Being angry at someone who seems to have an open mind isn't helpful.
I am returning to cycling after 35 years, but I must say it works both ways and respect should be both ways.......
Round here we see a lot of cyclists, especially at weekends, and a large number, but not all ride like complete idiots who think they have more right to be there than a motorist... Some are very professional and I respect that as a driver doing about 30000 miles a year...
We have cycle paths which are just there for show, cyclist would sooner ride in the road next to the lane that is put there for there safety... in those cases cyclists should be prepared for the worst and accept it ... maybe I will feel different once i get on my bike next week lol
I will admit I rant at cyclist around here who show no respect for the motorist, in fact when I said I was getting a bike more than one said "what! you a cyclist" lol
Here are some points that might help inform you:
1. The perception that cyclists are dangerous scofflaws is inaccurate.
A TFL study a few years ago found that only 16% of cyclists ran red lights. I cant find motorist red light jumping stats but from the CTC - “Of pedestrians injured in London in a collision caused by red light jumping only 4% involve cyclists, whereas 71% occur when a car driver jumps a red light and 13% when a motorcyclist does.", which would indicate that a significant proportion of car drivers jump red lights and that (obviously) it is more dangerous when they do it. I see motorists run red lights frequently. Add to that the ubiquitous speeding, widespread phone use and still common drink-driving and it is hard to argue that motorists are more law abiding than cyclists. It is
impossible to argue that they are not more dangerous given the death toll on our streets and around the world.
Here's a link:
http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/4756/cycling/stats-red-lights/index.html
2. Cyclists don't want to be in your way.
There's this weird idea that cyclists enjoy holding up drivers. A few seconds thought will reveal how silly this is - people do not like having fast, two-tonne objects behind them that are driven by impatient, fallible humans.
Beginner cyclists often try to keep as far to the left as possible but soon realise that this encourages close passes. More experienced cyclists will tend to move out further into the road in order to make themselves more visible and to make drivers change gear mentally and do a proper overtake rather than skimming past. It's a shame since it would be nice if one could just keep to the far left and rely on drivers to overtake safely. We are not doing it to annoy you.
Cycling two abreast is perfectly legal and usually makes safe overtakes easier. Unless a road is unusually wide, car drivers must move at least partially into the oncoming lane to safely overtake a cyclist. Riding two abreast means drivers have to move fully into the oncoming lane but reduces the amount of time they must spend in it as it makes the group of cyclists shorter.
As a side note: even if there is just one cyclist please move as far over to the right as possible when overtaking. We really appreciate it.
3. Bad cycling infrastructure is worse than nothing.
As a non-cyclist it might not be obvious to you that our cycling infrastructure is typically very poor. On-road cycle lanes are generally too narrow and often funnel cyclists directly past parked cars which leads to a risk of dooring. Shared paths adjacent to the road generally require the cyclist to give way at every side road. This not only makes them slow and inconvenient, but adds the risk of collision at every side road since drivers don't expect to see you there. Both on-road and off-road paths are often dangerously muddy or contain wet leaves or broken glass. Both types tend only to exist only on the straight sections where you don't need any help, but terminate just as you reach a dangerous junction.
Again, a few seconds of common-sense thought should be illuminating. People would rather not mix with cars, therefore if this cycling infrastructure was actually any good then people would use it. In my experience the vast majority of cycling infrastructure in the UK is both dangerous and inconvenient.
4. Collective responsibility is nonsense.
This isn't something you touched on specifically in your post but many people see cyclists as a homogeneous group and ascribe guilt from one individuals' wrongdoing to the whole. This is clearly wrong since I have no control over, or responsibility for, the actions of a complete stranger. This kind of thinking is the source of racism by the way, and is known as the out-group homogeneity effect. Start here if you are interested:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out-group_homogeneity .
5. What does "mutual respect" really mean?
Phrases like "mutual respect" and "shared responsibility" (between drivers and cyclists) seem reasonable at first glance but are really an attempt to shift responsibility from those who bring danger on to the vulnerable. The argument usually goes something like this: "Cyclists want respect but they jump red lights. If they cant obey the rules they shouldn't complain." Note that points 1 and 4 apply here. The fact that some people break rules doesn't give people the right to drive dangerously around me. Even if I specifically break the rules of the road (I don't) that doesn't make it ok for someone to run me over. "Respect" isn't really the issue - dangerous driving is.
I recently read a really good article which explained this more eloquently than I can but annoyingly I can't find it. Here is a slightly less good one instead:
http://mccraw.co.uk/hoy-cyclists-collective-responsibility/
Finally:
We have cycle paths which are just there for show, cyclist would sooner ride in the road next to the lane that is put there for there safety... in those cases cyclists should be prepared for the worst and accept it
I hope on reflection you realise what a seriously nasty thing this is to say. You seem to believe that because someone mildly inconveniences you by riding on the road instead of a substandard path, that person deserves to be killed or injured. This is why you have provoked angry reactions.
I've probably missed a bunch of things out but this has already taken me much longer to write than I intended.
Edit:
Oh, and one last thing
If you are wondering why cyclists get so worked up by this kind of thing it's because we are subjected to aggressive and incompetent driving and abuse on the road and then are told that it's our own fault. It feels rather like the bully's old "why are you hitting yourself" routine.
I've had people pull out in front of me, pull directly into the side of me, overtake me while I was turning right, lean on the horn, shout obsceneties, and throw things at me. In one case I even had someone stop their car so they could spit at me. Perhaps you can understand then that it boils my piss when otherwise-rational people blame cyclists for their troubles and make fun at our expense - such as when a policeman at a (motor)bike-safe course I attended made me the butt of his joke about cyclists running red lights (something which I have never done).