Thursday, October 2, 2008

Lots of work to be done Bike Plan and the Public

If you don't think job number one is to change peoples attitudes and perceptions then read some of these forum comments here

There seems to be a lot of public anger towards SCCC also. We all need to look at ourselves too to improve this. Start waving to cars, smile, or....?

http://search.al.com/sp?aff=100&keywords=cyclist&x=0&y=0

11 comments:

clintpatty said...

I think changing their attitudes and perceptions may be a bit lofty. We should work on it, though. We should also work on how we present ourselves and facilitating a more positive perception of us. I think changing their actions will be easier than changing their attitudes. I doubt it will take many $600+ reckless driving tickets to get someone to stop buzzing cyclists even if they don't like cyclists on the road. We need to help of the police for that, though. And increased enforcement will benefit everyone, not just cyclists.

Bello Velo said...

It really is not too lofty, That is probably the cheapest most effective way for change.

Clint this does not mean you are going to get a haircut and start wearing a suit does it?


Zeitgeist is a German language expression literally translated: Zeit, time; Geist, spirit, meaning "the spirit of the age and its society". The word zeitgeist describes the intellectual, cultural, ethic and political climate of an era or also a trend. In German, the word has more layers of meaning than the English translation, including the fact that Zeitgeist can only be observed for past events.

Bello Velo said...

meme (pronounced /miːm/)[1] consists of any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation. Examples include thoughts, ideas, theories, gestures, practices, fashions, habits, songs, and dances. Memes propagate themselves and can move through the cultural sociosphere in a manner similar to the contagious behavior of a virus.

Anonymous said...

I like this concept. I didn't know there was a word for it. Sort of supports the idea of spirituality, doesn't it?

Bello Velo said...

No this would not have to do with spirituality.
"Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit, a concept closely tied to religious belief and faith, a transcendent reality,"

Meme is a concept from biologists and Atheist Richard Dawlkins.

Also Williams S Burroughs talked of "Language as a virus".

clintpatty said...

Maybe I am not being optimistic enough. But I see 100s of cyclists and 10s of thousands of motorists, and I'm not sure it will be easy to make tolerance popular. Some people still hate blacks even though that is not popular now. But violence driven by that is greatly decreased. I will not be getting a haircut or suit.

clintpatty said...

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?/base/news/1223025324285310.xml&coll=1

not any cyclists involved, but this is the kind of shit that should not be culturally or legally tolerated

Bello Velo said...

Clint I agree and this needs to be addressed by the city.What the fuck are people doing !!!! It's insanity!

Please don't get a haircut and wear a suit either.

Bello Velo said...

I was thinking about this a bit more too. In other cultures passing into adulthood happens differently, bar or bas mitzvah's, military service, college and other forms. What happens in the US is you turn 16 and you are handed keys to a potentially deadly weapon and off you go. It's cheap easy and you are free. It seems like higher gas prices, insurance, and vehicles themselves should be more expensive. Maybe then people will pay attention and drive their vehicles with more maturity and sense.

I rode around today and was just surprised as always at how many people were on their phones while driving.

I think maybe if you wreck or kill someone while being distracted while talking on your phone or grabbing your bottle of water you should lose your privilege to drive for at least 10 years minimum. No tolerance.

Anonymous said...

"I think maybe if you wreck or kill someone while being distracted while talking on your phone or grabbing your bottle of water you should lose your privilege to drive for at least 10 years minimum. No tolerance."

...and you should be held accountable and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

Anonymous said...

...a lot of public anger is really only coming from one person with a handful of aliases. No one else at al.com cares about SCCC. Srsly.