someone's grave is reserved for folks like Ghadafi. The anti-cycling commenters aren't worth that. For them, their obesity, type 2 diabetes, greasy hair, permanently cheeto-stained fingers and basement residences in their parents' homes is punishment enough.

Fucking lizards.

Anonymous said...

Cyclists in London are trying to have corporate manslaughter charges filed against the transport authority for failing to make a dangerous junction safer: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/davehillblog/2011/oct/17/campaigner-seeks-corporate-manslaughter-charge-over-kings-cross-cyclist-death

thomask said...

instaDRIVE

http://instadrive.tumblr.com/

LK said...

So much for higher education.

Bill Smith said...

I see the camera features in the new Android phones will include "hipster filters". Don't know exactly what those are, but if a camera can automatically filter out the hipsters from my photos, that'll be great. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394925,00.asp#fbid=sCiTaOCWX5f

brake for love said...

That Gothamist link cited an alarming number of cycling fatalities recently in Brooklyn. I just can't help wondering how many of those unfortunate riders were on brakeless fixies. The NYPD should note the type of bike in the accident report. And if the statistics show a disproportionate number of fixie fatalities, it should be made a Public Service Announcement.

I feel bad for the parents of these kids.

TheRealXZIN said...

Here's a good CL find: http://denver.craigslist.org/bik/2659780979.html

I nominate boulder,co as the next portland,or. They've been perfecting their smugness for decades. boulderites can out smug pdx'ers anyday, on many levels.

Anonymous said...

Here's a better CL find.

Merlin said...

I am here but not.

EvoDavo said...

I ride the same road where the guy ran over the cyclist and had to pay $42 for the privilege. I'm smelling a cover up complete with the wink. I'm way more sarcastic than the next guy, but even I can't find it funny.

The explanation from the local prosecutor was that he couldn't determine what laws had been broken. Kind of makes you want to carry a bazooka (nod to Bob Roll).

Anonymous said...

BSNYC has been Copenhagened.
No faker jacks, boutique tobacco shops, brightly colored buildings, smiling ladies and copious wet canals.

Anonymous said...

I ride fast and take chances.
I am not worried about the big truck but am worried about the people that walk like slesak aliens from They Live. If they get zombie alien close I clothes line them like Rowdy Roddy Piper. That is the only way a slesak understands.

Anonymous said...

#occupymyvayjay

Phoenix Occultist said...

"Resumes without pictures will be deleted."

Anonymous said...

I am sure there is still room to make a few doobie bucks trading for artisinal grilled cheese at the #occupybunghole...but it is Polytheism Fridays and I will worship the steak, the lobster and the martini(dirty w/ two olives).

Anonymous said...

So many things in the world enjoyable and not one of them is picking dingleberries and tp out of a retards ass...I hate this job!

Anonymous said...

holy fucking crap... once i started watching that racist Ushi video i just couldn't stop.... *LITERALLY*... because no matter how many times i hit the pause button, the video just *kept on streaming*

coming to the comments page was the only way i could make the madness end...

Anonymous said...

Lizard brains are nothing new in America. Once upon a time we kept slaves and thought nothing of it. It was the law. We still don't think about it as we have become the slave to "the machine" Being a bike rider in America comes closest to outlaw behavior and that is what irritates righteous car loving citizens.

Cameron said...

So I watched Invictus the other day and reading your post reminded me of the movie. The white people are car drivers and the black people are cyclists. The whites/drivers have been brought up that way and it's going to be difficult to change their attitude. They even have the attitude where they hate a cyclist/black man just for that fact even if they are a really good rider/person. The blacks/cyclists on the other hand know that they are unfairly treated but have the wrong attitude towards the whole situation. There needs to be a Nelson mandella like figure in order to unite everybody

Peter said...

I am curious as to if you know why the video of the NYPD officer decking the cyclist is Age-Restricted?

ce said...

Snob, I used to think you were funny, until you started insulting lizards. I won't be reading this blog anymore, today.

knowles_ra@yahoo.com said...

Two thoughts (and for me that's a lot, in a single day)
1: I live in Virginia now but I was born & raised in the UK, and believe me, if USA cops were allowed to stop, search, arrest, intrude and generally abuse citizens in the way that British cops can, you'd have civil unrest on a national scale over here. For instance , if a UK cop stops you walking on the street (and he can) searches you (and they will) and finds you have, say, a Leatherman Multitool in your pocket, he can (and they do) arrest you for 'being suspected of being about to take a vehicle without consent of the ovner' also known as grand theft auto.
2: people on bicycles (and I am one, before anyone asks) are, unfortunately, just about the most vulnerable road users. The law can(and should) place huge fines and impose long jail terms on a$$hole drivers, but it can't force drivers to always be looking for cyclists if they don't want to, any more than it can force cyclists to stop at red lights. So as cruel as it sounds, if you are hit by a car/bus/truck, it doesn't matter who is at fault. You will be the one injured, or dead. The law can't protect you from an a$$hole driver, only you can do that.

Anonymous said...

"I don't know how to drive.
You cyclists get off my road - for your own safety."

that was a quote....

ashcroftchops said...

"Cop gets owned"!!!!! I was a British cop for 20yrs. I would have nailed his fuckin cap to his head!..... Smart arsed law students. I hate them! GRRRRRRRR

Esteemed Commenter DaddoOne said...

hmmm 1:55 - any body know where our boy be?

Jonny Fitness said...

This post is brilliant. Been riding my bmx all over the city since 2003, I know all too well what you are talking about. I am not some crazy quasi lawyer, but I do think documenting these issues is important, I created a fan page for people to do just that, its called street crimes: www.facebook.com/streetcrimesnyc

I think the whole idea of studying these issues in terms of psychology is fascinating. Don't forget, we also have a mammalian brain on top of the lizard brain, and we have consciousness, although many choose not to use it.

Through meditation, yoga, tai chi, qigong (among many other spiritual practices) one can develop the ability to prevent one's lizard brain from emotionally hijacking one's consciousness. But we don't teach any of this stuff or value it even, it's barely on our radar unfortunately.

That's why bringing these issues to light is so important. Thank you!

Fwedewick fwum Ewf said...

The logo on the bike is backwards. It should have the shark fin going in the way a shark would. It's flipped on the other side and wrong on that too.

Just sayin'.

Anonymous said...

Every accident is a unique event. What's wrong is to make assumptions and global statements of moral and ethical superiority afterward. Yes, I do hate it when people who only operate motor vehicles on the road say cyclists should be banned. I also hate it when cyclists say that all accidents are caused by drivers who for some reason are not fully in control of their vehicles. Simply not the truth. Share the road and be careful. Nonetheless some valid and as usual humorously self absorbed commentary by our bikesnobnyc.

carl can said...

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aquarium supplies said...

I'm completely agree, we need more reforms against this misbehavior!

helena said...

The goal of the owners is to continue to expand the line of beach cruisers that Beachbikes.net carries while keeping prices down.


bike lock

sports handicapping services said...

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Fixie Bikes said...

Damn it nyc cops, just damn it :/

Narvasa said...

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