Cyclists fail to see the humor in deejays' calls for assaults(Clear Chan)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0310140066oct14,1,6358088.story?coll=chi-leisuretempo-hed

Kevin Bray was, well, shocked, when he heard that shock jocks were urging their listeners to run bicyclists off the road. He was horrified when he found out it had happened at least three times since July, in each case at stations owned by radio behemoth Clear Channel -- first in Cleveland, then Houston and finally at a station in Raleigh, N.C. To Bray, an avid cyclist and veteran North Carolina highway patrolman, there seemed to be an ominous pattern developing.

"All I can say is, `Who's next?'" said Bray, who has filed a complaint against the Raleigh station with the Federal Communications Commission. "What these people are doing is some sort of sick marketing ploy."

That thought has also occurred to Patrick McCormick, director of communications for the 40,000-member League of American Bicyclists, an organization dedicated to preserving cyclists' rights. He said his group has been deluged with complaints now that three major radio markets have been beset by the same anti-cyclist comments. "We're still contemplating what we're going to do as a national organization," McCormick said.

The incidents have stirred rage in the cycling world. In each incident, disc jockeys derided cyclists and encouraged listeners to run them down. In the latest example, at Raleigh station WDCG-FM, disc jockeys Bob Dumas and Madison Lane began their rant against cyclists Sept. 22. In the course of the program, listeners flooded their telephone lines to vent about cyclists, including one woman who boasted that her father intentionally hit one while they were on the way to church. One of the disc jockeys promoted the joys of hitting cyclists with Yoo-hoo bottles.

[LisaM]

1. Good God!

I know someone who was deliberately run off the road years ago by a couple of redneck kids in a truck (I know of no other way to describe them) on a country road. My (male) friend had long hair, and these little thugs just thought it was funny, even though he could have died. He took them to court and won a settlement, but they should have been jailed.

[benfranklin1776]

7. God almighty.

Incitement to criminal behavior. The FCC should pull their license. However since Mike "I never met a corporation I didn't love" Powell is in charge I won't hold my breath, BUT the victims should find themselves an attorney and sue the hell out of these stations for allowing their employees to encourage criminal acts. A truly pathological mindset at work here which is reminsicent of hate radio in Germany, say 1933.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. Good God, indeed!

What did cyclists ever do to them?

There have been infinitely more cyclists killed by cars than the other way around. A couple of weeks ago, a nationally known figure in the cycling-for-transportation community was killed by a drunk driver who had just "celebrated" being let out of jail on drunk driving charges.

I see this "hassle cyclists" mentality as the workings of bozos who actually believe the seventy years of advertising that tell us that we are what we drive. If you feel inadequate and are hiding behind 2,000 pounds of steel, the sight of a person who feels adequate without said steel is irritating.

And I wouldn't be surprised if the auto companies are paying these shock jocks under the table to help make cycling "uncool."

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

13. Don't you know?

What did cyclists ever do to them?

Being able to move from point A to point B without the Holy Sacrament of Oil is un-American and un-Godly. Bicycles are communist perversion devices -- even moreso than Peugeots, which evade patriotic duty only partially.

And those seats? They stimulate body parts our innocent blonde kids shouldn't be aware of!
</sarcasm>

[laruemtt]

14. haha. yeah, stimulate them

into numbness if you don't get the right seat!

[muriel_volestrangler]

38. Peugeot make bicycles too

get one - that would really piss the bigots off!

[pmbryant]

3. I really don't know what to say about this

Truly disgusting.

:puke:

[maxsolomon]

4. not even surprised

dennis leary has a routine about cyclists in NYC. he thinks they should be shot.

i've been hit twice in seattle, had big gulps thrown at me from cars, etc., etc. i don't even ride that much. it's a war and, as usual in america, the stronger (car drivers) feels persecuted.

if it makes bike riders feel any better, the car drivers are trying to kill pedestrians, too.

[7th_Sephiroth]

28. some rednecks in a pickup truck

threw a brick at me while i was cycling on a dirt road in a wooded area where bears are known to lurk, so i keep a gun with me, boy did they look suprised when both thier rear tires got shot out and they both had lil red dots on thier foreheads.

[PartyPooper]

5. Please, can someone explain this crazy "phenomenon" to me?

I simply don't get it.

"In the course of the program, listeners flooded their telephone lines to vent about cyclists, including one woman who boasted that her father intentionally hit one while they were on the way to church."

:wtf:

This is pure madness and evil! And, whose God would even condone or encourage such disgusting and harmful behaviour?

[tom_paine]

11. The Bushevik God, of course

Pure madness and evil is the specialty of this Royal Diety, who's visgae also shone down on Hitler and Caligula.

[Coventina]

12. That stood out to me as well

I mean, do they think Jesus would encourage such behavior?

They might be Christians, but they sure are lousy Christians!

Dear Lord, please save me from your followers. Amen

[patdem]

6. I think Lance Armstrong needs to weigh in on this debate

does anyone know his e-mail address and if he is even aware of this travasty???

[laruemtt]

8. i've long since limited

my bikeriding to mountain biking or trail riding. got sick and tired of riding in terror on the road. i resent the hell out of this limitation forced on me by rednecks. i've actually had rednecks reach out and "pat" me on the butt - they were going at a very slow speed but still, it's terrifying because you really just how vulnerable you are. i take my rage and work out harder, comforted by the fact that i'm getting stronger while they're not - survival of the fittest and all. but a 1 or 2-ton vehicle or a flying bottle or even a bullet trumps all of that, unfortunately.

[tlcandie]

10. Here in Florida along the Suncoast Parkway (toll road)

they've created an awesome ride/walk/skate area (fenced) for exercise enthusiasts that parallels the parkway. It is very nice and gets used a LOT!

Wish there were more areas like this in all towns/cities!

[GainesT1958]

9. What's worse...

Is that there are dung-heads out there who would actually DO what those idiot DJs ask them to--hit cyclists! :mad:

The DJs at G-105 in Durham who did that should be fired--and whoever the moron exec at Cheap Channel was egging them on should meet the same fate. Probably the same dimwit who thought up the Dixie Chicks "ban", I'll bet! :grr:

B-)

[DBoon]

15. Instead bicyclists

Should start a campaign to run over right wing talk show hosts.

[Kolesar]

16. Block the radio station entrances with bicycles and call the TV stations

Call the newspaper. Get Lance Armstrong. Get Franco Harris, NFL star who is a big cycling advocate. (People have sighted him on the Pennsylvania rail trails and have noted that he is very big. )

[belab13]

17. more evidence of the dumbing down of America...

[comsymp]

33. You talking about the allegations about the DJ's or

the lynch mob bandwagon being organized by folks here responding to a 3rd-hand report of someone who "heard about it"?

As I posted a couple days ago when this story hit DU (hint: LBN got scooped by the Lounge), I don't buy the article's spin. Having listened to Bob & Madison since the late 80's, I'm just a tad skeptical about the actual story vs. the reported one.
Additionally, much of the Raleigh area is replete w/bike paths/lanes, etc. VERRRRY bicycle-friendly.

Yours with a pinch of salt-
cs

[info being]

18. Hybrid Bikes

Slightly off-topic, I saw that new battery-powered bicycle at Sharper Image...and it got my wheels turning. Someday perhaps we'll see a kenetic-powered bike that captures the energy being generated by the rider and uses it for power. Now THAT would be cool.

[paradisiac]

19. why do they hate cyclists?

Does anyone know what brought on this wave of murderous rightwing rage against cyclists? It makes no sense to me, I don't see any rational reason for it. I mean, what are cyclists doing to them to warrant this? Because, for instance, tossing a Yoo-hoo bottle out of a car moving 40mph at a cyclist can potentially kill them. It's not amusing, it's murder.

[maxsolomon]

22. they hate us (cylclists) for our freedoms

all of us at one time or another area guilty of ignoring traffic lights.

all of us snake through traffic backups, scaring drivers that we'll scratch their cars.

all of us temporarily slow traffic down to 20 mph on 2 lane streets, forcing nervous car drivers across the yellow lines to get around us.

all of us nearly hit people getting out of their cars when riding to the right side of the road.

and i could give a shit.

[BigDaddyLove]

27. Then don't bitch......

when you get knocked on your ass.

[laruemtt]

20. some threads back

someone brought up starting our own city, like a DU-ville. Requirement - safe bike/hike/rollerblade trails for all.

[Karenina]

29. Muenster, Germany

in Nord-Rhein-Westfallen. The most BIKE-FRIENDLY city I know of. Google it as see how others live...

[enki23]

21. ride armed

the fuckers are threatening assault with deadly weapons--vehicles. tell them if you feel threatened you will shoot 'em in self defense. i have a feeling these dj's would find it difficult to be on the other side of a gun rights argument.

[Mel]

25. in NC

it's possible !
They (thugs) are making a big mistake if they think they won't fight back here in Raleigh. I've done sent the word out to all the people I know, knowing them they've already heard about it. I'm going to see if I can get them interested in organizing something.

[Warren Stuart]

23. The wife of MD Governor just killed a biker

I guess the lunatic fringe feels left out.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

24. Kentucky Lt. Governor n/t

[diamond14]

32. nasty, she wants to kill Britney Spears too....(link)

Governor's Wife Causes Stir With Comment About Britney Spears

• Maryland first lady Kendel Ehrlich strayed from prepared remarks to a domestic violence prevention conference in Frederick to comment on pop recording artist Britney Spears, who she said gives the wrong messages to young girls about independence. "If I had an opportunity to shoot Britney Spears, I think I would," the former prosecutor told the gathering. Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. declined to comment on his wife's statement.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10983-2003Oct10.html


I worked on Kennedy's losing Governor campaign, primarily because Ehrlich (and apparently his wife too) is just too big on using guns to solve every problem...reTHUGlicans at their finest...

[Resistance Is Futile]

34. Propaganda seed

Sounds like CC is working to preserve Ehrlich's image. Make the sheeple think running down cyclists is a good thing and what Ehrlich did doesn't seem so bad after all.

[bikebloke]

26. Make sure they see you taking their tag numbers

They freak out. On several ocassions when these "brave and couragous" drivers try to bump or run me off the road, I've taken their license numbers. Most of the time, they suddenly chicken out, apologising and pleading. I don't say a word, but give them a hard cold stare then ride on my way. They can wonder if I take the info to the police, or post it on the Internet as freak bait.

Once, an eejit ran a stop sign, nearly running me down, and gave me some lip as he passed. Then was instantly stopped by traffic. I caught up with him and gave him hell. He turned into a whimpering coward real quick.

[koopie57]

30. I wonder if Yoo-hoo heard about this?

They might have something to say about it.

[diamond14]

31. FOX-TV host uses a BIG SUV to mow down bicyclist....(link)

Cyclist killed in collision with SUV driven by Heather Henry

-snips-

Henry's vehicle — a Lincoln Navigator — was westbound on Lexington and had just turned left onto Grinstead, striking the cyclist in the right-hand lane just south of the crosswalk....

Henry told police that the sun was in her eyes....

After the crash, the front tire and seat were ripped off the bike. The Lincoln's grille was damaged in several places, and the vehicle's left rear tire was punctured.

Heather Henry is a former Miss America and former co-host of WDRB-TV's "Fox in the Morning" show.




http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2003/10/13ky/met-front-heatherm1014-5593.html

[maggrwaggr]

37. All the more reason to drive a MONSTER SUV!!!

Let those fuckers try to drive my hummer off the road goddamnit!

[Skittles]

35. why such hatred for cyclists ?

I envy those darn cyclists because I detest driving but don't have the guts or time to cycle. I know they take a lot of abuse but where's the anger coming from?

[bpilgrim]

36. the fool in boston hates cyclist too

howie carr

is it a virus :shrug:

peace