Post a controversial opinion

novus ordo cyclorum

But we're talking about mid-sized American cities

Of course we are.

uh...

cities that are not especially bike-friendly and have yet to adapt to a rise in number of cyclists

becoming increasingly convinced that a solid 40% of dudes who want to become cops really just want to murder black men and/ or children and get away with it.

not controversial

prob not around here but i've gotten some push back on this from some of my lib friends

I think that opinion is controversial in the same way it seems controversial to assert that Trump is mentally ill; people really would prefer you not say that out loud because it is extremely troubling that it might be true

40% might be a little high applied across the entire country though

becoming increasingly convinced that a solid 40% of dudes who want to become cops really just want to murder black men and/ or children and get away with it.

― constitutional crises they fly at u face (will), Sunday, April 23, 2017 4:51 PM (nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Does that 40% include the roughly 30% of police who aren't white, or...?

also, not everyone can graduate high school and become a CEO or a "consultant." Civil service is one of few viable and respectable career choices for disadvantaged people who don't want to work at Burger King.

i will say no but the David Clarkes are def out there

not everyone can graduate high school and become a CEO or a "consultant." Civil service is one of few viable and respectable career choices for disadvantaged people who don't want to work at Burger King.

and i certainly would not suggest otherwise. but infiltration of law enforcement by actual white nationalists and those who are sympathetic is very real and insufficiently investigated

not sure I'm quite cynical enough to believe that. I would also hope that better surveillance in the form of dash cams and other technologies I wish would hurry up and be implemented could serve to quell the sort of infiltration you're talking about. Agreed we need fewer Dirty Harrys and more Serpicos

There are, on the other hand, a ton of law enforcement types who have come in directly from being infantry in the never-ending deployment of america's military and the instincts, training, and tendencies picked up in that realm, combined with the military surplus and remaindered weapons and armor police are buying leads to some fucked up shit

agree. and "40%" is ridiculously high. i was just tryin 2 b controversial. but i'd still say it's pretty fucking high.

something tells me this isn't going to be a priority over the next 4-8 years:
https://theintercept.com/2017/01/31/the-fbi-has-quietly-investigated-white-supremacist-infiltration-of-law-enforcement/

'Dogwhistling' is this season's 'privilege'

http://picturepress.co.uk/Television/images/One%20man%20and%20his%20dog.jpg

I think the overwhelming majority of plot synopses in blurbs and reviews are useless. Might not seem that controversial but so many people insist on using them and I hate it. I can remember a really tiny number of plot synopses that had the desired effect on me. It's not always that they're badly written but that very few plots sound interesting in synopsis.
What's important for a blurb or review is the basic subjects, settings and qualities.

tig notaro is not qualified to be a comedian

this is one of my major beefs. If a car was holding up traffic by traveling at the speed of a bicycle, a cop would pull them over, and rightfully so. It causes congestion and generally makes city driving even less pleasant than it already is.

Call the waaaaaaaahmbulance. Heaven forfend a motorist be inconvenienced for even a minute or two when CLEARLY HE'S IN A HURRY CAN'T YOU JUST GET OUT OF THE WAY?! I don't know where you live, but the laws in most states regarding cyclists on roads states that they cannot be stopped for impeding so long as they are traveling at a speed reasonable for an average cyclist and for road conditions. Practically speaking, that means as a cyclist you'd need to be smack in the middle of the lane going about 8 mph.

In most cities I've ever been in the US, the speed on most downtown urban roads is 25 mph. (Not that motorists, generally, obey speed limits.) Most urban cyclists I know average 14-15 mph, the more experienced ones average 18-20. (My speed on my commute in this morning averaged 13.2, but I've put on a lot of weight in recent months.) You really aren't being slowed down as much as you think you are. If you're in that much of a hurry, leave earlier.

Thank you for illustrating precisely the sort of sanctimonious siege mentality that makes me not want to inconvenience myself for cyclists

I'm in Pittsburgh via Birmingham btw

Most of my friends are cyclists and I don't think I know a single one who hasn't been in or narrowly avoided a terrible accident

14-15mph is pretty fast, not sure I've ever seen a cyclist (excepting messengers) going over 8mph outside of a major metropolitan city

But, see, here's the thing: I, in all honesty, couldn't care less what you do and don't want to do. If I am in front of you, I have the legal right of way, and you will either ride behind me until you can safely pass me, or take another route. Just as you would with any other vehicle, be it a bicycle, another car, a bus, the Batmobile or a giant hamster ball. That's how the rules of the road work throughout the US -- the person ahead of you has the right of way until you can safely pass them. (I don't know about PGH or Pa. generally, but in Ohio you're allowed to cross a double yellow line to pass a cyclist provided the way ahead of you is clear and you don't have to exceed the speed limit to do so.)

Most of my friends are cyclists and I don't think I know a single one who hasn't been in or narrowly avoided a terrible accident

I personally know four who have been hit in the last two years. Two were hit by motorists making illegal left turns; one required shoulder surgery, the other knee surgery. One got off with just minor contusions. One was rear-ended at 65 mph and spent 10 weeks in a coma and had to learn to walk again this year.

Additionally, two people I knew only through other friends were killed when their group of five was plowed into by a pickup truck making a left who did not yield to them as they came towards him.

These were all the fault of motorists who also did not want to be inconvenienced.

14-15mph is pretty fast, not sure I've ever seen a cyclist (excepting messengers) going over 8mph outside of a major metropolitan city

It really isn't. I pulled 14mph for a solid 50-block stretch downtown this morning.

the tv show fargo is mostly pretty bad

I agree with u

I mean here's basically how I break it down to an extent: I ride in a manner that gets me where I'm going as efficiently as possible, and try when possible to make it easy for motorists to legally pass me. But if I need to take the lane for my safety, I'm taking it. At worst, I might delay you from your preferred speed for 10-15 seconds. At worst, you might kill me. So cool your jets.

Might as well start a new thread if this one is going to become bikes vs cars vs peds.

imo both are disgusting symptoms of a lack of good public transportation

I just want to walk fewer than two blocks to a transportation stop and then be able to ride to within two blocks of my place of work, without moving to a larger city. Make it happen, politicians!!

ULTIMATE DEATHMATCH - Drivers vs Cyclists vs Motorcyclists (vs Peda-cab drivers)

My hatred of cyclists can be traced to an exact moment.

I was taking a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge and this African-American family was standing in the bike lane so they could take a photo on what anyone would agree is one of New York's most popular and iconic of tourist sites. A white cyclist was BARRELING down the decline and just starts yelling "NO!" at them, like he was scolding a dog, without slowing down. Like it just put a sharp focus the fucking entitlement of these people.

Wow yeah you really nailed cyclists good detective work there.

I think you're confusing "cyclists" with "white New Yorkers."

lol was it someone from ilx on facebook who posted about some woman on the manhattan bridge backing into traffic while trying to take a picture wearing flip-flops? something about it looking like she was going to have a heart attack when someone honked

xpost A) It's the "post a controversial opinion" thread and B) I don't care?

I live in Cleveland, and no, I'm talking about people just straight up running the light. Or accelerating to TRY to be in the intersection at the yellow but being 2-3 seconds late. It isn't just you, though -- I have a friend who grew up in Massachusetts and he tells me he was shocked to see this from Cleveland (and other Ohio) drivers. He never saw it back east.

― Lauren Schumer Donor (Phil D.), Sunday, April 23, 2017 11:38 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

tbf i lived in boston for 8 years and people blow red lights all the fuckin time there

imo the cyclist/driver/pedestrian conflict is locked in the mutual aggression stage and will be there for a long time until someone budges. maybe the electric bike people can form some sort of splinter

first couple seconds of red light is often treated just like a yellow light especially if you are making a left turn

i would bike to work way more if i wasn't terrified of ending up in the hospital

The "entitlement" of not wanting people to stand in traffic.

There is also a dedicated ped lane on the bridge y/n?

idk maybe yelling "bike lane!" or something relevant at tourists (or people acting like tourists) instead of barking "no!" at them like you're scolding an unruly pet might be useful

They were standing in the bike lane briefly to take a picture on a famous landmark, Phil, but I'm sure you also think Eric Garner should have been murdered by cops because he sold loose cigarettes

lol this is a great development for this conversation i'm glad it was a white biker yelling at black tourists and not vice-versa or it wouldn't be as wonderful for ilx controversial opinions thread

Dude, go fuck yourself. I mean seriously, rip off your dick and insert it in your anus.

I'm not going to excuse someone shouting something rude -- again, WHITE NEW YORKERS ARE NOTORIOUSLY ENTITLED CUMSTAINS -- but you would not excuse someone stepping into traffic on Fifth Avenue to get a better shot of the Empire State Building either, presumably.

It's amazing how you all are managing to find individual instances of either bikers or drivers doing really mean and dangerous things. Especially since both groups are made up of many millions of people

xp lol I saw people doing that all the time a couple weeks ago in manhattan and they got honked at and were like "oh shit!" and jumped back on the curb

like, they did something wrong, but it's something that's done wrong a hundred times a day

imo people who get offended by honking or dinging a bike bell or w/e in smaller cities need to just get the fuck used to it, it's normal behavior to tell people to pay attention

like if you're not going to excuse people saying something rude, Phil, there's no actual argument here? unless "NO!" isn't rude, but that's a different discussion entirely

no one's saying the family in the bike lane wasn't in the wrong, just that it's a minor wrong

one time I saw a cyclist who was a Knight of the Templar and he murdered an entire family

all without leaving the bicycle?

the bicycle was the instrument of death

Yes, it is a minor wrong. But cyclists are asked more often than any other road users to concede to uses of their very few dedicated lanes for things other than cycling, and it gets under the skin. (When I say "very few" I'm referring to where I live. I know it's different in NYC.) (Also I have also walked across that bridge and you can get a perfectly serviceable picture without exiting the ped lane.)(Where is Morbz with his "fuck tourists" shtick when I need him?)

Bike advocacy groups in Cleveland went to great lengths a couple of years ago to get a "no stopping in the bike lane" law passed, and it's never enforced. You would not believe the number of people who are practically willing to get out of their cars and fight cyclists over it when they complain. (SOME OF THEM ARE BLACK WHINEY WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACCUSE ME OF SOMETHING ELSE HORRIBLY RACIST?)