Political Ecosystem
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trickmilla at 04.26.10 - 2:21 pm
The notion of a unified bike community, functioning as one, strikes me as similar to a tank. A tank is a huge chunk of metal that will run you over and destroy your shit. Tanks are formidable.
Until you blow the tracks off them, which isn't that hard to do. Then a tank is a big, clunky, immobile and vulnerable piece of shit.
A truly unified movement, moving in lockstep, is like that. It will make a lot of progress quickly, but then be rendered immobile. It also is limited in the number of issues it can take on at once.
A healthier movement, in my opinion, is like an ecosystem, and incorporates a bit of Darwinism. Different organizations pursue different strategies, and sometimes they conflict. At times one organization pursues an ineffective strategy and another pursues a new, highly effective strategy. At that point other orgs either adopt that strategy, or stick to the old ways (which usually means FAIL.) The movement is rarely unified (although at times it is, and scary in those instances), but is a movement which learns and adapts and consumes.
BTW - my point of view is supported by history. No other movement has been unified, and there have always been serious, often public, internal conflicts. Just look at gay rights and the Don't Ask Don't Tell issue right now - there are huge battles over whether Obama is doing the right thing and groups should be patient, or whether Obama is stalling and he needs to be pushed.
A tank can knock down walls, but an ecosystem can turn sand into rainforest. That's what will be needed to make LA lush with bikers - an ecosystem to turn LA into a bikerforest. I've always operated from that point of view - I've always tried to fill holes in the ecosystem, so that we could trap more energy in the bikerforest. Almost everything I've put my shoulder behind has been a hole I was trying to fill.
An ecosystem has internal conflict. A political ecosystem has internal criticism, flak between organizations, and many different arrangements of groups. Criticism and evolution of positions, strategic battles and strategic discussions - they are key elements of the ecosystem. It can't operate without criticism - criticism is absolutely key to the operation of the ecosystem.
When you say things like "Why not support everyone who is fighting for bikes!" I say to you, "are you trying to silence criticism?" Are you sure that supporting LACBC leads to positive change for bikers? Maybe LACBC has compromised one too many times, and now slows down change. I have personally experienced that when the LACBC endorsed the bike path to nowhere for $30million - money that could build the Backbone three times over - and when they diverted LAPD discussions from policy to advertising. Maybe the positive efforts of you and Patrick indirectly support the ongoing obstruction of others by LACBC. " - Dr. Alex Thompson, from the thread
YOUR BIKE SLOGANS, WE WANT THEM
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So what we need to do is become the "Genesis torpedo" and permanently reterraform the landscape?
bentstrider04.26.10 - 2:36 pm
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Alex,
I actually heartily agree with this beautiful analogy ... I have long thought along the same lines. I look to other revolutionary movements for inspiration as to how the bicycle revolution will succeed. And I truly understand the importance of a wide range of opinions, view points and approaches to addressing change.
Although I, I obviously come to very different conclusions than you as to the most effective way to approach change and how to treat others who may very well share my exact same goals, if not my philosophy as to how to attain them.
I think Malcolm X in his more salient moments had a very good approach as to how to deal with other political leaders and organizations that shared his end goal but differed greatly on philosophy and methodology ... Refering to MLK:
"I'll say nothing against him. At one time the whites in the United States called him a racialist, and extremist, and a Communist. Then the Black Muslims came along and the whites thanked the Lord for Martin Luther King."
-Malcolm X, to 300 Islamic students, Manchester Guardian Weekly, 10 Dec. 1964, p.6
Here is a clear understanding of how Malcolm undertood his role as an establishment outsider and how his actions changed the gravitational center of the discussion, but at the same time, he understood that by publicly blasting MLK he would only be doing the work of their common enemy.
I think this should also be understood in the context of the civil rights movement which was MUCH more dire than the battle we are waging for bikable streets. I mean yes ... this is life or death ... but those people were fighting for free expression, voting rights, assembly rights, the right to work, live, travel and associate freely without threat of violence, death, and oppression.
We have it pretty easy compared to those who have and do struggle just to be counted as a citizen....
I think you do good work Alex.
But I honestly I think you spend way to much time fighting with and undermining a lot of people who are actually on the same side as you, fighting for the exact same things, but in a different way.
Oh but the horror, the compromise ...
Yes, my friend people who work within the system MUST compromise from time to time to make progress. And yes it is ugly. But bureaucracies are ugly.
But to me, bureaucracies are not nearly as ugly as activists that cannibalize their own movement, putting a "principled stand" ahead of all future progress.
trickmilla04.26.10 - 2:56 pm
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2010 is the year of the bicycle.
"what do you mean? you said last year was the year of the bicycle"
that's right, it means that we need to ratchet up the bicycle love/noise/rights/party every year and outshine the last year.... and This year is set to do that.
We need:
More rides
More events
More political work
more everything bicycle.
so far it's looking good
Bikeside was born
Bike Incident Map
The backbone is being included in the LADOT bike plan (rumors say)
The league of Bicycling voters was born
Bike Town Beta is coming
LA Street Summit was huge
Sharrows are on the way (fingers crossed)
LAPD/LACBC/MR collab safety posters
Caution Please pass with care campaign
CicLAvia is coming
LA marathon Crash Race showed them it was stupid not to include bikes
cyclist/LAPD task force policy changes
10% of Measure R is pending for bike ped projects
York Bike Corral
I think the single most important item is SHAROWS. If we get sharrows on the ground, it sets a precedent. In my mind that will only grow as neighborhoods can lobby for them. If this happens its going to set the stage for 2011 - The year of the bicycle!
Roadblock04.26.10 - 4:50 pm
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I like the list.
Looks like a vibrant ecosystem to me!
Sharrows will be huge if they go down in the right places and they keep getting laid down in either consistant or greater numbers until the entire city is a shared use lane.
trickmilla responding to a
comment by Roadblock
04.26.10 - 4:58 pm
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Yo , what up Garcetti? "Sharrows are coming in APRIL" you said? .... ALLRIGHTY THEN!
Joe Borfo04.26.10 - 5:18 pm
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emailed Garcetti. nothing Pulitzer-prize-winning, just pointed out that Sharrows in LA are beyond overdue -- and built on Borfo's statement that Sharrows were promised by April.
champagne responding to a
comment by Roadblock
04.26.10 - 9:08 pm
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Why bother Garcetti? He's a yes vote on this all the way.
We should twitter bomb Villaraigosa to help us lobby those on the council who are no votes or might not be 100% on board with this.
We should use this opporunity to ask him to change the culture at the LADOT. Even if we get the money, it won't matter if the same old decisions are made with it. Bike lanes are currently funded, but aren't getting built because the local operations head for an LADOT office wants peak hour parking restrictions and off-peak parking.
Do they survey residents? Do they care about local businesses? No.
Cyclsits do! An so should the mayor.
Seriously, what is the strategic significance of bugging the fuck out of Garcetti?!
ubrayj0204.28.10 - 2:31 am
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Fair enough. Emailed Villaraigosa vis a vis these points. My response too verbose for Twitter :)
champagne responding to a
comment by ubrayj02
04.29.10 - 11:46 pm
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As you awaken from the ultimate win of the Funderstorm Funderwear ride with no idea whose sofa you're on, entangled in a stranger's underwear -- remember the city of Angels, which inextricably still doesn't have sharrows yet and tweet, email and otherwise hound your LA city officials.
Do it for yourself, your friends, your family, your arch enemies, and everyone who might ride a bike if....
Do it for the passing cyclist that had to render aid and eventually got the LAPD's ear for your fellow hit and run aka "fleeing the scene" cyclist victim.
Remember the Sharrows!
and, yes, I want my underwear back.
champagne05.8.10 - 7:40 am
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Ridazz Roulette!
