critical mass or mess?
asheville |
land use and transportation |
news report
Thursday June 28, 2007 06:00
by anonymous
letter printed in the jun 27 - jul 4 moutain xpress by michael j. sule of asheville
Critical mass or mess?
Enough with Asheville's Critical Mass/Rising Tide. These thuggish, juvenile malefactors, disguised as conscious global custodians, blotch the reputation of otherwise nonconfrontational bicycle riders with their so-called "direct-action tactics."
After weeks of promotion, Asheville's floundering Critical Mass/Rising Tide movement managed to draw 30-some fools to ride with them through town. Their protest culminated at the doorstep of Bank of America on Patton. There they rallied, tossed flecks of coal into the air and made insignificant demands for Bank of America to withdraw from investments with Massey Energy and Arch Coal. One participant, overwrought with misguided ambition and starved for environmental recognition, locked the bank's doors with his bike lock. Shortly afterward, the imprudent hooligans rode away, leaving curious bystanders looking on and asking themselves what had happened.
Besides having no lasting constructive impact, Asheville's Critical Mass/Rising Tide makes life more difficult for those of us who are working toward decreasing our city's carbon footprint through constructive and cooperative means. Now, thanks to Critical Mass/Rising Tide, it isn't unreasonable for motorists to be a little more frustrated by bike traffic. After all, public demonstrations have public consequences, right? And my worry is that bike traffic reaps the negative consequences that Critical Mass/Rising Tide so wretchedly sowed.
So, as the last Friday of the month looms upon us, I challenge those tempted or excited to participate in Critical Mass to invest their time and energy constructively. Fortunately, Asheville offers a plethora of progressive and environmental organizations in which to indulge your quixotic yearnings. Should you be at a loss, check out the community calendar published weekly in the Mountain Xpress.
Michael J. Sule
Asheville
make this your indymedia front page
printable version
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (3 of 3)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3the author of this lte to the mtn xpress needs to stop whining.
"oh, the protesters need to stop because they harm our image!"
please. if Americans had that attitude in 1776 we'd all be bowing to the Queen of England to this day.
If you don't like Critical Mass or Rising Tide, don't participate.
Like it or not, they are addressing crucial issues that are not being addressed aqequately by anybody.
So stop whining. If you don't like protestors or non-violent direct action, move to China.
There has been NO successful social change movement in this country that has not included a militant wing, a direct action wing or some sort of protest or radical action.
get over it. or get out. at least get out of the way.
thugs indeed. i reckon yer kind went Tory back in '76.
critical mass is a confrontational bike ride. it always is. it's not about making drivers like bicyclists. it's about shutting down the car culture that's destroying our planet. and, historically, it's been used for lots of other great reasons too.
right now there's a burgeoning campaign against bank of america because of its investments in companies like massey (a company that blows up our appalachian mountains for coal). with more actions like this, bank of america will actually divest. they divested from huntington life sciences (an animal testing company) because of a similar campaign.
you might not realize this, but liberals like you prevent real change from happening. thanks for defending mountaintop removal, michael sule.
oh boo who. some terrorist bike riders put some dirt in front of a bank.
its called mountain top removal