So while the London cyclist community is mourning the death of 3 cyclists by HGV since christmas some guy, Tony Kornheiser loses the plot on his radio show and starts saying how cyclists should be "run down" and how he has "a large powerful car compared to your stupid little bicycle"... then he continues his macho rant by saying roads are for cars, and how he does not drive his car on a pavement because he knows pavements are not for cars, and cyclists should know that roads are not for cyclists! He goes on and on and you can hear the aggression in his voice, and while i am listening to him i feel more scared that people like him exist.
I became aware of this show through Lance Armstrong's tweet "Listening to Tony Kornheiser's comments/rant on ESPN radio re: cyclists. Disgusting, ignorant, foolish. What a complete f-ing idiot." and decided to listen to that show. I found it very hard listening to him with comments like "get out of my way"...and i found it even harder that the other people on the show did not point out to him the obvious: cyclists are simply people who ride a bike. Why have all this hater for people who decide to exercise and commute on an environmentally friendly machine?
Following this on the 19th March, Lance Armstrong was on that same radio show receiving an apology from Kornheiser and giving his point of view....Funnily enough Kornheiser was playing a different record, giving the impression he really cared about cyclists and trying to analyze why less kids cycle to school..and again the answer is simple; it's because crazy, aggressive drivers like Kornheiser exist; drivers who will react to cyclists as if they have a personal vendetta; drivers who think they own the roads because they have a big car(!)
And this is where the problem is: humans think they own what is meant to be public. they feel they have more rights to access it; the arrogance of "this is my space" the arrogance of "get out of MY way" the assumption that THEY own something because they pay tax, as if others don't pay the same tax.
I don't want to make this into a car driver Vs cyclist issue. I am both. But if you are a Kornheiser type of driver i have one thing to tell you "do us a favor and stick your car up your arse"
