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As a bit of a side issue: I don't bother with Twitter myself, but has anyone on there ever tweeted anything that isn't utterly moronic?
Yes.
That's a very succinct answer Jamie. I note you've also resisted the temptation to point out that's its probably all my fault
[b]What have you done with the real Jamie, you monster?!![/b]
😉
GrahamS
You could well be right, but I don't want to spend my life worrying about stuff that probably won't happen.
Besides, that guy seemed mostly annoyed at RLJers and abusive cyclists, both of which I can understand.
Edit: and cyclists getting shirty with him on twitter isn't exactly going to help.
lol at STW regulars pouring scorn on the brainlessness and bile on Twitter.
It's just easy to type shit.
I hate Audi drivers. Next time I see one I'm going to throw a petrol bomb in their window.
See? Meaningless drivel, just like all those Twitter posts.
Terrahawk (formerly of this parish).
Or not so [i]formerly[/i] it would seem 😀
lol at STW regulars pouring scorn on the brainlessness and bile on Twitter
I was aware of the irony as it is quite obvious
I reckon a majority of people posting on there are trying to big themselves up. Outside of the virtual world, they wouldn't say boo to a goose.
What is terrifying is how young so many of them are- a lot of them look like they're still on provisional licenses!
It's the kind of attitudes you expect from pensioners and middle-aged ****s in BMWs. Scary that it's so aggressive from people so young.
lol at STW regulars pouring scorn on the brainlessness and bile on Twitter
STW regulars pour scorn on the brainlessness and bile on STW too though. It's standard operating procedure
We're a tiny minority, so people who post these things may quite possibly not know anyone who cycles.
We're an out-group, regularly vilified in the mainstream media, so any observations of cyclists breaking road rules are immediately seized upon as confirmation of that image.
The stereotype of cyclists is that we're poor and ineffectual, and some people feel much happier raining hate on targets that they perceive to be powerless.
The other stereotype of cyclists is that we're a source of havoc in urban environments, kind of like a deadlier and less detectable version of the Batmobile
There's massive cognitive dissonance between the way cars are advertised and the realities of driving in urban areas.
There's widespread misunderstanding, promoted by the use of misnomers like "road tax", about cyclists' rights to use the road and our role in paying for their upkeep.
We live in a society where ranting about innocuous targets is seen as a valid, unquestioned form of entertainment.
STW regulars pour scorn on the brainlessness and bile on STW too though. It's standard operating procedure
Really, is that the best you can do 🙄
See what I did there 😉
The stereotype of cyclists is that we're poor and ineffectual, and some people feel much happier raining hate on targets that they perceive to be powerless.
Yeah, as Ian Walker says, we are a minority outgroup that is [i]"engaging in an activity that is deemed slightly inappropriate in a culture that views driving as normative and desirable and, arguably, views cycling as anti- conventional and possibly even infantile."[/i]
That fits well with some of the insults hurled on twitter there: #growup #getacar etc
I had a conversation with a guy in YouTube who suggested cyclists should "put some trousers on" and buy a car, and that [i]"there are too many poor people riding around on pushbikes who can't afford a car... The government should give them a grant so they can buy cars and salvidge some manly pride."[/i]
There it is again. The premise that driving a car is "manly" and cycling is for children or the poor. 🙄
These people seem genuinely astonished when you tell them that you have a perfectly good car sat at home and yes, you earn a perfectly good wage thanks.
Seen the latest one?
My [b]driving instructor[/b] calls cyclists "Pedal pests" Lol.
Jeebus.
You sent that picture of you in your bibs then 😀
Binners, I give you https://twitter.com/tinytwinks/status/245266008888205312
Y'know JY, I think that might have sent him over the edge 😀
mragreeable (and tinytwinks) have saved my day 🙂
Graham, it's definitely a recurring theme, isn't it. Reminds me of this old (and very amusing) bit of American proto-Clarksonia:
We are a nation that worships speed and power. And for good reason. Without power we would still be part of England and everybody would be out of work. And if it weren't for speed, it would take us all months to fly to L.A., get involved in the movie business, and become rich and famous.Bicycles are too slow and impuissant for a country like ours. They belong in Czechoslovakia.
http://www.bikereader.com/contributors/misc/menace.html
Hard to be angry at someone that can use "impuissant" correctly in an insult! 😀
There some truth in the above comments "outgroups" etc.
But I think the reality is much simpler. Its just simple jealousy
Motorists believe - rightly or wrongly that they pay a fortune to drive and in a society geared towards personal transport driving and owning a car are seen as rights rather than privileges
So when you are stuck in your traffic jam burning expensive fuel and going nowhere and a cyclist sails past you get jealous that their choices have proven to be better than your own.
http://www.bikereader.com/contributors/misc/menace.html
Except that's PJ O'Rourke and he's a satirist. He also wrote articles about:
Decorating for bachelors:
Decorating With Alcohol: (1) Start with an empty room and take a big drink. (2) See, it looks better already. Take another drink. (3) Drink a bunch more. (4) Hey, this place looks great, dammit! Know what I mean? This is a great-looking place. Looks great.
and and article called
[i]How to Drive Fast on Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Not Spill Your Drink[/i]
So maybe don't take him seriously. Unlike Clarkson who you should take a little seriously because idiots think he believes what he writes.
How to Drive Fast on Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Not Spill Your Drink
Link please? 😉
Atlaz, yeah I know the rest of his work too. "The Batchelor Home Companion" is a fave. It's very well-written humour but I don't think it's satire - he genuinely is a reactionary neo-Conservative type.
Edit: and whaddya know, here's one of his later works.
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A nefarious group that O’Rourke identifies as “The Fun Suckers” have latched onto the automobile, turning it into “a public enemy, an outlaw they could persecute without compunction.” From pollution controls to safety features, from speed limits to DUI hysteria, this “Fun Sux Klan” has deprived generations of the essential freedom, fear and fun that O’Rourke most highly prizes in his automotive interactions.
So when you are stuck in your traffic jam burning expensive fuel and going nowhere and a cyclist sails past you get jealous that their choices have proven to be better than your own.
We're also more likely to be better educated, wealthier and healthier. It's no wonder they get upset, the poor lambs.
the more I page down I get a warm feeling from the knowledge there are so many frustrated car drivers out there.
8. Write letters to your local newspaper -or even become a reporter there! Regional newspapers only get read by a small number of people, but as most of them are ****ers over sixty that vote for the UKIP they'll like to read it.
😆
Why? A few reasons imo.
1) there's a number of tiny-minded morons with inferiority complexes around who like to publicly hate something to make themselves feel better about their own failings or insecurities. being part of a group of haters makes them feel valid. how many 'groups' can you abuse in public these days? not many really.
2) some people need cars as status and still haven't realised why they feel so angry / hopeless when driving many grand's worth of product that was wrapped up in status and 'experience' when bought but turns out to be hours of misery on slow-moving roads and becoming a government cash-cow. they seem to spend many hours behind the wheel raging against anything but the actual reason they're in that situation.
3) some people simply have not developed an ability to reason in their lives. they react from an infantile level rather than using learned or emotional intelligence.
4) there's a big chunk of internet-hardman BS in all this too. made-up tales of aggro like an online version of the friday night heroes recounting how they had a fight and were the new bruce lee etc.. see point 1 about inferiority complexes i guess.
excuse my amateur/crap psychology .. but that's how i see most of them.
friday night heroes recounting how they had a fight and were the new bruce lee etc
A mate of mine used to do this as well as talking about shagging girls in club toilets. Until I caught him coming out of a toilet with a bloke zipping up his fly. I view a lot of the internet "I'll run them all over" haters like that.
I view a lot of the internet "I'll run them all over" haters like that.
Like what? Homosexuals?
there's a big chunk of internet-hardman BS in all this too. made-up tales of aggro like an online version of the friday night heroes recounting how they had a fight and were the new bruce lee etc..
definately some of that. their are lot's of people who like to imagine they walk around kneecapping those who offend them in life; in reality they buzz a fee commuters on their morning commute! their twitter profile is not them and toting a gun.
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Like what? Homosexuals?
No, like people who pretend they're one thing but do another. I don't think I consider people joking about killing cyclists as fabulous (or other stereotypical homosexual description of your choice)
No, like people who pretend they're one thing but do another.
we used to call them black market queens ...
I just use it as a way of recalibrating my lack of faith in humanity
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