From crash@selway.umt.edu Thu Feb 13 00:08:51 1997 Received: from mx4.u.washington.edu by lists.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW96.08/UW-NDC Revision: 2.33 ) id AA29302; Thu, 13 Feb 97 00:08:51 -0800 Received: from server.umt.edu (server.umt.edu [150.131.14.70]) by mx4.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW96.12/8.8.4+UW96.12) with ESMTP id AAA07928; Thu, 13 Feb 1997 00:08:42 -0800 Received: from selway.umt.edu (crash@selway.umt.edu [150.131.14.2]) by server.umt.edu (8.8.4/8.8.4) with ESMTP id BAA05860; Thu, 13 Feb 1997 01:08:41 -0700 Received: from localhost (crash@localhost) by selway.umt.edu (8.8.4/8.8.4) with SMTP id BAA08299; Thu, 13 Feb 1997 01:08:34 -0700 (MST) Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 01:08:34 -0700 (MST) From: Jason L Miller To: 'Crane-ium@juno.com'---, "J. Nachtigal" , "K. Wolff" , Subject: Re: critical mass Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Hi everyone, I just wanted to put in my two cents on this one. I didn't actually hear about the incident until I received the E-mail about it. I am all for the advancement of awareness of bicycles on the streets, however I feel it is our job as advocators to promote ourselves in a positive, responsible manner. I am by no means supporting the officers' actions and because I know of the incident only by another's interpretation, I cannot comment on the specifics. Coming from Portland, I have witnessed many of the critical mass rides having taken place there. I have chosen not to take part in them for the simple fact that I did not agree with there methods of handling such events. I agree that bicycles have all the same rights as automobiles, but the other side is that we also have all the same responsibilities (running stop signs doesn't prove anything). I think the old saying about two wrongs not making a right applies to this one. I am just as guilty of neglect as is, I'm sure, every cyclist I have met to date-when it comes to breaking the rules. We just have to remember that unless we conduct ourselves in a mature and responsible manner, we will never be treated as such. This has just been something to keep in the back of your mind. I apologize if I may have inadvertently offended anyone, but I feel that we should recognize our actions as a part of a whole that is society. Sincerely, Jason Miller .