Weeding Plantain?

As a basic principle of ethics, people ought not be forced to feel solidarity with others. Identifying with a group ought to come naturally out of familiarity and reciprocity. Reacting to hundreds of terrorist attacks, folks have begun to chime in, “Damn mass murderers of school children. Je suis Charlie. Pity Brussels. We’ll compensate families of World Trade Towers victims. We’re not afraid.” Despite what they declare, they are definitely running scared once they so emphatically deny it. Conservatives main motivation and manufactured commodity is fear. They regularly churn out disquiet and unrest to the point of sedition. Embracing greed, they detest progress, which surely entails sharing resources and working cooperatively. They prefer obedient disciples who spend on schedule, then die before collecting retirement entitlements, except when that applies to them personally. They expect to live forever by taking no risks, which will kill everyone including themselves.

As all great apes, humans instinctively desire benign social interaction. But oneness is not at all natural. Differentiation and specialization open new markets, and, although you’ll never be sure how, provide some mechanism for species survival. To come up with advancements, someone has to think outside while working inside paradigm. Unique viewpoints matter; otherwise, flocks and herds are led to slaughter.

Terrorism spawns into two breeds: 1) Ignorant dupes who heed control freaks, 2) Losers who interpret their repeated failures as society out to get them. Both resemble weeds, disruptive and tenacious, for whom attempts to eradicate cause more harm than good. If roots remain, weed regrows, but perfect lawns are toxic nightmares. Of course, capitalism is rigged to reward a few at the expense of many, so generally any sense of unity suffers. Terrorists are only made to look like mankind’s worst enemies. Bacteria, bad lifestyles and motorists have been far worse. Yet any war on terror invites mankind’s annihilation. A reason to belong is all that’s needed to cure malaise. Being able to contribute in whatever way you can and earn a living from it is a fundamental freedom that too many are denied. It only takes one to trigger a weapon of mass destruction.

Fear cures nothing, doesn’t get majority to see things your way, rather has the opposite effect, scatters supporters and strengthens rulers. Instead of convincing, it turns others against your cause, which shrinks into a historical footnote. If they had any intelligence at all, disenfranchised individuals would gather input, learn what others need, and supply it to them. Blowing up people and property serves only murderous ego, but some madmen just want to watch world burn, so represent another paying client. As Noam Chomsky said, “Everyone’s worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there’s a really easy way: stop participating in it.” Innovators look for solutions to continuous, dangerous, injurious problems, though unsupportive public doesn’t deserve their generosity and service.

Roger Scruton: Conservative thinker or exemplary oxymoron? Conservatism represents the absence of foresight, rather, mere reaction to chaos. Unicellular life, amoebas and whatnot, demonstrate they can react to climate changes or social angst better than conservatives. Thinking implies creativity. Superior thinkers - such as Descartes, Galileo, Satre, Wittgenstein - still exist and surely impact culture, but so do lunatics allowed to arbitrate things you have all the say for yourself. By the way, Roger, any kindness is beautiful, and everything, including equality and irony, possesses beauty if you’ve learned to see it.

Average schemers profit off fears of the rich, who dimly grasp that whatever they possess can easily be taken, by writing bullshit books that bury ones worth reading. Whoever wants to can write hundreds without presenting a single novel idea by analyzing nothing and parroting what others already have. Never believed that old biblical saw, “There’s nothing new under the sun,” penned by a redneck to get you to desist from inventing stuff with which these dolts have to deal without their usual tools of deny and forestall, though they’re cannily adept at charging admission to anything that doesn’t present a threat to them, haranguing whoever listens, and holding public executions. Seems society wants to revisit Roman rules for political expediency that sacrifice the meek and weak in a media coliseum or war frontline.

Signed onto government sponsored People For Bikes, as done with other nonprofit websites, to support equality for bicyclists in road planning. When given an opportunity for them to say a kind word about Bike&Chain, they righteously declined. Their policies and rules are too good for the likes of Labann, who’ll never be heard as long as plutocracy prevails. Charities assuage donors by adducing niceties and anathematizing militants. As of this late date, expect rejection at every turn. Easy to discredit or ignore anarchists who don’t know why they’ve been deprived. However, zero interaction spells complete freedom. If nobody notices, you can continue unmolested forever in your search for truth, or, once found, nobody else needs to know.

If you must pin tails on donkeys, bicyclists can be lumped into four groups: 1) Giant deprived demographic who use bikes for transportation, 2) Loose confederation of recreationally oblivious and socially active, 3) Small nucleus of pelaton fanboys, and 4) Smattering of chronic cranks and literary scholars. The only group to which B&C primarily appeals is the latter, so its potential audience remains marginal, and such readers only want self validation, not valid criticism and withering examination. Consequently, there’s always been a sense of futility in forging forward despite fact that it’s about the right of personal motility, which directly or indirectly affects everyone, including children whose parents provide for their welfare.

Saw a cartoon: A psychiatric crow counseling a couched patient says, “Whenever I’m depressed, I bust into flight and crap on someone.” Could resonate with bloggers. Sure, ignoramuses may dump rudeness and refusals on you, but you’re not expected to react badly? Never going to conquer terror that way. Probably 90% of bike bloggers don’t care about other blogs, only their own. But “narcissist” is a label too loosely applied; just because you are not easily coerced by morons, self concerned when nobody else is, or self sufficient doesn’t mean you’re a sociopath. Often try to connect with them by leaving encouraging comments, since they too will likely trail off when nobody notices. Sad when you see their last posts were 2 or more years ago. Listed a few below to begin your own probe. But seldom respond to those who make demands, such as moderating comments or requiring subscription by email to theirs.

The Bicycle and the West
Cozy Beehive: Cross-pollinating Vélo Buzz
From Wheels to Bikes
Let's Go Ride a Bike - Fine list of other blogs
Lovely Bicycle
The Human Cyclist

If any solidarity movement might yield improvement, it would be getting bike bloggers to discuss issues and reach agreements, hard to do among planet’s most diverse lot. Most would rather cultivate inconsequential pastures infested with chickweed, dandelion and plantain than harass the dumbass or raise legal grass. When has there ever been a requirement to be relevant? Moment’s most important issues never reach news reports after conservatives neutralized investigative journalism. Now charges before a conservative congress don’t stick without independent corroboration. No doubt, bike bloggers and free thinkers who thrive on self sufficiency and witness things first hand will be next. Tyranny and want cause all terrorism. What does it imply when those who endure want submit to the tyranny of bicycling? Consider the consequences.