smug hippies on bikes = pointless activism

why is this a promoted article?

"why is this a promoted article?"

Its an original report of an action.

It would be great if you pointed us to the worthwhile actions you do, so we don't get sidetracked by all these pointless actions........

The public roads are there for all to share with equality and without favor. We have a common law of highway etiquette which applies to ALL safe and respectful road users. Here's some of the most important bits of it :

1) All wheeled vehicles should be in good 'roadworthy' and controllable condition.
Especially BREAKS and LIGHTS and other visibility aids at night.

2) All drivers of wheeled vehicles must be ALERT and paying full attention at all times.
Not on the mobile, or listening to the i-pod, or chatting with your mate !

3) All wheeled vehicles should be under proper CONTROL at all times.
They should be driven in at a speed that allows them to be stopped easily in the space that the driver can see is already clear ( and without anticipation of others moving out of the way ). And they should be driven in a predictable and uniform manor, not wobbling all over.

4) All wheeled vehicles should pass oncoming vehicles to STARBOARD, NOT ATTEMPT TO PASS HEAD ON !
That means drive on the LEFT. (pass to port / drive on right in France).
All wheeled vehicles should give way to starboard ( unless road markings stipulate otherwise ).

5) All wheeled vehicles should claim the space that they need, NO LESS AND NO MORE, to maintain their corse or perform maneuvers, and in good time.

Under common law of the highway the maximum penalty for cyclists who fail to observe these laws is DEATH BY CRUSHING.

It's your call !

[I'm not the durruti poster, but thought I'd reply on their behalf]

"Its an original report of an action.

It would be great if you pointed us to the worthwhile actions you do, so we don't get sidetracked by all these pointless actions........ "

"an action". True story (or action perhaps...): When I was a kid I was a disruptive little idiot, and me and my friends used to cycle slowly in the middle of the road to slow down traffic. Should we have written about how cool (or politically inspired, perhaps...) we were and posted it to indymedia? In all seriousness, what do you see this action, and others of its ilk, bringing about?

I'd love to point you to worthwhil actions people do, so you don't get sidetracked by this silly activism, yes! I thought you'd never ask... I think class struggle is the way to effect genuine change. This could mean anything from calling a mass meeting in your workplace to countering anti-migrant feelings among workmates (part of the class struggle as it helps remove the divisions that split our class). If you're at school or uni, get involved with fighting cuts to education funding (and so job losses, worse education, more fees, etc.). Again, the most important thing is to engage with people on a practical level; talk to people, organise discussions and out of this democratically create inclusive groups that can to "worthwhile actions" - arguing for education workers to strike, occupations in solidarity, etc. In your community, join with others to fight for your collective interests, without leaders. Perhaps this means campaigning against hosptial closures or something. If you feel even more commited, join an organisation that you feel you can help and whom you agree with. You can write and distro literature spreading ideas of resistance and class struggle. I know all this was condascending, I meant it to be, it's all in jest (though I agree with that I'm saying..)

This stuff alienates the majority of our class who, you know, have to drive to get to our jobs and whatever, and don't particularly want to be held up by a group of cyclists who don't seem to have aims other than to disrupt traffic.

It's not radical, it's just a little bit annoying and sad.

You have inadvertently summed up why so called class struggle anarchists/anarchist communists have not been very sucessful recently you guys are boring as hell. Having a bit of fun on your bikes, surely that's a good thing? To quote an old saying If I can't dance it's not my revolution. I accept that we need to encourage working class people to get involved but you display a typical anarchist ghetto type mentatlity

Like the majority of human beings on this planet, I don't have a car - which means that I have little sympathy for your gripes Rach! I've been on a few critical masses and they're great social occasions, an entry point for people to get involved in things, and a kind of payback for all the crap we have to put up with as cyclists.

I don't, as it happens, think that Critical Mass is going to change the world all by itself, but I am sure it is a political act which is why cops have attempted to repress it in London and New York (and probably elsewhere as well).

My point with Durruti is that it's easy to criticise what other people do, especially if you aren't prepared to tell them what you do (if you do anything at all) and the mindset where any political act that doesn't fit into your world view is considered worthless, is an unpleasant one, that suggests too much exposure to neo-liberalism.