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From: kehoe@reed.UUCP (Dave Kehoe)
Newsgroups: net.bicycle
Subject: Re: Bicycles, Violence and Hatred
Message-ID: <1399@reed.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 28-Apr-85 19:10:16 EDT
Article-I.D.: reed.1399
Posted: Sun Apr 28 19:10:16 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 30-Apr-85 03:18:13 EDT
References: <1370@reed.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Reed College, Portland, Oregon
Lines: 34

-- I am posting (with permission) a reply that Lance Spangler --
-- sent to me personally.				      --

Dave, 
	There are no nice motorists.  I have never found one, and don't 
expect to for some time to come.  Two weeks ago, I was assaulted by four 
teenage thugs in a moving car.  But the bright side of the story is that 
I got their tag number and one of the **assholes** got to spend a night in
jail before his rich daddy bailed him out. 
	You're right, there is no positive way to wrap up your 
article <1370@reed>, but there is a hopeful note.  We can only hope that
the elected officials are intelligent enough to see thru the ***crap***
these "born under the pedal" motorists throw our way every chance they 
get, whether it's at a stop light, or public hearing.  I found the police
officer who took my initial report, as well as the detective who handled
the assault case to be most understanding of the matter.  I was pleasantly
surprised.  
	But if you (The Bicycling Community near Reed) want something 
done, lobby your public officials.  Present your town council with a 
proposed bicycle ordinance.  You can beef up the laws against motorists
who use a motor vehicle in the commission of an assault on a bicyclists. 
(Why Not!  It's a crime to just hint you have a gun during an armed robbery
here in Texas.  Suddenly, just hinting it, you go from Robbery to ARMED 
Robbery.)  While you may not be a child of the 60's, I've learned from the
days between then and now that it IS possible to work with city hall.  It's 
just damned frustrating.  But there really are intelligent city officials out
there who are sympathetic to the cause!

	UUCP:  ihnp4!ut-sally!kvue!spangler	Lance Spangler
	Telco: 512-459-1433 (Pvt. biz line) 	Senior Producer
	                                        Austin, Texas
	       The only thing we have to	((P. O. Box 9927))
	       fear is computing itself! :-))     zip------> 78766