[*BCM*] Longfellow/Cambridge Bike Police, Systemic Change,

[Kate Ziegler]

I personally choose the polite/courteous route for several reasons. First,
in my experience, people are completely thrown off by being called out on
their actions, and are even more confused when the person stopping them is
being calm and rational. Yelling and throwing insults won't make them
reconsider their position, or even make them stop yelling (Boston drivers
like to yell...imagine that...) The vast majority of the people I have
stopped and spoken with in the street stare open-mouthed and apologize
profusely, because they really just don't think about the consequences of
their actions, or think that anyone will call them out individually from
within their car. The driving style of Boston is a product of the same
do-or-die requirement that makes us ride as aggressively as we do; it's not
until someone points out an individual incident, rationally, that people
will consider the fact that their cars are more deadly than our bikes and
that their actions have real consequences for others.

Secondly, I'm frankly afraid of escalation. I'm not big, I'm not
intimidating (I think?) and because of that alone, I'd really rather not
provoke people to confrontation. I just want to explain my standpoint so
that, optimistically, they think twice about their own. And, in doing so
politely and calmly, I'd like to believe that a driver is even more likely
to sit back, calm down and really think, rather than finish their commute
angry and not thinking about the situation at all.

I also think Jamie raised a really good point - more often than not, drivers
honk and yell? While we all hate the drivers that do so, if I think of all
the cars I pass during my rush hour commute from Brigham Circle to South
Station, though I may have one or two incidents per day, the percentage is
hugely in favor of all of the cars that steer clear and pass without
incident. If any one of us is having more people yelling than not at any
time, we may need to reevaluate our riding styles.

-- 
Kate Ziegler
"Life is not about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."
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