tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356723782465446786.post1962001933950730899..comments2024-01-18T09:29:42.707-05:00Comments on Biking in Heels: EmpathyCyclerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12072776738519243521noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356723782465446786.post-18920012101121582602010-06-20T01:59:48.988-04:002010-06-20T01:59:48.988-04:00My experience runs more along the lines of Velouri...My experience runs more along the lines of Velouria - I find drivers most aggressive when traffic is so congested it slows even bicycle traffic. They think bicyclists are required to use sidewalks (and not allowed to use streets with no sidewalks or bike lanes), so they consider it aggressive and illegal for bicycles to use narrow lanes and ridiculous for bicyclists to act like motorists (follow traffic signals and turn left from the left lane). <br /><br />I find motorists in Philadelphia more aggressive to each other than they were 15-10 years ago (I now find far more honking at motorists that stop at red lights). Now that they've been installing door zone bicycle lanes the hostility to bicyclists is astounding. (If the city is taking space to install bike lanes, motorists don't want bicyclists outside bike lanes, but they also use the bike lanes for double parking, so motorists don't seem to want bicyclists in the bike lanes either).Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12454395470271733836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356723782465446786.post-11046017049753187052010-06-17T18:57:33.098-04:002010-06-17T18:57:33.098-04:00Oh I just saw this.
Great post and I agree with ...Oh I just saw this. <br /><br />Great post and I agree with velouria that Drivers think we are being risky and sometimes downright dangerous and in doing so inconviencing them for our own risky thrill seeking. I also think that the more risky we behave the less we appear to be vulnerable to pain and thus don't need empathy b/c we are so risky we clearly can't really be thoughtful about our safety or feel fear/ pain etc.MamaVeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09519007680870604271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356723782465446786.post-45280187846497456102010-06-17T17:20:55.933-04:002010-06-17T17:20:55.933-04:00Thanks for this insightful post (and blog!) Perhap...Thanks for this insightful post (and blog!) Perhaps empathy comes with age.Recently hitting 50, I find I'm much more empathetic towards old(er) folks, the people who care for them, people with mental disabilities, refugees toughing it out in 'detention centers'.People who aren't the 'same'as me Even car drivers, from time to time. I do have trouble,though, with the blokes who run BP.regards,Ian,Melbourne,Australiaian_rm27https://www.blogger.com/profile/16540292911802463405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356723782465446786.post-84332676012632175452010-06-17T11:53:29.130-04:002010-06-17T11:53:29.130-04:00I've recently started bicycling again after ma...I've recently started bicycling again after many, many years of being away from two wheels. I'm not quite brave enough yet to cycle around the busy parts of town to do errands, but that's what I'm building up to. Now that I've started riding my bicycle among cars (even in the much less busy parts of town) I'm not so sure I was driving my car as safely around bicycles as I thought I had been. Bicycling has made me much more conscious about my driving.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07261255120770111064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356723782465446786.post-26571053258643987702010-06-16T16:21:43.720-04:002010-06-16T16:21:43.720-04:00Great post! The lack of empathy and politeness on ...Great post! The lack of empathy and politeness on the road is unfortunately a reflection of society, I think. I have been verbally attacked by a 13 year old boy on the sidewalk (walking) for no reason except being there. I was also pushed into a wall at an aquarium going into a bathroom because I wasn't moving fast enough for a couple of 10 year old girls. If I had done this as a child, I would have been sure my mother would kill me! Get those kids out in a car where they can be hidden and they will do anything. The blogger that competed in several triathalons and called herself "fat cyclist" had to quit because of the toxic talk and name calling (though she was an inspiration of health to most...some just had to bring her down and let her know how worthless she was to them). How can we expect any different on the road. There are some people that hate, and if you get in their way they'll let you know your life means nothing to them, regardless if you are in the road, in the boardroom, sitting in your pew at church, or even on your computer in your own living room. All is not lost, though, because the majority are good, empathetic people and they outweigh the few.spokefolkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10486491218842173430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356723782465446786.post-11603703891030830602010-06-16T11:13:22.919-04:002010-06-16T11:13:22.919-04:00Great post! Would you be willing to run this same ...Great post! Would you be willing to run this same piece on my blog: civilstreets.org?Mark Chasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467351278617135882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356723782465446786.post-44493031504849476272010-06-16T08:14:38.072-04:002010-06-16T08:14:38.072-04:00Ah, empathy is my research specialty, so much to s...Ah, empathy is my research specialty, so much to say!... But I won't, or I won't be able to stop myself from being pedantic : ))<br /><br />I will say though, that I think drivers' disdain for cyclists is not because they can't picture themselves in the cyclists' place. Rather, I think they do not agree with the legal status of cyclists being allowed on the roads. To them, cyclists are making a bad choice and are thus inconveniencing everybody else on the roads. In fact, I'd venture to say that many drivers think it's the cyclists who need more empathy to realise how difficult they make life for drivers : )Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356723782465446786.post-80229408086626283892010-06-15T07:41:17.956-04:002010-06-15T07:41:17.956-04:00I don't know that sheer numbers of people on b...I don't know that sheer numbers of people on bikes is as important as having a bigger fraction of those on bikes riding politely and some pressure on the few nasty motorists to behave. Either way, empathy or The Golden Rule goes a long way to improving everyone's travel.Steve Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13650405341304401203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356723782465446786.post-14849190655128109052010-06-15T01:26:52.025-04:002010-06-15T01:26:52.025-04:00This is an excellent post. I have noticed that si...This is an excellent post. I have noticed that since I gave up my lycra, people seem friendlier toward me when I'm on my bike. I think that, as you say, the see me as being more like them.<br /><br />Also, I find that being a woman on a bike increases the amount of empathy non-cyclists have for me. I found that, interestingly enough, drivers--even bus drivers here in New York City--are more courteous to me than when I cycled as a man.<br /><br />By the way, what you said about discrimination is exactly what I've learned. I never understood what discrimination was until I started my transition and former colleagues and supervisors decided that my work, which they used to like, wasn't so good anymore, and that my formerly-respectable credentials were no longer adequate. <br /><br />One result of that is that I empathise with my black students--and they do the same for me.Justine Valinottihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10852069587181432102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8356723782465446786.post-77853463488125949752010-06-15T00:22:07.120-04:002010-06-15T00:22:07.120-04:00Excellent post. Combined with the notion that peop...Excellent post. Combined with the notion that people reflect our moods and emotions back at us, it's apparent that when we cyclists most want empathy from car drivers, we need to be empathetic first, clearly and consistently, even in the most difficult or trying of situations. Anger as a response to anger is easy, natural, but gets us nowhere instantly. To ride happy, you have to ride happy. People will see that, and happy back at you.John Romeo Alphahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01289456379789026152noreply@blogger.com