"A bicycle is a toy. A car is a weapon of mass destruction."—Critical Mass participant 5

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1. 

   David Roberts Posted 8:31 am
   24 Oct 2005

   James Barff!Um, that's all I had to say.
   
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2. 

   tobyboyd Posted 9:20 am
   24 Oct 2005

   No, and Yes.I'd prefer to say that a bicycle is a tool, and a car is a weapon. Of course, even that's sloganeering; I got rid of my car years ago, but I can see that they can be used responsibly (which is to say, used rarely). Then again, I suppose weapons can be used responsibly, too (rarely, too).

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3. 

   Chris Schults Posted 9:36 am
   24 Oct 2005

   Bikes are not toystobyboyd, I agree, that a bicycle is not a toy. I had to watch and listen to clip several times to hear if the guy actually said "A bicycle is not a toy ...," but I'm pretty sure I quoted him correctly. I'd like to be proven wrong.
   
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4. 

   fixedgear Posted 9:42 am
   24 Oct 2005

   Um, no.That is part of the reason that Critical Mass is divisive. I don't imagine that he speaks for all massers, but he's giving back the rationale of the 'get the fuck off the road' assholes in their SUVs.
   Bikes aren't toys. That's a logical fallacy. Kids ride bikes. Kids play with toys. Ergo, bikes = toys. Wrong. Read some John Forrester for more on vehicular cycling and the toy bike syndrome. A bike is weapon of mass destruction. It kills fascists, just like Pete Seeger's banjo.
   
   Ride your bike.

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5. 

   Chris Schults Posted 10:00 am
   24 Oct 2005

   Watch the video for different perspectivesfixedgear, you're right. The person who I quoted saying, "A bicycle is a toy. A car is a weapon of mass destruction." was only one of the several people interviewed for the Critical Mass video.
   I must say that it sounded odd to me and wondered what other Critical Mass riders would think of it.
   
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