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A Man's Bike Is His...
August 19, 2008 - 5:28pm
One has to feel for « bicycle crusader ». RW pundits and forum freaks are joy-riding the « law and order » bandwagon, while his own principles force him to walk home without his aerodynamic hard-on, denied even the simple solace of a righteous rebel rant with like-minded victims. If MPs are allowed to thump their desks and cops to shoot first and ask questions later, couldn’t he at least be given some moral leeway to rattle court doors, if not be called in to provide an impact statement about the loss of his significant mount? The undeserving poor may not know it, but one can really bond with a Marinoni VR2 Ultra... And imagining it being pawned off for crack hardly worth 1/20th of its value tears a true cyclist’s heart out.
And yet... what is it that so easily turns social crusaders to pitchforks and scythes when a fancy bike disappears? Our money is discreetly tucked away in RRSPs or condominiums, guaranteed by over-education (and racist/sexist/able-ist hiring policies); our dwellings are compact well-locked cocoons of identity trinkets; cars (if any) are silent and sensible... but the modern sports bicyle, generally ultra-light, symbolizes our venture out there, in a world of vulnerability. Privilege at the mercy of a padlock.
Europeans mostly ride clunkers in the city. In Amsterdam or Paris, bikes are either free or rented by the hour, a collective staple. But in our little bohemian-bourgeois world, a man’s "good" bike often seems to be something else altogether : symbolizing health, class, commitment to ecology, a je-ne-sais-quoi of anarchism and, yes, damn it, virility if those tight shorts do their stuff.
Isn’t its disappearance at enemy hands enough to get a guy to find his inner crusader, don a white cape and scream for blood? Has Ms. Communicate no compassion? [img]eek.gif" border="0[/img]
P.S.: Hey, friends of Omar Khadr, want lefty action?... Start spreading the rumour that it’s CSIS that is stealing guys’ bikes...
[ 19 August 2008: Message edited by: martin dufresne ]
Bicycle thievery is one of those crimes, I've found, where some lefties depart from our usual support for restorative justice and get awfully "law-n-order" about the whole thing. Nothing's too harsh for the guy who stole my bike and sold it for drug money! Whereas if the bike wasn't involved, we'd be sympathetic to a drug addict whose illness drove him to steal, etc.
Most "street crime" is perpetrated by, and against, working class people. And people in authority know that a great way to divide us and to keep control over us is by pushing the idea that we are enemies with each other and that we can use the power of the system to get each other when any of us falls out of line somehow.
Does this mean that no criminals should be prosecuted or that no one should call the police? No, of course not. But to me, it means that, as part of my commitment to progressive justice principles, I support everyone getting a fair shake in court, that I support restorative justice as opposed to torches and pitchforks and angry punishment, and that I support the integration of people who have screwed up back into society. And I also support a critical consciousness of those of us who have not been criminalized of what exactly it means to be a criminal in a society where not everyone has what they need to function properly.
I don't think there's any excuse for people who have "difficult lives" to hurt other people who have the same problems. It happens far too often and it makes me mad. But that doesn't mean I believe in revenge.
Besides that, I've got things going on in my life that are a source of (proximate) hope. I'd be surprised if the people who broke my window had that.
Perfect response Michelle:
You know, I can understand that, because in some cases, me for instance, I saved up a hell of a long time to buy a great Nishiki racing bike back in 1981, and some asshole stole the front wheel, and another jerk ripped off the crank. 6 months in prison for stealing an expensive bike is about right, unless the culprit offers to make amends, like giving the bike back, or replacing it with a new one - in that case, a simple fine would suffice, in addition to making amends. There has to be something there to discourage theft of something that someone put a hell of a lot of effort into, and which means a great deal to that person.
6 months per bike? That's what I'm talking about here. I've had two bikes ripped off downtown as well and I don't want to see this man get a long prison term.
Sarcasm alert-Mind you jail is no big deal I guess so if your homeless you could steal a bike when the snow flies and at least you would be fed and housed. - the last idea was not the views of this poster.
I am sure you will agree that if your standard of "like any other theft" was really operative, our prisons would not be filled with petty thieves but with bankers, advertisers, investment brokers, cult leaders and politicians.
Hear Hear!!! Again Michelle you nail it. 10 points for you for it is the Olympic season.
To love one's neighbour is easy, people of like minds seek each other out. The trick is to love and feel compassion for those who are different from us and those who have wronged us.
As you know rehabilitation requires more than just a pro forma exercise within the judicial system. It requires levels of comprehensive support from the state and a recognition by the one who committed the crime to seek change.
This requires a commitment and a lot of work from all sides and is never easy.
[ 20 August 2008: Message edited by: martin dufresne ]
Edited to correct the number of bikes auctioned. [img]redface.gif" border="0[/img]
[ 20 August 2008: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]
Capital punishment?
edit:: my bike, aka the crapsicle, was a decent used bike I picked up back when I was 13 (far too small for me now). I covered it with tape and spray painted it a crappy brown, after covering the gears and other important information. I even added some stuff to the wheels. Anything to make it too unattractive to steal. I really don't care who sees me riding it, my bike ain't gettin' stolen.
[ 20 August 2008: Message edited by: Papal Bull ]
And Boom Boom, I would have thought that a die-hard Rolling Stones fan like you would have learned by now that you can't get no satisfaction.
As for deterrence, "appropriate" refers to vengeance; it's "effective" you should at least aim for, and so far, no data points to any.
[ 20 August 2008: Message edited by: martin dufresne ]
Excellent reply, Martin. Thanks!
Hypothetically speaking (since we don't know whether in this particular case the guy is guilty or not), if John Smith is running a bike theft ring to the tune of thousands of stolen bikes, and then selling them through his store, and is paying people who might be down and out and desperate for money (whether to feed addictions or for other reasons) a few bucks piecemeal for each bike they steal and bring to him...then is John Smith still a working class victim who has turned to crime out of desperation?
I don't know the answer to this. I know he's not Conrad Black, but is John Smith still just another working class Joe who went wrong? Or is he an exploiter and victimizer of the people he's using to bring him bikes, a "pimp" of sorts?
Either way, it doesn't change my view of what the justice system should be doing to deal with people who commit crimes. But I just felt that my earlier analysis of working class street crime maybe didn't quite fit this situation perfectly if the accusations turn out to be true.
However, perhaps I just misunderstood the first part of your comment, but in this particular case, if this guy is guilty, then it is the guy at the top that people are angry at, not the ones who actually stole the bikes.
I am not a man, and even if I were, I'd no longer be of the "raging testosterone" age. I'm a middle-aged woman, and have been a cyclist and cycling activist (vйlorutionnaire) for decades. This weekend, we are inaugurating the Claire Morrissette bicycle path through the city core - something we have fought for for many, many years.
I've had several bicycles stolen. None were new, and none were shiny or particularly valuable. In Amsterdam, where most people ride workhorse bicycles, bicycle theft is rampant and a serious social problem.
Often, those bicycle theft caused me very serious harm, as I needed the bicycle to get around and couldn't afford any other way or to buy a new one. It is important to understand that if "working-class" people (actually lumpenised working-class people) commit such crimes, the main victims are other working-class people. The problem, and one of the main sources of anger, is the utter disregard by the police for a crime that not only causes serious harm to cyclists - no, my bicycle may not be worth as much as a car - and I don't have or want a Marinoni in the city - but it is my means of transport and one does develop a great deal of affection for it. It is not so easy to find another that is comfortable, solid and safe (too many bicycles only suit tall people)...
I don't want this guy lynched or beaten up, but it is important to let authorities know that this is a crime that not only causes serious harm to a lot of people - and no, most of them are not lycra louts with too much money and too many toys - but has a very serious negative environmental impact, as it is one of the main obstacles in getting people out of their fucking pollution machines and onto bicycles (weather permitting) and creating carfree cities with intermodal use of bicycles, walking and public transport.
We had a similar problem a while back with a creep who tortured and killed cats - the utter lack of sanctions or seriousness about a very damaging crime.
Not all people who want to make evident the harm such crime does - this is not a matter of some junkie stealing a bicycle for a fix, it is a major network of theft - are vigilantes or machos.
[ 22 August 2008: Message edited by: lagatta ]
Thank you lagatta, these are great points, and I was thinking this the other day. I was in a bike accident where a car cut me off and I went over the handlebars and did a belly flop on the pavement. My bike seemed fine, and I only had a few bruises--no broken bones, etc. (although you never really know the severity of your injuries until after, because of adrenaline and stress). So I thought, no harm, no foul, and the guy drove off, even though I had several witnesses.
But, like lagatta says, this was a serious accident, and cars should realize the severity of the crime--a cyclist was killed just a block away from where I was hit, and it could have been much, much worse for me. And last month, I clipped a mirror of a BMW who stopped me and surveyed the damage (prick) before giving me a lecture. So I regret not calling the police.
Bikeriders are marginalized on the road and by society, and unless bike crimes are treated as seriously by the law as other crimes, that won't change.
Right freaking on!
Bikes are taken seriously in some countries. I recall reading one city (or country?) in Europe started making bikes free for all, by puttting them on street corners - if you want to ride, just take one, and leave it someplace for the next rider. I'm racking my brain, but I can't remember the locale.
The downside to this scheme is the possibility of someone simply piling all these bikes into a truck and selling them elsewhere.
excerpt:
By the end of the year, organizers and city officials say, there should be 20,600 bikes at 1,450 stations -- or about one station every 250 yards across the entire city. Based on experience elsewhere -- particularly in Lyon, France's third-largest city, which launched a similar system two years ago -- regular users of the bikes will ride them almost for free.
Comment: it's a PPP scheme, so I'm a little wary of it, until I know more details.