Superman has Lex Luthor.
And I may have run across the archenemy of Bike Nazi.
There's a blogger out there at "Bike Free Portland" who goes by Myra Walker. She claims to be an enthusiastic cyclist, but her comments are uniformly anti-cyclist. And - she refers to cyclists as "Bikenazi's" - like that's a bad thing!
(-;
And - she even designed a little bike nazi flag! Sieg heil!
The masthead reads, in part, "Stopping the bikenazi cold in their track ... it's time to put these idiots back in their place."
She has some novel ideas, and claims to do some enforcement work. For example, she advocates splitting bike-violation court fines 50/50 between the city and the police department... to provide more incentive for writing tickets. And when she sees a cyclist exhibit boorish behavior, she puts a "red lock" on the bike. Kinda like Zorro slashing a bloody "Z" on the bad guy... the red lock is her calling card.
Perhaps she's just voicing the frustration of thousands of motorists. I myself am resentful of cyclists who are either ignorant of the law or choose not to follow it, because they create Myra Walkers out there. Her venom is primarily aimed at cyclists who see themselves as "above the law." (She may have a point.)
I s'pose in a place like Portland, where cycling is much more a part of the culture, you're likely to see more BAD cyclists, since they're still a percentage of the total population.
She's gotten considerable feedback in the month or so she's been posting, some "pro-Myra," some "pro-Nazi." Which, I'm sure, is what she's hoping for... her writing is inflammatory. (And IMO, somewhat hard to read. Of course, it's likely people feel that same way about my writing, so I better be careful.)
"Bike Free Portland"?
Good luck with that, sista. Ain't gonna happen.
5 comments:
Horrible writing. Bad attitude. Probably rides a 3 wheel bike. I am glad our Bike Nazi is not like her.
Send her over here to Detroit! If you got caught locking someone's bike the next bike you'd lock would be SATAN's!!!!!
The first time I catch someone messing with one of my bikes will be the last time they mess with anyone's bike...
And clancy, there's nothing wrong with a three-wheeler, my girlfriend rides one.
As a long time Bike Rider myself (pedal and motor) I am certainly not anti-bike by any stretch of the imagination.
However, more than a few of our brethren are inconsiderate to the point of being downright dangerous to pedestrians, other bikers and the motoring public.
I suspect bad experiences with these types have motivated her venomous words and deeds.
She's no Joker (which we just saw last weekend), but she certainly has a bee in her bonnet. I'd be willing to bet she has lots of pet peeves. Why she chose to blog about bad bicyclists is anyone's guess.
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