Racism, Sexism and Mode-ism

You could argue that motorists yelling at cyclists are class warriors. Like the guy in the ajc article, suggesting that motorists are "productive" and have "actual destinations" while cyclists are just recreating. He isn't just making an assumption about cyclists' reasons for riding, he is putting them into a workless, unproductive, and maybe useless class of citizens that are therefore less important than him (step 1 from the bicycling life article above). The idea that we are taking up his roads satisfies step 2. And step 3, well, this must have been the difference between him acting violently, or just sending a letter to the editor.

I agree with pretty much all of that. I try to do two things:

1. Be the change I want to see in society. As both a cyclist and a driver, I try to show appropriate respect to everyone else on the road. As a driver I give cyclists lots of room and try to never be in a rush, because for me (and I'm sure others), being in a rush leads to shitty driving. As a cyclist I give drivers room when I feel safe doing so, and I take the lane when I need to.

2. Get more people onto bikes. I ride to work, I ride to run errands, I ride to social functions, and when people inevitably ask/comment about it, I tell them how great it is. I encourage them to ride their bikes. I offer to help them fix up their bike and go for a ride with them. The more people are riding their bikes, the more people are aware of cyclists on the roads and sympathetic to the cause. I don't expect the change to be quick or easy, but we can and will change society's attitude towards cyclists for the better.

after some thought i agree with your stance on aggressive prosecution of automobile speeders. I've been riding more on narrow, two lane roads and with inexperienced riders.