[*BCM*] CM isn't really CD (was: Open letter ...)

[Jym Dyer]

> A particular Critical Mass draws substantial negative press
> not when the riders are violating the law, but when they
> don't behave peacefully.

=v= Not just riders.  Motorists may behave violently simply
because the riders exist.

=v= Practically speaking, compliance with the law isn't the
real issue here, perceived delay of motorists is.  Riders can
be completely law-abiding and yet an incident can happen due
to an impatient motorist.  The law only gets brought up as a
handy rhetorical bludgeon, which is prettty ironic given that
what the motorist would otherwise be doing is exceeding the
speed limit.

> Behaving peacefully in the face of violence requires
> tremendous courage, and I hope all Critical Massers have
> that courage and discipline during the ride and during
> all other parts of their lives.

=v= I agree with this, but in practice, civil disobedience
involves organization; and Critical Mass is traffic, not
an organization.  Again, practically speaking, disobedience
is a feature of all traffic, so civil disobedience kind of
gets lost in the shuffle.

=v= I can and do practice nonviolence myself and encourage
others to, but I have no expectation that others in traffic
will do the same.
    <_Jym_>