Is attacking cyclists a hate crime, or a form of insanity? Yes.

Thumbtacks sabotage cycling route in Pungo

The 20 mile loop through Pungo

On Saturday morning, a person or persons in Virginia Beach carefully placed hundreds of thumbtacks at a number of intersections along Muddy Creek and Charity Neck Roads, the route that is always taken by riders from the Fat Frogs bicycle shop. This act resulted in over a hundred flat tires, and at least two injuries from falling riders, and created chaos for those on the rides this weekend.

A hate crime is a legal category used to described bias-motivated violence: assault, injury, and murder on the basis of certain personal characteristics. We’ve seen three cases in the past month in Virginia Beach–twice on Shore Drive, and now in Pungo–where cyclists have been targeted for assault because they are cyclists. It’s clear that anti-cycling madness is infecting a certain part of the population–a violent, dangerous segment of society. These people are steeped in hate and armed with powerful weapons–their cars–which have twice been used to mow down cyclists and then drive away. The thumbtacks are less obviously dangerous, but are still a form of assault.

Whether attacking bicyclists is a true hate crime according to the legal definition or not, it is an ugly symptom of the biases of a culture that favors cars above all other forms of transportation. I’m going to coin a term here: “Automobile-Induced Megalomania.” That is the illusion that because your body, while driving, is encased in a powerful metal machine that extends your capabilities, all others should scramble to get out of your way so as not to impede your progress down the road. This pathology is amplified by the size of your own car relative to the objects in your way. Automobile-induced Megalomania (AIM) is widespread, but most people are able to check the most extreme forms of the syndrome. They will bang the steering wheel in frustration, scream out the window, make rude gestures, throw things. For some, though, car-ness completely overwhelms human-ness, and they feel free to take AIM at any obstacle in their path.

It’s true; people on bicycles are not saints. They are often guilty of rude behavior, either intentionally or through negligence. They are slower than cars. They sometimes run stop signs. They sometimes take up a lane. But bicycles have a legal right to be on the road. It is a crime of one order to say, I’m going to ride in the middle of this lane and slow the traffic behind me, and a crime of another order to say, I’m going to run over this bastard who’s slowing me down. If you can’t see that these are in fact unequal infractions, then you are seriously infected with AIM.

Some of the riders who were affected by the tacks on Saturday have filed reports with the police. I can only hope that they take this seriously and look to find the person responsible. I’d like to know who would do such a thing.

Virginia Beach to become bicycle-friendly in six years

Virginia Beach has declared its intention to earn the League of American Bicyclists’ “bicycle-friendly” designation by 2017. To do this the city will have to maintain extensive and well-connected recreation and transportation corridors; provide training for law enforcement officers, motorists and cyclists; and pass and enforce laws that protect motorists and cyclists equally.
Let’s get it done.

Trash imports are up

So we’ve got that going for us.

Churchland High School coach guilty of contributing to delinquency of minor

His name is Cedric D. Cradle. You can’t make this stuff up.

Norfolk council to vote on revised ward boundaries

Tonight.