I'm not surprised that I have to learn this sort of thing from a blog. The mainstream L.A. media rarely make much of solo fatalities any more, much less something so "non-newsworthy" as a cyclist nearly killed by a car.
this is our sword.
this is our tool for disarming the wars being fought across the planet. the magnitude of the weapons used grinds everything to pieces. bloddy messes, and meat from all species torn across the land and the streets and the sky. these are no times to stand disarmed. the bicycle is the ideal weapon for the transnational citizen. a simple non-destructive mean for liberation, tool for internal and external battles, companion and critic. a Way. our form of iron. our form of irony.
when in the streets, alone in the battle field, the warrior tempers its spirit confronting weapons of mass destruction with the simplicity of his self powered weapon. like a candle that dares to shine like ten thousand suns. such is our stupidity and our glory. and such is the humor that the world has given to us: an autonomous form of transportation that is at the same time a weapon of Mass creation.
non-violent battles with non-violent weapons in ultra-violent contexts for daily metaphor bending are being fought. and we fall to pieces. and we paint the soil-asphalt with our blood and bone and we dare others not to paint it with the blood and bone of the opressed, of those for whom the simplest way out of war is death.
the transnational-citizen/warrior rides knowing that his life and the life of others are at stake with every desicion. that's what we call riding at sustainable speeds. and within the limits of its weapon the transnational-citizen/warrior porsues elegance in motion. and this is how freedom occurs in the interstices of slavery, like riding in the gaps of a traffic jam.
many of our swords come from places where metaphorical wars are confounded with real ones. where bikes are meant for competition and pride seeking. we gave them nakedness and taught them the humble ways of the streets. our bikes are swords to deconstruct the war metaphor. and like swords of the past they have names and mythical stories to be told, and some of them have been the companions of warriors that lost their lives in the battle field.
bicycles are our vehicle in the mythic grid
our vector in and out of the integrated circuit
our passport as transnational citizens
our cybernetic implant for recrafting bodies
our strategic advantage
our mighty pen
our sword
Last Friday, Morgan's friends rode in silence to honor his suffering in his memory.
When you get behind the wheel today, maybe you can try to take notice of every single bicyclist you pass, and think of Morgan.
If by chance you're moved to ride in silence, make room for this thought: Every single person on a bike in this city has the same rights as a motorist under California law.
What we lack is 3,000 pounds of welded, airbagged steel protection. Keep an eye out.
Posted by: Mack_Reed on Friday, May 26, 2006 - 09:50 AM
