Cher's Irrational Anti-bike Rant...

I am going to guess that many of you have already heard about Cher's diatribe which started making the rounds last night (I saw it first at the SoCalCycling.com Facebook page), but maybe others have not yet. So there it is, up above spelled out in capital letters, for all to see.

Lets play a word substitution game for a minute and see what happens:

"FKNG sheet-wearers at that MOSQUE! I HATE THEM!"

"FKNG homo's crowding my cafe! I HATE THEM!"

"FKNG fatties taking two seats on the bus! I HATE THEM!"

Do you believe for a minute that she would utter one of those (would Cher even deign to sit on a bus?), or any number of other hate-filled invectives that you can think of? Not on your life. Yet, turn to cyclists, and all good sense, and balanced reasoning, fly out the window of a speeding car (and no, I am not implying that she was speeding at the time. Of course, it was PCH...)

Cher's utterance is wrong on many levels; I am sure you don't need me to point a few of them out, but I feel compelled to do so. First, think before you speak. Keep your big mouth shut until you have had time to decide whether what you want to say should in fact be said. This is especially true for politicians and celebrities, people who always seem to have hangers-on following their every word. One slip and you are going down faster than a 700c tube with a roofing nail through it. Second, avoid asinine generalizations. (I am actually giving her the benefit of doubt on this one.) Maybe a rider did do something wrong, like swerve into her path without looking. I, myself, have seen riders do idiotic things. I have seen pedestrians and drivers do idiotic things as well. Never have I condemned all riders, walkers, or drivers based on the actions of that one, or few. Guess what? I drive - I don't necessarily like it, but I do. I have to tell you, Cher, that I have been put into potentially dangerous situations due to the actions of other drivers far more often than I have been put into similar situations due to the actions of bike riders. When I do blame, I direct it at the one - the guy who just cut me off in stop and go traffic, the gal speeding past at twice the speed of anyone else, etc. Third (and I can not attest to the validity of this one), according to the twitteratti, Cher was apparently otherwise occupied at the time of this alleged incident. Texting while driving, in other words. Could she have been less than vigilant in her duties as a driver, and thus missed something important? Who knows? What I do know, is that taking your eyes off the road, for even a few seconds, can cause a driver to miss something in a chain of events leading to a collision. Fourth, if your gripe is a general one about cyclists being on the road at all, it's time to move on. That argument was declared deceased long ago. Bikes were on the roads well before motor vehicles - they are there by right, and by law. If you have somewhere to go, and you go there by bike, you will be on the road. We will be on the road. Save yourself some stress, accept it and move on. Fifth, and this has more to do with grammar. Hate is a big word, it should be used sparingly by people who can't control themselves. We are not talking dislike here, we are talking HATE! Cher's choice of word speaks of something deep and troubling, something she needs to gain control of before she takes to the road again. 

it had to be done, didn't it!