BianchiCam's Open Letter

[human909]

https://www.news.com.au/technology/inno ... 0cec1cf099

Let's see what happens out of this investigation.

I'll try to stay optimistic. It is sad that it took another death for this to take place. But sadly, as it has been said before, that is often necessary to instigate action.

One thing to note. That again at least at the state level, Queensland seems to be the flash point for positive change about cyclist safety.

[g-boaf]

https://www.news.com.au/technology/inno ... 0cec1cf099

Let's see what happens out of this investigation.

I'll try to stay optimistic. It is sad that it took another death for this to take place. But sadly, as it has been said before, that is often necessary to instigate action.

I know and I'm trying not to sound pessimistic, but you can probably read me well. How do you remain hopeful when you've seen it again and again, talk talk talk and no real breakthroughs.

It's so upsetting that he had to die for all of this to happen.

[human909]

It's so upsetting that he had to die for all of this to happen.

It is.

And various platitudes can be rolled out but it is still a tragedy. It sounds like his wife is coping by using the anger, the grief for positive change. I'm going to stay open minded and optimistic. I do think change will come. But it will take much longer than we all wish for.

[ldrcycles]

First things first, one or more officers at Beerwah station need to join the unemployment queue. Indefensible behaviour.

[Cheesewheel]

It's so upsetting that he had to die for all of this to happen.

It is.

And various platitudes can be rolled out but it is still a tragedy. It sounds like his wife is coping by using the anger, the grief for positive change. I'm going to stay open minded and optimistic. I do think change will come. But it will take much longer than we all wish for.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/inno ... aaa9b7f731

I think this is the third in what is to be seven consecutive pro-cyclist articles at news.com in lieu of the motorist boganesque pathological animosity that they received (so much so, that the editors closed down comments on their relared facebook page) from originally doing an article in Bianchi's open letter.

[redsonic]

I've been appreciating the links and the News.com articles. Chris cox's article Cheesewheel just linked to is very good. I especially liked this quote:

As a straight, white, middle-class male, being a bicycle rider is the only time I get a glimpse into what life is like as a minority. Social media amplifies bigotry, and it’s not a place you want to subject yourself to...

[Philistine]

I think this is the third in what is to be seven consecutive pro-cyclist articles at news.com in lieu of the motorist boganesque pathological animosity that they received (so much so, that the editors closed down comments on their relared facebook page) from originally doing an article in Bianchi's open letter.

I think it would be a mistake to label news.com or Newscorp as "anti-cyclist". When you read pro-cycling or anti-cycling articles, you are reading the opinions of the people who wrote them, rather than some master plan devised by the owners. I could be persuaded that Rupert Murdock might have dropped a few hints that he (for instance) doesn't like President Trump - there is at least one anti-Trump article per day on news.com, some of them straight out of cloud cuckooland! But let's not kid ourselves, cyclists are simply not important enough to merit an editorial policy, either for or against.

We are getting pro-cycling coverage at present because it is topical. We should all be doing what we can to ensure that it remains topical. There is an old adage that should resonate among cyclists - the squeaky wheel gets the grease. We need to shower our elected representatives (federal and state) with letters demanding action, and we must not stop when our hurt begins to fade. Maintain the rage as they say in the classics. I realize this particular expression has acquired a certain notoriety but it seems to suit the circumstances.

[jasonc]

Phillistine is right. I submitted 6 close pass tickets this morning that I have been too lazy to submit