I find the idea of somebody “being in control” as he or she administers a smack (or whatever we want to call it) to a child slightly sinister. I could forgive somebody doing it because he or she lost his or her temper and thus self-control, but doing it in a calm and controlled manner? Hmmm…no likey the sound of that.

I agree entirely. I remember seeing a mum grab her 6 year old who had run into the road and smack him on the back of his legs. She did it in absolute fear, panic, anger and a momentary loss of self control. As I’ve previously said, I’d never condone the hitting of a child but I do, in some circumstances, understand why it happens. This being one of those moments. Smacking a child methodically and in a cool, controlled manner is far more disturbing.

I call troll.
Tin foil hat time.

Are you having keyboard issues Drac?

It is addictive so I suppose it can destroy lives….. So yes.

Oldmans understated but mesmerising performance in Tinker, Tailor… was the winner for me. Just brilliant.

Junkyard. I knew a world of violence. Why don’t I have a criminal conviction to my name or a problem with threatening behaviour?

I could have gone the other way and become introverted and a ‘victim’ too.

However I’m feisty, GSOH and well-balanced. I don’t believe chastising a child (or violence to a child) automatically leads to violent behaviour.

So is the counter to that argument that using violence will prevent your child from becoming violent as they become older or simply that despite you being brought up in a violent atmosphere you still managed to grow up to become a well balanced pleasant adult?

edit: Samuel L Jackson should be ashamed of himself!

It’s Gary Oldman I’m most disappointed with.

What I loved about Robocop is the ‘loss’. His old home/family gone.

Absolutely. It’s a deeply unsettling film and the black humour, whilst funny, still manages to disturb.

The thing is they’ve approached it from the opposite angle. Whereby in the original it was a machine struggling with his own illusion of (still) being human in this tosh it’s a bloke who’s had some machine bits bolted to him. Far less interesting dynamic in my opinion.

I think the comparison between assaulting an adult and smacking a child is a bit irrelevant? The kind of force you’d use when smacking (open hand) a child would be laughable to an adult (obviously if you are using the same force that you’d hit an adult with than that is majorly wrong – and you need help!).

Of course but its all relative isn’t it. What is an acceptable amount of physical pain to inflict on a child then relative to the amount of physical pain you’d inflict on an adult?

Fervour – Likewise, if I starting kissing a stranger on the tummy and tickleing in them till they cried i would also be arrested.

So, in other words hitting strangers bad, hitting people you know fine?

As JY said, if you smack another adult, you’ll end up being arrested etc. So the idea that its fine for a parent to smack a child; the smallest, must vulnerable human beings, is ludicrous.

I can’t fathom why anyone would want to hit a child. I’m sure that most right minded people would spend a long time questioning and soul searching if they hit (assaulted) another adult, but hitting a kid…. No problem.

The fact the more difficult question to answer is why shouldn’t it be legalised sort of says it all really.

Make booze and fags illegal and legalise cannabis.

Helmet hair or heir?

You bought a bike, how can that be foolish?!

Very good point.

Nice bike but wish you had got it from a local shop, I know money talks and I dont like Winstanleys

Normally I try and buy from my LBS but finding stockists of race specific BMX bikes nearby isn’t easy and I would never have bought it had it not been for the price tag. First time I’ve used Winstanleys to be honest.

sexual liberation in the Highlands

Good to know. I’m going up there next week.

Well, it was near enough half price but I would never have paid a grand for one. I’ll be disappointed if I’m not doing my local tracks triple jumps immediately. It’s all about the bike right? 😉

If they left me alone, happily swigging my beer and people watching I’d be fine. It’s the constant ccoming up to you and trying to get you to dance, or the beckoning at you from the dancefloor that makes the whole thing so damn uncomfortable

+1

that and talking to people in any environment with background noise – I can’t pick out what they’re saying from the other noise.

Yep, that’s one of mine too. My hearing is poor unfortunately so I hate using the phone or having conversations in busy places and I feel terrible having to constantly say excuse me or ‘sorry, can you say that again’ so often find myself guessing what they have said and responding in as vague a way as possible which makes me seem uninterested.

well its not quite what I had intended. It just amused me as I actually had a bell on my bike for the first time in many years and my 2yr old son rang the bell on cue just to demonstrate the point.

Sorry jam bo, wasn’t really targeting my mini rant at you so much.

The thing that strikes me is that the things that some are posting on here are exactly the same sort of thing that drivers say about cyclists, or at least certainly reflects the attitude drivers have towards cyclists. It’s essentially a pecking order whereby cyclists are in the middle but somehow expect everyone, both drivers and pedestrians to give us space, respect, move out the way, treat us courteously etc. I’m not sure how we’ve managed to create this position of cyclists being the superior road, path, bridleway, trail users. I’m starting to see why I come across such bad feeling towards cyclists.

Guess it’s only me that finds this thread fairly unpleasant reading. I didn’t realise cyclists had become such an angry arrogant bunch. I’ve never had any expectation for walkers, dog walkers, the elderly or anyone else to immediately jump out of my way quickly because I’m on a bike and I don’t want to shed any speed or have my ride interrupted momentarily. But then I don’t have a ‘ it’s my right’ attitude. If I have to slow right down because a walker hasn’t heard me call out then so be it and when they do eventually mover over I’ll still smile, say hello etc.

Don’t want to spoil my days riding because I have no patience and an unquenchable desire to get angry at every possible situation.

Slightly unsettling video. Filming a woman from a distance for 15 minutes riding a bike without her knowledge.

If this were a video of some fat middle aged guy riding down a tow path taking in views of a blue sky then everyone here would be saying how great it was and how it’s what mountain biking is all about. What you have done here getonyourbike is annoyed the majority of forum users because you have pointed out what they would like to be able to do but can’t (and never will) hence the petty criticisms. They criticise your riding because they could never hope to do the same, they criticise your choice of clothing because none of them are brave enough to wear such things (too old, too fat – the sort that tirelessly refer to downhillers as wearing brightly coloured pyjamas, you know the ones) and above all they are critical because you are demonstrating something they simply don’t understand (there are few actual mountain bikers on here). Your sponsored, you wear bright, branded gear, you ride FS, you’re actually good and you have managed to edit together a good video to demonstrate it.

It is jealousy on a base level.

getonyourbike- I’m not trolling matey, you asked for our advice and I’ve been honest as I always am, I genuinely hope you learn something from it mate.

I can guarantee that he will not learn a thing from you, not a bloody thing. Unless he was trying find out the best way to be a jealous knob then indeed we could all learn a lot from you.

Getonyourbike – good video and some impressive riding ability on display.

I’m always on unclear on the ‘making’ indecent images bit. Does it mean he actually went out and took indecent images of a child or that he just downloaded/purchased them? If the former wouldn’t there be a another child or more who were also sexually assaulted in some way by him?

and get some advice

Oh there’s plenty of that available here, none of it about bikes though sadly. Welcome though.

Oh and apparently Taylor Swift was caught snarking about her one direction ex? Snarking?

To be honest the noises coming out of her mouth were more offensive than her outfit, & the dancing was just funny, so far from sexy it’s untrue.

Yeah, the ‘dancing’ was ludicrous. It was just such an overt attempt to shock and create a stir. Worked a treat tragically which does make you wonder where this approach to marketing and creating celebrity will end. It does seem now there is no sense of decency or taste whatsoever. Do whatever it takes.

I generally have a high regard for your posts but this makes me question whether you have had any real life dealings with an autistic person. Poor form.

My wife has Aspergers. Thankfully she has devised lots of very successful coping mechanisms to make life a little easier, particularly in social situations which she finds the most challenging. Thankfully for her she understands that many, if not most people, haven’t had much ‘real life’ experience of people with autism or Aspergers so doesn’t get herself into a rage if someone says something about the condition that isn’t 100% accurate. It reduces the chances of misplaced offence.

I am terrible for this – recently randomly decided I wanted a slingshot (no idea why) so have one of these on order:

What are the chances? I ordered the exact same slingshot from the very same website on Thursday, and likewise I just decided for no particular reason I wanted one and that one was the prettiest and most expensive so…. Goes without saying really.

So, her bum, any opinion or are you just a bit weird?

Weird not to have an opinion on someone else’s bum? Bit weird.

No, I hate children. I want them to plough into a few of the little shits, then get put away for a few years so their kids end up in some home from hell. It’s win win for me.

I didn’t come here to impress the ladies

RIP ladies.

The couple who live opposite me have a ‘baby on board’ and a ‘back off, toddler on board’ stickers in the rear window of their 4X4. We live at the end of a Cul-de-sac which has lots of young kids playing in the street and out of everyone who lives nearby they are the only ones who feel the need to bomb down our road at 35mph and slam the car into their drive.

It’s starting to really wind me up.

Head****! Roses that smell of fish? Still, there are worse jobs.

You charmer you.

COME BACK YOU COWARDS!!! COME BACK AND FACE THEE!!!

(I agree entirely)

I quite like to keep up with current affairs in the news but even though it’s vitally important I just cannot bring myself to read or care about anything to do with the NHS.

I’m intrigued as to why you can’t bring yourself to care, even a little bit, about the NHS? Genuine question.

Roads. People who just love talking about roads and routes. People who can list every A road and junction and tell you why going down the A5 would have been a better option.

Surprised no-one’s said Clerks yet. Kevin Smith’s first film, and arguably his finest moment. Sharp and witty, if you can overlook the fact it’s shot in black and white on a budget of about 40p.

Indeed, I actually think clerks 2 stands up surprisingly well. I was expecting it to be poor but was pleasantly surprised. Equally as sharp as Clerks but with a little more sentiment.

It’s been mentioned but if you haven’t seen the lives of others then you really must. An astounding film, the sort of film Hollywood couldn’t comprehend let alone actually put into production.

Definitely add it to your list.