Not the right answer

[sonia]

I told two Bay Area friends that a cyclist got killed in Portland yesterday in a collision with a truck. They both responded, apparently reflexively, "That happens all the time."

First, that is not the right answer in response to a death. Would someone say that in response to a driver getting killed in a collision, even though that really does happen "all the time"?

Second, no, it doesn't happen all the time in Portland, nor in the Bay Area either. One of them amended it to, "Well, once or twice a year," when I challenged her.

It seems like one of those ideas that's spread around and uncritically accepted, without looking at the validity or callousness of it.

For the record, bicyclists do not die "all the time." It's a tragedy and there's a huge outpouring of emotion when it does happen. It's a loss for everyone, including the truck driver who has to live with the emotional and possibly legal consequences.

Compassion, people! And if not compassion, MANNERS!

Comments

[sanguinity]

That utter callousness toward cyclists's deaths really rocks me, every time it happens.

[sonia]

Yeah, and one of them is a cyclist, too. That's why I'm saying it must be something absorbed unexamined from the surrounding culture. Which says really ugly things about our culture. :P

[jesse_the_k]

Yes, yes, and yes. I think the conditioned reflex is to minimize any non-car crashes; I've seen it with pedestrians as well as cyclists. So sad.

[sonia]

I saw an article recently about the intentional introduction of "jaywalking" to make it the pedestrians' fault when cars hit them. I wonder if this is a similar intentionally introduced idea to help the car industry.