Why I've Made a Big Fucking Deal Out of This

Some people are under the impression that there's no point in my attempts to draw attention to an alleged assault on a cyclist, and friend of mine, last week. There have been plenty of comments that say something along the lines of "shit like this happens, whatever" and "it's an incident between some drunk guys, you're making too big a deal about this". Although I tried to explain my perspective on this in a previous post, it seems further clarification is needed.

You know what, maybe this will make things a little bit easier to understand. Lets pretend for a second that this has nothing to do with anyone even remotely famous. Lets pretend this doesn't have anything to do with anyone I know and maybe we can put this in a context that's a little bit more digestible.

Anyone who rides a bike in this city knows that the roads are a dangerous place. I ride my bike every single day, it's my mode of transportation. Not a week goes by where I don't come close to getting in a serious accident as the result of someone driving a car. I follow the rules of the road. I stay in the bike lane, I stop at stop signs and I signal before making turns. I'm not some reckless kid who's not paying attention while I'm riding. Nonetheless I am at constant risk of being killed by some asshole who's talking on their cellphone or putting on make-up. This experience isn't unique to me, it's the same for all the responsible cyclists in this city and elsewhere across the country.

If you're going to operate a giant steel box that can go really, really fast you're taking on a HUGE responsibility. That's why you have to take a driving test and be licensed, that's why you have to be of a certain age and that's why it's illegal to drive while intoxicated. There's also a reason why you don't need to be licensed or of a certain age to ride a bike. The reason is that the possibility of seriously injuring or killing someone because of a bike are microscopic when compared with the possibility of injuring or killing someone with your car. A cyclist basically has to worry about hurting themselves, whereas a motorist has to worry about everything and everyone on the road. If a cyclist isn't paying attention and flies into a pedestrian the likelihood of either party sustaining life-threatening injuries is minimal, especially when compared to a motorist doing the same thing.

Motorists don't respect cyclists, they see them as a nuisance even though we have the same rights to the road that cars do. Just the other day I was riding home from work and I was nearly crushed by someone driving a car. I was riding not even a block away from my house when the car right next to me slowly starts drifting into the bike lane. It was only after I started screaming at the top of my lungs that the driver of the car even noticed I was there. When I confronted the driver their excuse for almost hitting me was because she "didn't see me". This was in broad daylight mind you, and I was wearing an orange shirt, so if the driver had been at all responsible there's no excuse for not seeing me. Shit like this happens constantly.

If a driver isn't paying attention and hits a cyclist it's absolutely awful and that person probably isn't responsible enough to be driving a car. When someone uses their vehicle against a cyclist purposely it's absolutely disgusting and unforgivable. We're talking life and death here people, this isn't a game.

Now back to reality for a moment. Yes; this indeed involves a close friend of mine and a local band that has some degree of notoriety. I did what I did to help a friend, something I think people should be able to understand. I don't like violence, I don't agree with it and I think it's the lowest you can sink to. So when the initial incident occurred and people start talking about finding the guys who jumped Matt I took it upon myself to try and make sure that wouldn't happen. I encouraged going to the police, which Matt did, and trying to solve this problem without anymore violence. I talked to several people about the incident and wrote the story that was given to me. In no way have I attempted to spread around anything that I know to be untrue. I wrote the story based on Matt's account, which was backed up by several individuals who wished to remain anonymous. I have no reason to believe that anything that I was told is untrue, and I stand by what I wrote.

If you're able to take anything away from all of this please let it be this: We need to show cyclists more respect when we're on the road; and if you're going to operate a motor-vehicle do so responsibly and understand the ramifications of your actions behind the wheel.