September 28, 2007
SFist Photo: Commute Clot's 15th Anniversary Tonight
How will you react to today's larger than normal Critical Mass? With aplomb, as these two did? Or with rage, ala many many Chronicle commenters
A small goup of San Franciscans started an international trend about fifteen years ago when they participated in the first Commute Clot bike ride. Now it's called Critical Mass. What do you call it? Well, try to keep your cool. Lots of people will be coming to ride their first Mass tonight so things will be better/worse than normal. You should try it once in your life, anyway. If you want. Starting at 6:00 PM at the foot of Market Street.
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Once again the Chronicle has a key fact wrong and is repeating it. The number of arrests from the 1997 has always been misreported. And the number of convictions from those arrests (0) is _never_ reported.
http://www.ecn.org/communitas/en/en132.html
I call it self-absorbed jacka--es with an overly developed sense of entitlement.
And, I don't own a car and use muni to get every where.
ALL vehicles should follow ALL laws, same goes for pedestrians. Car blows through a red light, nail them. Bicyclist blows through a red light, nail them. Pedestrian crosses against the light, nail them.
Tired of Critical M@ssholes! Care about the environment and be green? Sure, block traffic with your bike for hours and make more pollution!
It's a pretty dangerous event for pedestrians.
I like the event and don't have anything bad to say about bikers, pedestrians, or motorists. With such a lack of bile, am I still allowed to post on the internet?
I don't like the inconvenience as much as the next non-bicyclist, but the unbridled vitriol CM's critics spew forth is as much of a turn off than the smug self-righteousness of the cyclists. So much hate all around ... *shaking head*... .
KatyG is right. But the bottom line is that CM has fueled a lot of that hate on both sides. The whole nature of the event has become antagonistic rather than conciliatory. Maybe these fools should do something productive like volunteer with their local bike coalitions rather than block traffic.
And while much of the anti-CM hate comes from SUV-driving suburban types, I'm a car-free bicyclist myself.
Yeah something needs to be done about the jackasses at Critical Mass. You'd think that there are enough good people at CM to squelch these guys. Alas the good CM cyclists don't like confrontation and some of the best of these stay home because they don't like hanging around hopeless @-holes.
Critical Manners is a nice alternative for folks. They stop at all the traffic signals and generally peaceful and sensible folks.
I am a member of a religion called Matrixism so I really care about Critical Mass and I hate to see people sour it.
critical ass!!!
i hope it rains like a shit house on them
Wait, where's the Rachel and Monica crack? That was one of Matty's best (or was it Rita), which is a reminder that current management isn't quite as good.
Oh yeah, blah blah blah bike hate hate SUV blah blah motorist blah blah hate anarchy blah blah (to keep on thread).
Since has "blocking traffic" been elevated to the rank of mortal sin?
While there surely are a few critical mass assholes, the level of rage and insanity that is simply par the course amongst drivers is off charts. Its pretty simple, one (1) day a month, cars have to wait.
I don't drive, I don't bike. I walk or take mattymatts hobgoblin (muni) everywhere.
And to slappydafrog, if I ever get a fucking jaywalking ticket then I'll know the provincinal mindset is here to stay.
After almost getting hit by not one, but two cars within a five minute time period last night: limo, blowing a stop sign yammering on his cell (seriously, did not even slow down) and then a taxi doing the same thing, both times while I'm in the crosswalk with my kid, I'll take a critical mass ride over the asshole drivers in this city any day. And if I'm hit, who will do the worst damage: car or bike?
I'd like to see laws enforced against everyone, but after overhearing a cop tell someone straight out that unless you're drunkenly swerving all over Market St at 90 mph, they don't bother stopping cars, I'm not really holding my breath.
It's one freaking day a month. ONE. As opposed to the assholes who clog the streets, causing havoc every damn day in their cars. People need to lighten up.
Who the hell are those two babes in the middle of Critical Mass walking down the street? I ain't NEVER seen them. But I sure will be looking tonight!
Screw cars. I can't wait until Ahmadinejad bombs the Saudis and gas goes to $15 a gallon. Then the fat slobs in the SUV's will die because they are too out of shape to get food without their car. I'll ride my bike to Pescadero and buy my organic produce on the cheap because the farmer can't afford to ship his food to SF.
Utopia!
Wanna see critical mass? Go to Wal-mart. Screw you bike people, you're like a high school cult all over again. You ruin this city for the rest of us.
#12: The problem is, when Critical Mass riders act like jerks and the media covers it, the bad drivers you mention look at it and think, "Well, it's all their fault, not mine"...and keep doing what they're doing.
Good for Critical Manners though. They're doing it right.
There's nothing more hilarious than reading entitled jerks like Slappydafrog bitch and moan about how entitled critical massers are. The whole point of critical mass is to give drivers some idea of what it's like for cyclists to share the roads with cars every single day. People who drive think it's some god given right to sit behind the wheel. They're idiotic fools who deserve to be rounded up. Critical mass is about making these people aware that, hey, guess what? They're not the only people on the road. So long as cyclists are regularly being picked off by retarded drivers in this city, critical mass will be neccesary.
If you're picking out attitude from some of the critical mass riders, don't blame critical mass. Blame those specific riders for thinking they're cool because they're urban hipsters on track bikes, when in fact all they are is lame and derivative trend followers. They should be rounded up too!
Sorry about the repost.
I like to watch both the cyclebots and the SUVers all flip out at each other.
I wish the bikers would do a nude run some month. That would really stop traffic and cause additional chaos, but it would be fun to watch how things hang on a ride.
Guest number 10, you of the
Wait, where's the Rachel and Monica crack? That was one of Matty's best (or was it Rita), which is a reminder that current management isn't quite as good.
remark
Both posts containing this image were written by the same person, SFist Jim Herd (whom I applaud for not repeating the joke).
And, speaking as past management and a founder of the site (though I can't take credit of oversight of the site in April 2007), current management kicks total ass.
Funny, Manhattanites seems to have jaywalking down to a science. In fact, if you wait for the walk signal you will probably get pushed into the street by people crossing as soon as traffic clears.
After a week there, I have to retrain myself to wait for the walk signal.
The vitriol comes from the asshole bicyclists with a sense of entitlement and from the whole fact that the whole motivation behind CM is to piss people off.
How about trying to cross 4th and Howard with all vehicle lights indicating red, and all pedestrian lights indicating walk.... and still having to dodge dumbfuck hipsters who believe that they're the exception to the rule and perfectly entitled to cross?
It's not just CM, most, if not all, people who operate bicycles in the city are assholes who run red lights.
Really, Walk SF ought to stage some sort of Critical Fuck the CM people event where pedestrians are used to block the CM people when the lights turn red.
Critical Mess? I call it entitlement.
cycling through stop signs and red lights will get you killed.
cycling on sidewalks and yelling at pedestrians to get out of your way will get you knocked off you f-ing bike.
it's time for pedestrians to take back the sidewalks.
I plan on riding in this if I can find a bike. If not, I'll just use my skates. Will I die?
Biker Alert!!!
Carole Migden will be out tonight and boy is she pissed!
dang, there's been a lot of deletes lately.
The real issue is this: Who are those two lovely ladies caught in the middle of it all?
I can see both sides of the Critical Mass debate. I wish, however, that it was more of a movement about getting away from cars and on toward a more sustainable transportation policy infrastructure, and less about self-obsessed hipster/messenger douchebags taking out the mild irregularities of their totally normal and love-filled childhoods on the rest of us. They're like adolescents who snap girls' bras because little Jillie Tompkins wouldn't play "Show Me Yours" with them once at day camp.
Brock - bring your skates! Lots of alternatively wheeled people participate - skaters too. Hell some people even run in the thing although haven't seen the One Less Bike people in a while.
Everyone into the streets!
#12 - right on.
Brock, you will have a better time if you wait for the Friday Night Skate at 9 pm:
http://web.cora.org/friday.phtml
I do agree that some of the critical massers do more harm than good. I've ridden in critical mass several times (my son loves it). Every time, there's always some jackasses who want to ride in circles, blocking the intersection for no other reason than to piss drivers off (I haven't seen bike people get violent, although I have seen several drivers get out of their cars and attempt to show their manliness by shaking their fists). I saw one cute female stand on the street corner cursing a blue streak of words so vile and foul even I was shocked (and my nickname used to be sewer mouth). I know bikers provoke, I just haven't seen it personally the way I've seen drivers get violent.
I'm all for forcing drivers to get out of their cars and rely on MUNI, feet, bikes, etc. But pissing them off unnecessarily is NOT the way to change their minds.
Oh boy. Can we have a post about Starbucks next, please?
Boy, you kids and your coffee.
Is it SBUK's 15th birthday too? Be more specific and you just might get a post!