So, the story is out about an Altamont firefigher who got so enraged a a cyclist who seemed to be endangering his own son that the firefighter attempted to shoot him. In the head. Fortunately, that lame-ass looking helmet he was wearing made the cyclist’s head look bigger than it was. Thank goodness the firefighter wasn’t a cop or in posession of a watergun. Of course, there is nothing funny about this story.
Okay, so there is not very much funny about this story. Okay, so this story is funny on any number of levels. The one thing that I can imagine not being funny is the self-righteous attitude the cyclist must have maintained to get the firefighter so pissed off that he wanted to shoot him. Yes, bikes have the same rights as cars. Yes, cars should make way for bikes, especially those hauling little kiddies. I have already made the point that we need wider lanes, or wider shoulders. But honestly, dude, this is an area where we need to be working from a reality-based paradigm rather than a faith-based one.
We used to hear a lot about shootings on the freeway in LA. Either they have stopped doing that, or it has become so routine as to be blaise. In any event, it is particularly Altamont-ish to have such a despute over bicycles, child-rearing, and y’uns ain’t from here stances. God bless us. At least the helmet laws are working.