Critical Mass
September 4th, 2007 |I hate these critical mass rides. In my opinion all they accomplish is getting a bunch of motorists pissed off thereby provoking the potential for violence.
Critical mass riders are attempting to convey an important message but I think the manner that they are using to attempt to convey that message is not at all effective and does their cause more harm than good.
It also creates a great opportunity for those with intentions that are less than noble to come along for the “party”.
Were the cops over the line? Let the investigation play itself out and we shall see. In the mean time, if you don’t want trouble then don’t cause trouble. Some of us are just trying to ride our bike on the road and we have to put up with enough bullshit on a daily basis as it is.
18 Responses to “Critical Mass”
were the cops over the line? lets let the investigation pan out.
…
yeah. okay. i trust cops investigating cops. what i saw on video is a woman handcuffed getting punched repeatedly in the head. she could have tried to kill the pope for all i care, the point is that you don’t punch an individual that isn’t resisting OR able to defend him/herself. that was uncalled for.
indiscriminately pepper spraying the crowd that was trying to move on past the arrest is just another example of the MPD disregard for rational thinking.
from the video i saw, it looked like the crowd was getting threatened with mace, not actually sprayed.
i’m still pissed off about it, for the reasons mentioned above, and i’d love to see the cops supposed helicopter footage, which i would guess is “lost” by now.
i totally agree that Critical Mass is totally counterproductive. I wish someone would start a parallel Courteous Mass where people file single- or double-file, obey traffic laws, smile a lot, and say only nice things on onlookers. If the front rode slowly enough, the back could catch up after lights, and it could all stick together well enough.
I’ve watched that same video SR and I didn’t see anyone being punched. Maybe that cop was trying to grab her but couldn’t because she was flailing around to much…
Maybe the cops were out of line, But what I saw everything looked ok and was resolved in a quick manor. The pepper spray deal was bad. But alot worse things happen every day that’s not cough on film.
Critical Mass is counterproductive and I would love to see an official MCF statement in the media supporting bicyclist rights through productive channels. And separating ourselves as riders from theses “bicycle rights activist.”
I always want to go to one of theses things, but I don’t think the riders would like me wearing my support Bush shirt… What do you think?
I have participated in ride-alongs for Party Patrols that take place each Fall. I can tell you first hand that officers get a bad rap when it comes to stuff like this. Fighting against ‘the man’ is old stuff… get some new material!! Officers are doing their job, and when their safety or the safety of others comes into play, the officers will act accordingly. Before you judge 5-10 seconds of footage, make sure to understand there is likely much more to know and understand about the incident.
JB
Full out defense of either side would require you to defend the indefensible while wholly reprimanding either side would be libeling the innocent.
I don’t think the riders would like me wearing my support Bush shirt… What do you think?
No one likes you wearing your support Bush shirt.
I still believe that CM can be a very positive experience for both riders and observers. It’s unfortunate that it can occur peacefully for several months at a time, only to have a few individuals show up & use the large numbers to justify whatever behavior they want: running lights, taunting drivers, riding in oncoming lanes of traffic, riding through buildings, etc. That said, I’ve seen the police overreact to a peaceful CM and instigate so-called “rioting” situations.
Mpls CM could benefit from a monthly parade permit, if one could be issued without a designated leader (because nobody wants to be responsible for the actions of the more unruly riders). One of my favorite CMs was when the mayor joined us, and we had police escorts on bicycles. We still took up all the lanes in our direction of traffic, but the ground rules for the front of the mass not running reds and not riding in oncoming traffic were clearly laid out. It gave the mass a much greater sense of legitimacy to onlookers, and much more accountability to participants.
I’ve participated in CM enough to see how various traffic situations play out, and I would have to argue that a situation where people ride single or double file and riders get gapped off at red lights is actually be very dangerous: riders need to stay “massed up” in as dense a group as possible for safety reasons. When riders get gapped off and vehicle traffic gets “caught” inside the mass of riders, or when a lane of traffic is left open, drivers often try to blow through the group of cyclists and swerve into riders. The lead riders should not run red lights, but if it’s green when the front of the mass approaches an intersection and turns red before the last rider gets through, the whole group still needs to go through. Cross traffic is already stopped, so it doesn’t create an unnecessarily dangerous situation.
Gilby makes good points about the overall positive experience, and that part I agree with, and about staying massed together, front riders not entering red light intersections, etc… And I have to say that extending CM into oncoming traffic or riding through buildings is just plain wrong. One of the major points of CM is to exercise one’s already existing rights on the road as a vehicle. Not to use it as an excuse for “anything goes”.
However, I don’t think that a parade permit is workable for CM in any city, or a solution to any sort of controversy/conflict. The city isn’t going to “approve” a parade that doesn’t have an organizing body or, at the very least, contact info. For instance, if for some reason the city had to revoke the permit due to some sort of _____ (maybe bridge collapse?) whom would they contact if no one identified themselves as the parade “leader”?
Sorry to hear you’ve got the RNC converging on your city…
As far as long-time-peaceful-then-suddenly-mass-arrests go, it’s not new. When the RNC had their convention in NYC in 2004, the police apparently suddenly started cracking down pretty hard to suppress CM in the months before because it was perceived as a part of other protest activity. If you’ve got the time, check out “Still We Ride” - a documentary about the goings-on there. It’s up on YouTube - type “still we ride” in the search box (the movie is in 4 parts).
It’s simply not possible for me to accept the thesis that massers‘ monthly ride is somehow the thing that is ratcheting up the tension when I am personally on the receiving end of some driver’s angst at my mere existence at least once a month. Twice this year, I’ve had things thrown at me, and this is in logging somewhere between 80 to 120 miles a week on my city bike, which spends a lot of time commuting on the Greenway and St. Paul’s dedicated bike lanes.
I don’t mass and at least some of that has to do with its participants, some of whom I would agree to being annoying, and their behavior immature, maybe even counterproductive. However, the heart of this thing is to say that assholes who try to push us out need to be served notice that we have rights to the road, too. I’m out there, I don’t take any shit, and I won’t cave into guys whose trucks have balls because they don’t… however badly that may work out from time to time.
the heart of this thing is to say that assholes who try to push us out need to be served notice that we have rights to the road, too.
If you were able to collect all the assholes in one place and screw up their commute you might be onto something.
But the way I see it, by screwing up everyones commute, you are making enemies faster than you may make friends.
It’s not a winning tactic.
Come on dude, it’s working in Iraq!
My issue with CM is I don’t see it helping me as a cyclist. It won’t prevent the incident I had a month ago over on the Lake Calhoun Parkway. (Long story short… riding at 5:00 AM with buddy and full compliments of lights fore and aft. A@@ in pick-up decides to “teach” us a lesson by passing by my buddy real close and then bumping me in the left shoulder. I did not go down, but was caught too off guard to get a lic. plate. Shouted a lot though. There was no other traffic at the time besides us and him.)
I can see where various local clubs can do a lot to raise awareness and try to make things better, but CM just pisses people off. I’m willing to bet most drivers caught up in CM in Minneapolis have no clue why the cyclists are doing what they are doing. In adddtion there’s no real promotion of safety, just public nuisance. Peacful protest is fine, but you have to educate the public not just annoy them.
(Plus a personal nitpick… based on photos of the recent CM… would it hurt to wear a helmet?)
hey there firestarter.
i would like to make 2 points about this specific incident, and one general point.
1.
where this incident happened was on lasalle ave, between grant and 12th st.
there is no stop sign, or intersections there. no traffic laws could have been broken at that time.
2.
how does a bicycle attack a police cruiser? if the officer was afraid, he should simply wait for the cyclist to crash into his car and fall down. then he could make the arrest, and wash the rubber mark from the tire off his car, and go home.
…instead of inciting a near riot.
3.
i have never been on a critical mass.
but it is a world wide movement, and it isn’t going away. so it’s pointless to argue the merits/faults.
if you don’t want to be a part of it, don’t show up at loring park on the last friday of the month.
I hate these critical mass rides. … Were the cops over the line?
I’m not a fan of CM either. But it certainly looks like the cops were over the line. Now I’m tempted to join the next CM. Hey wait, this situation is eerily familiar…
Go,and make sure you bring enough coffee for the cops.
From what I’ve read, one or two bikers started getting out of line (taunting the police, riding in the wrong lane, etc),
cops came after him,
biker hid in pack of other bikers,
cops came in to get him,
other bikers tried to prevent this,
cops felt threatned and went insane.
Everyone paid the price.
But the way I see it, by screwing up everyones commute, you are making enemies faster than you may make friends.
Let’s correct the scale here. The number of people affected is obviously much lower than “everyone”, and I’ve yet to find criticism of Massing to blame anyone with the loss of a job, a limb, or their life because of it. I have witnessed other Masses, I was by the Central Library at the time, and I assure you that a much better way of screwing up a commute is by dispatching a couple dozen squad cars from every corner of downtown and beyond.
If you were able to collect all the assholes in one place and screw up their commute you might be onto something.
If you’ve been nested too long (the wife just wrapped up our first year), you may not be aware of this, but downtown Minneapolis on a weekend night is just about the best collection of assholes you’re going to find in the Twin Cities until next year’s GOP convention.
Who in the fuck is stupid enough to grab a cop? This same thread is being played out over on the MORC forums. ‘Critical Mess’ has become a stage for any idiot to act out his personal agenda. I went on two of them many years ago, and the appearance of the posengers and the hard times crowd made me rethink the whole thing. Like Smithers said, there isn’t a lot to be gained and a hell of a lot to lose from these encounters. The best thing we can do as riders to establish our right to the road (We are traffic) is to ride responsibly every day, not just one Friday a month.