🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1994Nov28.181449.19027@mksol.dseg.ti.com> mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com (Fred McCall) writes:
> 
> Speaking of someone posting their own opinions as facts, see your
> comments above.  As for cluelessness, well, if the label seems to fit
> you ....

Ahhh. The old Usenet 'accusation reversal'. This is where you start so
you accuse me of your own actions...  I most certainly did state exactly
what was fact and what was opinion. I suggest you learn critial reading.

> Oddly, none of the people I know who ride have ever objected to it.
> Perhaps you're the one trying to assert your own definition as being
> universal rather than local (where local may be anything from Texas to
> your bedroom in scope).

Just because they don't object to it doesn't make it correct. Go ask
any of the respective *moto and *bicycle newsgroups what a biker is.
You will find that the definitions I provided are the norm.

> : 2) You lack regard for cultures other than your own. 
> 
> All this and you read minds, too?  I *am* impressed.

No. It's clear from your postings. Doesn't take a mindreader. To many
commuting bicyclists, bicycling *is* a culture. You have expressed a
lack of regard for commuting bicyclist. And it takes a great mind to
extract my conclusion from that??? Try again.

> Or maybe some of us just have real jobs and real lives and better
> things to do than respond to idiotic postings?  The only reason I'm
> bothering with this one is because the machine I'm compiling on just
> crashed and I have to wait for it to come back up.

Yeah. And how much bandwidth have you used up on this thread? Accusing
me of not having anything better to do than respond to idotic postings?
You look like a pretty 'black pot' to me.

> Personally, you sound exactly like the sort of yutz that gives people
> who ride such a poor reputation (not to mention what you do to the
> reputation of people who use the net).

Great! 'you sound'... I suppose that's as close as you'll get to indicating
what is an opinion. At least you are trying...

> Apparently, there are a couple of folks out there who need some better
> way to prove their manhood than by posting to the net, if they can

Ahhh. Now we delve to the bottom of the chest with the old 'manhood' 
argument...

> take that simple remark as some kind of threat and respond with the
> ranting we've seen on here.
[...]
> Who the hell threatened to run over anybody?
[...]
> you (wrt kicking off mirrors).  All *I* said was that if bicyclists
> wanted to ride on busy streets, they needed to learn to pedal much
> faster so as not to impede traffic.

Here's what you stated:
>> definitely does.  So perhaps you'll think about where YOUR right to
>> obstruct MY passage derives from (or learn to peddle *much* faster).

This sure sounds like a threat to me and certainly not a 'simple remark'.
At minimum it certainly seems clear that you intend to intimidate them.

Fred. Intimidating bicyclists (or other vehicles) in a manner to teach
them to get out of your way because they impede your progress is a serious
issue.  I seriously hope that you don't intend on behaving in such a manner,
as the consequences of such actions can be about as serious as they get.
And I certainly hope that in reality you give bikers and other vehicles
plenty of room to maneuver.  I.e. no tailgating, no crowding, and no 
other acts of 'intimidation'.

As both a long-time motorcyclist and bicyclist, I've experienced boatloads
of intimidation. Vehicles purposefully attempting to run both types of
vehicles off the road is a common occurrance. Go read the bicycle and
motorcycle newsgroups if you want to get a hint of what it is like. We
do take such threats seriously, because failing to do so can be fatal.

You can't tell who is bluffing from who isn't, so you have to take
everything seriously. I've had a mom with a stationwagon full of kids
look me in the eye and then careen into me because 'I was in her way'.
Yes, there was something dreadfully wrong with her reasoning abilities,
but such defective thinking really exists and as 'two-wheelers' we encounter
it on a regular basis.  The scarey part here is that you seem to have a
similar attitude. That's what I'm reacting to.

-- 
Kent Polk: kent@eaanu.nde.swri.edu