Mass arrests 'Critical Mass' cycle ride during Olympics opening

[Mr Haematocrit]

We need more double-spacing self-important windbags droning on about what CM means, notwithstanding the fact they know nothing about CM, have never attended, know nobody who does and have never even spoken with an attendee.

I have observed that supporters of CM in this thread seem to want to paint a specific picture and are quite comfortable to refer to the police with derogarory names, and likewise do the same for people who a differing view. A someone who knows nothing about critical mass, I would respectfully like to understand the following.
1) what did they hope to achieve, and did they feel that they achieved it?
2) why have Cabbies, Farmers and others recently been able to hold peacefull protests attended by the police, but CM was not?
3) Why a video was edited to exclude specific sections which show the entire events which took place?
4) Why supporters of CM have only condemed the use of physical force from the police and nobody has condemed a very large gentleman standing up positioning himself to assault a police officer then following through with this action?

CM has an issue where it appears to judge people like myself who do not understand and rather than refer to name calling i feel it would be more effective to answer my questions and help this double-spacing self-important windbag

 

[seashaker]

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfftgb4KOlE&feature=youtu.be


It shows the officer trying to deal with the woman, but one by one, galant well-intentioned knights in shining armour come to her assistance. Obviously we don't know why he was trying to arrest her, but it is clear the 'disabled' bloke pulls a move Brian Jacks would be proud of.

Man in wheelchair assulted?? Sorry but I saw a man standing ( fair enough he may be disabled and spend much time in wheelchair) and assult a police office doing his job. After assulting the officer and causing him to loose his footing further people attacked said officer.

Not heard anything good about critical mass and after what can only be described as a publicity stunt during the Olympics I only wish the police could use more force, htis officer could have easily have lost his life if he had been knocked to the floor and stamped on. So not an ounce of sympathy for this 'disabled'' man. Im sure thousands of disabled people would love to have his mobility!

 

[MissTillyFlop]

completely ignorant. They don't take themselves at all seriously. It's a party. Seriousness doesn't come in to it because, to be frank, most of them are too young and too thick to be serious about anything. Their outlook isn't lucid, let alone articulate. It's just a vague notion about the ordering of our streets being wrong. And, once again, events have proved them right.

As for the Stratford thing. Ponder this. Sunday morning. Thirteen middleaged middle class men and women pitch up to a smart coffee shop in Docklands. On bikes. We park our bikes outside, we order coffee and chocolate cake, the waiters, wearing white shirts and black aprons run around like bumble bees on acid, moving the tables to make a long run, tidying the nappery, and the bright silver cutlery. The sun beams down on their efforts. All of a sudden two neanderthal security guards hove in to view, guided by earpieces connected to a control room somewhere - for all I know a warehouse in Essex. We're told to move the bikes to a remote location because they're a security risk. That's forty grand's worth of bikes somewhere out of sight. No thanks.

What happened next is instructive. One of the thirteen takes the piss out of the guards and suggests they get a proper job - not in a confrontational way, but in a manner designed to confuse them (not difficult) and offer some amusement to the waiters who, after all, are just doing their job, and hoping for a tip. There's a bit of a stand-off, the goons mumble in to their earpieces, the cyclists apologise to the waiters, and prepare to move on. And then the mood changes. The guards (finally) get the joke, have a chat with the control room, and we get to stay.

Now........if any of you haven't clocked that, incrementally, our streets are being privatised in the name of security, and the Olympics is a symptom of that, you need to give yourself a sharp slap around the back of the head, because, as somebody once said, 'you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone'. CM may be just a bunch of scruffy ne'er-do-wells on unpleasant looking bikes, but for the last fifteen years they've stood for something worthwhile. It would be nice if some people who can't be arsed to say boo to a goose would acknowledge that.

What have they stood for though? No one seems to be able to answer this question.

 

[dellzeqq]

- we're safer in numbers
- the streets belong to us all, not just to people in cars (and especially not to people in Olympics BMWs)
- city life should be more various and more amusing

 

[dellzeqq]

As a proud policeman, I kinda resent being characterised as a 'heavy handed thug'. ...........[Ian - no points directed at you! I just thought your eloquent post leant itself somewhat to my paraphrase!]

we could all do with a bit less characterising. Coppers are as various as the rest of us. Doubtless anarchists are too (although a near-lifetime in the wilderness of radical politics has brought me in to contact with so few anarchists that I'm not sure if I could even start characterising them).

And cyclists. Now those buggers are waaaayyyyyy beyond characterising.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

- we're safer in numbers
- the streets belong to us all, not just to people in cars (and especially not to people in Olympics BMWs)
- city life should be more various and more amusing

But I think that the whole safety in numbers thing is a misnomer - in this case it appears that numbers lead to mob mentality (especially when you hear people referring to all police as "thugs" - the fact that you have such a hatred of all police makes me immediately suspicious of you as a criminal). As with the student protests before them, it doesn't matter what your principles are, if you behave like a vandal, you will be treated as one. And so you should be.

 

[Arch]

In Stratford on Friday you had the irony of an opening ceremony singing the praises of cyclists and Emiline Pankhurst, whilst 600m away you had cops pulling women from bikes....on what grounds?

Ah, perhaps the women should have been allowed to go on their way with a wink and a 'now then, missy', get home and get their husbands' dinner on eh. If we want equal rights, that includes equal rights to consequences when we act stupidly.

Good to see some solidarity from the cycling community on cyclechat.net

Feck off then.

 

[dellzeqq]

But I think that the whole safety in numbers thing is a misnomer - in this case it appears that numbers lead to mob mentality (especially when you hear people referring to all police as "thugs" - the fact that you have such a hatred of all police makes me immediately suspicious of you as a criminal). As with the student protests before them, it doesn't matter what you principles are, if you behave like a vandal, you will be treated as one. And so you should be.

Well I'm not sure you meant 'misnomer'. But if you think it's wrong.................CS7. And if you're accusing me of hating the police, not only are you wrong, you're not given to reading.......
http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/in-praise-of-the-metropolitan-police.72270/

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Well I'm not sure you meant 'misnomer'. But if you think it's wrong.................CS7. And if you're accusing me of hating the police, not only are you wrong, you're not given to reading.......

Not you, silly, the guy who started on calling all the police thugs. The guy who was actually there?

What the hell is CS7?

 

[dellzeqq]

Not you, silly, the guy who started on calling all the police thugs. The guy who was actually there

apologies Mss TF!

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Oh, I should have quoted, but I couldn't be bothered with the faff.

 

[Arch]

But I think that the whole safety in numbers thing is a misnomer - in this case it appears that numbers lead to mob mentality (especially when you hear people referring to all police as "thugs" - the fact that you have such a hatred of all police makes me immediately suspicious of you as a criminal). As with the student protests before them, it doesn't matter what your principles are, if you behave like a vandal, you will be treated as one. And so you should be.

Exactly, there are numbers and there are numbers. CM is just a nuisance. Law abiding cyclists, riding the same routes day after day, assertive but reasonable, are the way to reclaim the streets.

I'd love to know just how many people have started to cycle because they think Critical Mass has made it safer, and how many are simply following and acting on advice from individuals like us, traitors as we obviously are....

 

[dellzeqq]

Exactly, there are numbers and there are numbers. CM is just a nuisance. Law abiding cyclists, riding the same routes day after day, assertive but reasonable, are the way to reclaim the streets.

I'd love to know just how many people have started to cycle because they think Critical Mass has made it safer, and how many are simply following and acting on advice from individuals like us, traitors as we obviously are....

my guess is that there are tens of thousands of CM 'graduates' in London alone. And heaven knows how many in San Francisco, Madrid, Rio.......

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Exactly, there are numbers and there are numbers. CM is just a nuisance. Law abiding cyclists, riding the same routes day after day, assertive but reasonable, are the way to reclaim the streets.

I'd love to know just how many people have started to cycle because they think Critical Mass has made it safer, and how many are simply following and acting on advice from individuals like us, traitors as we obviously are....

What has made it safer in the capital is the fact that drivers are used to seeing cyclists and the vast majority of them are considerate towards us. Also, in London, we are spoiled when it comes to the provision of bus lanes by comparison to other places in the UK (which I think many of us take for granted down here). Try having a cycle around Chester (just for example, just using this as I've actually been there) and seeing the difference in driver understanding and cycling infrastructure and you'll see what I mean.

I'm not saying that there aren't vast improvements which could be made, but comparitively, we have it easy.

 

[dellzeqq]

to be fair.......Chester is an awful place to cycle. Worse than York