Critical Manners

Critical Manners




"To get respect from cars, we need to give it"

Barmak, Sarah. "Kinder, Gentler Bike Activism." The Toronto Star 5 Sept. 2009. Print.

When one thinks of bikers as a force to be reckoned with (so to speak) one would think of a Critical Mass, but this Canadian community has a different idea, Critical Manners. In a critical mass, a mass of bikers ride together as a unit through city/community streets spreading awareness about bikers that commute on city streets and encourage a respect towards them basically saying, that we're here and we're not going anywhere, so get used to us. But Critical Manners on the other hand does this in a slightly different way, a mass of bikers go down a street single file and respect the traffic laws, arguing that in order to get respect, they must show respect. Now, through this research this is the first time i've heard of this, but it makes a lot of sense. Some argue that this isn't as affective as a critical mass, since all the bikers aren't in a huge, well...mass, but it seems to me that this could work. I'm not the judge on this, but this seems like it might get a better reputation than the ladder. It just depends on if other communities will latch on to this new notion of civil disobedience (or is it not civil disobedience?).