a bunch of white cyclists going to the south bronx where they have no connections and know no one except a few gardeners? yeah, thats a problem as shown by the lightbulbs and eggs thrown and the comments "get out of here" made by people in the south bronx.

original post and thread - nyc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/94340/index.php

The best part is any poor person in the South Bronx would rather drive a huge Hummer or a giant Cadillac than some piece of shit bike. They don't give a rats ass about the environment.

Why don't you white fucks stay in Williamsburg ok.

I bet you are the same asshole idiots talking about white priviledge and all the other stupid race bullshit. Then like a bunch of niave idiots you go into some fucked up neightborhood you don't belong in. What a bunch of bozos.

You're lucky you didn't get shot.

Hey, I guess you guys pulled a Bob Avakian, hahahaha....

*sigh*

South Bronx is not the moon. Y'all need to get over yourselves.

Democracy takes planning; a route does not at all mean that someone is "dictating" the Mass.

It's the opposite, in fact. Without planning, the default, same-old Manhattan plans rule. That's not fair. That's not democratic. It's petty, and it's bullshit.

If you resent that there's any planning at all, you're lying to yourself-- Either way, the route is predetermined. You have two options: participate in its planning or not.

By insisting on "not planning it," you're actually determining the route for all of us.

The jab at the "goodness" of the party seems like a fairly week argument. Do you want flashing disco balls and strippers? Because beyond that, I'm not sure what you would need to entertain you. There was food, guitar music, cool people...

(I'm sure you could look into planning jello shot girls for the next time, if that's what you're into, though. Whatever.)

"If the party was good enough, people will come" seems like an odd "free market" approach to activism. I hope all of the issues you support are slickly packaged and entertaining to you at all times, I guess...Como quieras.

You know that having a full CM in Manhattan (thanks for picking for EVERYONE-- undemocratic) that it would essentially be impossible to get a good crowd in another borough.

It only makes sense if you have some fascination with Manhattan. I guess I recognize that in some of my friends, too.

As a former resident of 138th, a current employee up at West Chester Square, and a long time Critical Masser, I think you're oversimplifying things -- a lot.

...and for the record, I had a good time at the party.

I think that the climate that allowed for your rough ride has been set-up by what people of color all over the city are seeing through gentrification. For better or worse a few white faces show-up, good people who garden or not, and then all of the sudden they got a 1000 white people on bikes riding through their streets on bikes like the American tanks through Baghdad and the people do not know who the hell the people are on bikes they could be Neo-Nazis for all they know. The outcome was predictable although I know the bike-riders meant well. The sad reality is however that once these bike-riders move in the neighborhood then yuppies will soon follow and they will be followed by the more wealthy and the next thing you know the South Bronx will look like Park Slope. We always have to put our actions into the context of greater social realities

This is the second thread opened on the Critical Mass ride. The first one is linked here (with most of the comments):

 http://nyc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/94340/index.php

"..like the American tanks through Baghdad..."

Dude -- come on.

I'll just timidly stay in Williamsburg until that day where Umar gives me permission to speak to people who are evidently sooooo different from me...

Wait! I can't afford to live in Williamsburg.

Can I go yet? Or, are you going to continue to erect and reify the barriers between us? Are they sooo insurmountable? I wait for your permission. Obviously it's something *I* can never understand.

How long will we wait? Until the day you determine is the perfect coalition-building activity?

Let's argue about that for a few years while segregation continues.

Ass.

What about getting creative about outreach techniques?

-Flyering the week before along a route? On poles/inside bodegas/etc?
-Having more flyers on hand at the time of the actual ride?
-a 'what is this' booth?
-exploring any local groups which might be alerted?
-inviting someone from said group specifically as outreach -- to introduce their platform/just meet up/etc?
-better: devolving more of the event's planning to a local group?


etc?

interactions aren't always perfect, and maybe this can be an opportunity to organize critical mass rides in each of the boroughs, with a particular focus of involving folks in the communities the rides take place in, setting up recycle a bicycle programs, learning spanish (as that is spoken by many people in the bronx and throughout the city), finding out what issues the local area is dealing with and also unite with them on that and make it part of any critical mass bike ride. Let's view this as an opportunity and a challenge, not a permanent setback.
And yes, given how poor people have been cleared out of the rest of the city, there's sometimes not so well expressed concern where white folks show up where they usually are not ever seen. One more reason why we need to keep and EXPAND affordable housing for all, all over the city.

i'm fine with the ride going to the bronx- in fact, i really wanted to go to the garden party, but come on- 10 to 20 blocks of a virtually unpaved park avenue? i'm on skates, and i don't come to critical mass to obnoxiously skate up uptown's sidewalks.... i quit and went home... yes, folks plan the route ahead of time, (spontenaiety takes planning,) but how about planning a route that can include skaters?

I would call this a "friendly fire" incident. It stems from the fact that most nonwhite people are of course not invovlved in activism and thus could not determine whether Critical MAss represented friend or foe.

I suspect they were mistaken for white yuppies doing a "thunder run" like US tanks did in Bagdad and came under fire because of that-not because of any disapproval of C-M's message. One thousand white faces probalby looked like an invading army-especially if most participants did NOT look punk, courier, hippie, or otherwise nonestablishment.

In DC, small Critical Mass rides have often been cheered in "front-line" neighborhoods resisting gentrificaiton, but that's because local people have seen a large enough sample of whites to have a better idea who is friend and who is an enemy. In totally segregated areas, by comparison, we too are often mistaken for hostiles.

If you go into heavy crime neighborhoods dressed like a punk or hippy 2 things are possible:

1) Someone tries to sell you drugs

2) Someone jumps you and beats your ass and steal what they can get off you

3) Both

Sorry but a lot of people don't give a shit about the environment or gardens or any of that happy horseshit. Those who see imagined virtues on the poor and working class are just as wrong as those old victorians who viewed the poor and working class with complete disdain and disregard.

Just because you're on welfare doesn't make you some kind of hero. Just because the only place that would hire you after you got out of jail is a gas station doesn't turn you into a environmnetal crusader. Just because you got pregnant at 15 doesn't make you a feminist.

Sorry, reality check.

Critical Mass has gone to the Bronx before, to a work party at the Brook Park Community Garden in April of 2002 or 2001. As before there was outreach to the neighborhood prior to the party. More Gardens did a good job of hosting us. Yes the route was poorly planned (no good for skates) and far too direct. The More Gardens themed rides are a critical mass tradition but until recently they haven't had to be so focused to the South Bronx were there are dozens of gardens in danger of being razed. There is a difference between being aware of racism and perpetuating it by telling people not to go to areas dominated by people of color. And yes people of color do care about the environment just like white people do.

i didnt make it up to the garden, so i cant talk about that. I turned off at 125th street and walked down on foot for a few blocks. many people stopped me and wanted to know what this was all about. they were impressed with the message and thought the idea was great.

i think it would be great if CM did more outreach period. i dont think we do all that much good just riding around without most people in the city knowing what this is about. we should make a huge banner mounted on two bikes or something that makes it clear to anyone who sees it what mass is about. It could be something as simple as "More Bikes, less cars" or something. And it should say when and where mass meets so that we invite the city to join us.

Too often on the ride me and my friends heard riders respond extremely rudely to folks on the street asking what this is for. "Just because," they yelled back "we have the right!" How does that sound to an ordinary new yorker. damn stupid if you ask me.

we need to get more creative and responsive to our community in general. that does not mean avoiding areas that we are not "comfortable" in. it means making sure our message and inclusiveness is clear.

Not to turn a blind eye to the racial element of the event, but I noticed that this CM was more integrated than others I've been in: white, black, asian, latino, middle-eastern, you name it.
In addition, while I saw much tension between white (and black, and asian, and latino and other) cyclists and black South Bronx residents, I also saw alot of people (largely latino, but also black, asian, middle-eastern, etc., a few white) in the community cheering and even screaming "more bikes less cars"... my perception of the whole thing was very mixed.

There's always gonna be a few angry drivers. Most of the pedestrians were cheering. And at least some of the eggs and bottles were from teenagers and kids... should this be surprising?

Umar ben-Ivan Lee

"The sad reality is however that once these bike-riders move in the neighborhood then yuppies will soon follow and they will be followed by the more wealthy and the next thing you know the South Bronx will look like Park Slope."

Yeah, and smokin' grass leads to crackin', jack!

AE

-Flyering the week before along a route? On poles/inside bodegas/etc?

I guess that's a great idea if you want the 'insurgents' to plan an RPG ambush a week in advance.

Umar ben-Ivan Lee

"The sad reality is however that once these bike-riders move in the neighborhood then yuppies will soon follow and they will be followed by the more wealthy and the next thing you know the South Bronx will look like Park Slope."