ab

The Layers of a Picture:

You don’t have to walk into the middle of a story to hear “But they were in the wrong, right?! I had every right to do ‘X’.” There is always some back-story to every story. Not only is there a back-story to the story, there’s a back-story to the back-story, agreed.

Exactly.

Three days ago I was hit by a car who “failed to yield while turning.” What’s most frustrating is people quickly realizing my “weakness” -empathy. The driver, after first accusing me of being in the wrong, quickly heard the people around us backing “the biker” helping him swiftly switch to a sob story. He’s from Israel; He has only been in the U.S. for a month and a half; The car isn’t even his; Then begs, “Oh please don’t get any authorities to involved.” Since I had two witnesses with their information, I felt a little more comfortable in trusting him and dealing with him as two individuals. I gave him the benefit of the doubt in regards to making sure I was compensated for my bike and ankle damages without filing a police report or an insurance claim (the bike took the brute of the collision which then ricocheted, launching the force of the impact on my ankle).

Yesterday he brought his white female friend to tag-team me in regards to the whole incident. When I wouldn’t back down, he decided I should just file a claim with his friend’s insurance (the car owner’s insurance). Long story short, I am in the process of filing a claim now.

Funny enough, exactly 8 days ago I wrote this as a “rants & raves” on craigslist.

Hence, the layers:

man-made metal monster machines (the streets)

Disclaimer:

i want to write my rant in all caps with buckets of exclamation marks —that’s how you should read this. therefore i will not be capitalizing anything to avoid temptation. also, there is definitely no guarantee that i’m not going to curse. so, if you’re easily offended or a very religious person, please save yourself and stop now.


Opening:

people. how they think they are superior to anything, anyone, -everything- is beyond me. do i think i’m superior to anyone? not anyone. nor do i think i’m even in the top 25%. maybe not even the top 40%. but i will say this: los angeles is a community whether people recognize it or not. when people choose not to see past their own noses, yes, my impulse to recognize others and their disposition makes me feel slightly superior. we have chosen -either directly or indirectly- to live here, and if that’s the case, people need to recognize that their responsibility as a part of a community is to be aware of others in that community. [i really wanted to capitalize and italicize and underline and bold “aware,” and will refrain bracket comments from here on out.]

people. when they are encased in a machine, such as a car, the general sense one gets when they are not in that machine is that they are inferior and need to get out of the machine’s way. as an avid cyclist i definitely sense this everyday, everywhere. i run reds to get ahead of the traffic trying to run over me. when a blinker is flashing i pass on the left, so that they may make their right turn without delay. if there is a line of traffic turning left and the light turned yellow, as much as i want to go through that yellow, usually my stopping influences other cars going the same direction as me to stop as well which enables, usually, 3 or 4 cars to turn instead of the standard 2. i stay on the far right —where all the worst potholes are, mind you, to free up as much of my lane to share (must italicize “my” because, yes, drivers, a cyclist can legally claim the whole lane. fuck.) for the consideration of people encased in their metal monster machines. but this is the kicker: i get honked at. all. the. time. why? because i am going anywhere from 15 to 30 mph? because i’m in the far right lane where the parked cars are? because i’m one less car, making traffic less unbearable, for you? because i make it a point to avoid gas stations to make the only real difference an individual can do with the price of gas, the demand of gas, and the consumption of gas? would i love to sit in an air conditioned car with my music not being interrupted by deafening construction, sirens, and garbage trucks? take a wild guess. it is a luxury (and who doesn’t like luxury?) i chose to sacrifice for a greater good. for myself -and- the los angeles community. sacrificing never means giving up something you don’t want for something you want. sacrifice is giving up something you really want for something you really want more —even if it’s just a little bit more.

people. who, if feels a sense of entitlement when encased in their machine, need a hard five across their face; and i’m at the brink of giving it to the next driver that questions my consideration with the blaring of their (machine’s) horn.

we have all been upset, right? we have all felt that weight of bad news piled on bad news which was supposed to piled on good news, but no, there was only bad news under that too. when one thing goes wrong you suddenly start making a conspiracy in your head about how that effects another thing you’ve noticed going wrong, and another, and another. my thoughts go from people in cars to people acting less like the communal animals they’ve evolved to be and more like the machines they’ve invented and spent 40% of their lives living in. the less considerate people are about others —and yes, we can lump all animals in with others, the more considerate they are about their machines —their toys. the more objects people use as a symbol of their status, the more people/animals “others” they will use as a symbol of their status. oh, but not their pets. there is nothing more double standard and endorsed by tradition/society/culture than eating cows, pigs, and chickens, yet praising cats, dogs, and horses. but this is just me making hypothetical links in my own head.

pretending there are people who actually like los angeles’ traffic, who like paying 4 bucks a gallon, who like the sweet soot in los angeles’ air, the benign and not so benign cells in you and your loved one’s body that will never care about you or them as a person: wake. open your lasik enhanced eyes and see that i am doing you a fucking favor and maybe you could do me and the rest of the cyclists out there a favor: stop honking and step on a bike pedal once in a while. i promise, the only thing that bites (and loves to bark) are the monster machines behind you. maybe if you weren’t one of them as well, there could be less and less of them, making cycling —and transporting yourself to and from work/school/shopping/parties, etc., more and more safe and enjoyable for everyone.


Closing:

there is more than a verbal tie between the words common, community, and communication…. try the experiment of communicating, with fullness and accuracy, some experience to another, especially if it be somewhat complicated, and you will find your own attitude toward your experience changing. (j.d.)

there can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community. (m.s.p.)

let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness. (j.t.)


p.s. for those who use the excuse of distance -try a motorcycle or a scooter. basically, the same consideration from my text applies (both ways). i cycle within a 4-8 mile radius, depending. everything else is by motorcycle. in los angeles it is a very reasonable form of transportation. i’m still boggled by how many people don’t ride. the more motorcycles, the less cars, the more safe streets would be.

be an advocate!!!

hope you’re doing well!!

x

ab.