Critical Mass cyclists run over by raging driver; media and police paint driver as the victim

July 28, 2008 at 5:02 pm (Uncategorized) (Critical mass)

See the following articles for a more comprehensive review of what happened.  Police and much of the corporate media consider the driver to be the victim, without wasting time gathering eyewitness reports.

http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/last_nights_critical_mass_melee (with longer non-cyclist witness reports)

http://seattlest.com/2008/07/26/media_no_one_is_safe_from_rampaging.php

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/372364_criticalmass27.html

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008075512_reading27.html

As an avid cyclist and occasional Critical Masser, I can attest to the cyclists’ view that the driver was the aggressor.  Just this summer, we have had a car bump the back tires of massers, and finally run over a guy’s bike (the driver was in a Prius, no less).  One car went into oncoming traffic to pass us, then stopped and feigned backing up into us.  Others honk, swear, and engage in dangerous driving just to get around us.  Critical Mass asserts cyclists’ rights to be safe on the road, but also challenges American drivers’ ill-perceived sense of entitlement to drive, and to drive fast.

The right to be safe is always in danger when biking alone or in small groups, which is why Critical Masses are so important — it’s safety in numbers, and when a driver hits one of us and drives off, there are more to make sure he is stopped.