Poll: Those scandalous bicyclists!

In My Humble Opinion
21

Elbows! It saddens me that you surmise the situation this way. I assure you, I am not “stealth bragging.”

I live in the SF Bay area, where every third person has colored hair, tattoos, and multiple body piercings. (muy own son has one-inch “tunnels.”) I work in two neighborhoods in Oakland, one in West Oakland, which is economically somewhat depressed; and one in a part of North Oakland that is very well-to-do. This neighborhood is very near the campus of the prestigious local art college. Believe me when I say that I am not any particular attention-getter, appearance-wise.

From inside of my head, I don’t feel like there’s anything dangerous, intimidating, or suspicious-looking about my appearance, and I genuinely do not understand why people react to me this way.

I am the furthest thing from street-tough.

My question about bike-mounted purse snatching is an honest inquiry into how prevalent this phenomenon really is. If a couple dozen people weighed in and said, “Yeah, that happened to me,” then I could maybe understand why people have it in their heads that I could be contemplating doing that to them.

As it stands, I’m still puzzled.

22

Okay, look:

Here I am.

Do I look like a hardened criminal? Potential mugger? Possible stealth wookie?

Would you feel a need to protect yourself from me?

23

If you were a Jedi wookie, you could make yourself appear non-threatening. I’m not convinced.

I might look over my shoulder and clutch my bag tighter if I heard a bike coming up behind me fast, because in my experience, some bicyclists have a rather devil-may-care attitude about jumping curbs and passing pedestrians on sidewalks, and you often don’t hear them until the very last minute.

24

If pedestrians flinch when you speed by them, it is because you are passing too close to them. I promise you that none of them give the tiniest fraction of a shit what color your hair is.

Lemmy would be ashamed of your ill-considered bike antics.