The headline on the front page of this morning’s PI was “Should Bicyclists Be Licensed to Ride?” Not just front page but the top story. You can click on the
article and read it, but it won’t give you the same feeling as seeing it in a newspaper box on a street corner, on a table in a law firm, in a coffee shop, or discarded in a large office building later in the day, which is where I finally got my hands on the paper because I refuse to pay for the PI. It was about 7 hours after Jason told me about the headline. He said, “read it, summarize it, and blog it up.” Well here it is.
The local media is weak. So weak it’s about watching the local news only for the weather and sports. It’s about reading the local paper only for the weather and sports. Yes. Yes that’s what people do. The PI is the weakest of the weak, it makes the Weekly look strong. Perhaps you pick up the paper for the crossword puzzle or the horoscope. Or maybe you’re looking for what’s on channel 9 at 11:00pm.
So, this big story, this front page headline article…it’s weak. It’s as if they had nothing else to talk about and they picked this lame lead story on the day after Christmas. It’s an old story, one that runs in cycles, one we‘ve heard before. Whenever a local politician jaywalks and gets brushed by a law abiding cyclist, the city council threatens to crack down on cyclists. Whenever a well-connected member of society has an issue with bikes on city streets somebody in the local media or government speaks up about it.
The article answers its own questions and is not worthy of being the lead, front page story. We cannot assume that a guy on a bike does not pay any property taxes, gas taxes and does not own any motor vehicles and pay taxes on those too. You see me on a bike…I’m a cyclist. When I get off and lock it up, then what am I? Am I a tax paying civilian? Maybe. Or maybe I’m a just another Seattle resident. What if I drive to the Park ‘n Ride then ride a bike into Seattle, then what am I?
You, yeah you, stuck in traffic on Mercer Street…your goal is to get more people out of their cars and onto public transportation or alternate forms of transport like bikes or walking or perhaps onto one of Bezos’
Segways so your commute will be shorter. You, sitting in your car on Mercer, are the same buttsore jackass that wants to tax cyclists for using the roads? You’re a bit misdirected and I bet your attention span is so short you saw that headline and formed an opinion and never even picked up the paper. Well that’s OK, I understand. And I’ll be the guy on the bike, white-lining by you on Mercer Street with my U-lock tugging my pants down just enough to expose the top of my ass crack. You won’t see my face but I’ll be smiling.
The authors’ email address is at the end of the PI article, you can share your opinions with her or with the editor of the PI.
Or can share your opinions right here.
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