Bicyclists VS. Drivers.

So, I was just perusing Amazon.com for a safety razor to buy when my Schick Quattro runs out of blades when I came across this discussion http://www.amazon.com/tag/health/forum/ref=cm_cd_search_res_ti?_encoding=UTF8&cdMsgNo=69&cdPage=3&cdSort=oldest&cdThread=Tx1KQF3WY5W3NQ2&cdMsgID=MxZPVVEPQDSXL9#MxZPVVEPQDSXL9

. If you're a bike rider, you don't need to read it, you know what it's about. Mostly drivers saying how much they hate bikes, and relish the days when they hear about bicyclists being struck by cars, and then the cyclists crying over how their transportation choice is better because it uses less natural resources, and so on and so forth. It's quite clear to me that this discussion is lacking a very particular mentality.

Why is it that whenever we, as humans, are doing whatever it is that we do to occupy our time, or get around, or whathaveyou, we always think that we are doing the right thing and that everyone else can fuck off (so to speak). I know I do it. When I'm on my bike, I want everyone to accommodate me and pay me no mind so I can do what I want to do when I want to do it. When I'm in a car, I'll speed if I want to, I'll roll through stop signs when I want to (I never want to do that, for the record) I'll get angry if someone is going slow or otherwise stupid.

Or, for example, like yesterday, I'll gladly move over in my lane on a one way street to make room for a car that is mistakenly (I hope) turned the wrong way down that street.

The thing that I, and we, all forget is that whether we are bikes inconveniencing drivers, or drivers inconveniencing bikes (which I tend to have no leeway for) is that we're all human. It's almost as though the drivers that wish death upon cyclists for running reds, or stop signs only see a bicycle, and cannot see the human perched upon it. Can they seriously wish death upon another human being for something as trivial as a minor inconvenience? Is it really worth getting really angry, to the point of vehement over a few seconds lost? Is life really worth that little? Can't you make up those few extra seconds by using an ATM instead of going inside the bank, or a restaurant drive through? When did our spare seconds become so precious? Or, is there more to it than that? I guess I don't have the answers. I just wanted to bring the human quotient into the equation. I'm not trying to raise anyone's blood pressure any higher, just bringing a different perspective. The lack of tolerance that drivers have for cyclists is really quite unfortunate.

Be safe out there, whether in car, riding a bicycle, on your feet, whatever you may choose.

-Jason