man beaten by motorists (not cycling!)

[mimitabby]

Man tending Rainier Beach traffic circle beaten by angry motorist

By HECTOR CASTRO
P-I REPORTER

A Rainier Beach man watering plants in a traffic circle was confronted and badly beaten by motorists angry that he was impeding traffic.

The assault on the 60-year-old man happened around 7:45 p.m. at the intersection of 61st Avenue South and South Cooper Street, Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel said.

The man had set up some orange cones in the intersection to divert traffic while he watered the traffic circle, Kappel said.

The cones slowed traffic and caused a backup. One car that was stopped carried a group of young women who confronted the man and demanded he remove the cones.

When the man refused, the women got out of their car and began moving the cones themselves. The man responded by spraying one woman with his garden hose.

At that point, a young man in a gray or blue Ford Contour stepped out of his vehicle, walked up to the man and punched him. The blow sent the man to the ground where he struck his head on the concrete and was rendered unconscious.

The assailant then got in his car and sped off.

Meanwhile, Seattle firefighters were called and ended up transporting the man to Harborview Medical Center with what Kappel said were life-threatening injuries.

The women remained at the scene, talking with police, but the man who struck the victim remains at large, Kappel said.

[SadieKate]

[mimitabby]

"crazy motorists" (and not only bicyclists are getting harrassed by them)

[Blueberry]

Has the world lost its collective brain

[SadieKate]

Were you there personally, mimi? Why pick this one act of random nasty behavior out of the gazillion that happen?

I'm sure we all know the world has lost its collective brain. Just trying to figure out why this one is important to you.

[jobob]

Yikes, the world is scary - Everybody panic !!!

[alpinerabbit]

Yikes, the world is scary - Everybody panic !!!

Every day people post stuff here about people other people don't know. People admit breaking in tears over stories they did not live thru, about people they will never even meet. Why the criticism?

Yes, I am panicking and despairing because of the stupidity, selfishness, and lack of respect for existences other than oneself that are portrayed by these types of stories. Sadly, it seems the mediascape, and the mindscape of the mainstream rotates around sensationalism of this kind. And it's not helping. It's making matters worse.

[oxysback]

My 2 cents....

I'm sure Mimi posted this because we can sympathise with the poor gardener, and to point out that road rage isn't just directed at cyclists.

I don't understand why people get that angry over a seemingly silly thing. It just takes too much energy to be that angry.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Were you there personally, mimi? Why pick this one act of random nasty behavior out of the gazillion that happen?

I'm sure we all know the world has lost its collective brain. Just trying to figure out why this one is important to you.

I think this news item IS relevant to all us as cyclists- I think there is a weird sense of power and impatience that many people get when driving their cars that they do NOT get when they are walking or bicycling. They want people to get out of their way...FAST, and they get enraged when they don't get their way. They are isolated from humanity in their closed car capsules, it removes the sense of accountability in their minds, and replaces it with a sense of bully power.
Road rage is what I see in this story, and that affects us all here.
Plus, it is very appropriately posted under the forum titled "Crazy Drivers".

[SadieKate]

I asked mimi why she picked this random nasty act. I'm truly curious why she picked this particular one among the hundreds or thousands that are reported. It was not criticism of her posting the article; it was asking what effect or change or response she hoped to elicit by posting it.

I'm truly confused when people post articles without saying why they think we'd be interested. I can just start randomly posting newspaper articles of violence also but it wouldn't start a dialog about whatever caused me to pick one article from many of essentially the same topic.

I'd like to hear from mimi.

[mimitabby]

You already did, SadieKate.
This discussion thread is called "CRAZY DRIVERS" I thought that was explanation enough. (didn't you see my post RIGHT UNDER yours??)

Since you apparently didn't understand what Oxysback or BleekerstGirl were saying, i'll say it again.

This thread is about how crazy people are in cars. It's about the fact that it isn't just bicyclists who infuriate motorists and who become the victims of road rage. Isn't that relevant? Well, it is to me, and apparently to others that read it.
And if It isn't relevant to you, why are you reading it?

[SadieKate]

I know what the article is about. My reading comprehension skills are pretty high.

There are plenty of articles about road rage. We read them frequently in the paper. You still haven't said what is unique about this article. why you picked this one article above all other articles about road rage. That is my question.

Why did this ONE article strike a chord with you?

I'll need to remember that oxysback and BleekerSt_Girl have a mindmeld with you and can speak for you.

[jobob]

Eh, I usually just ignore threads like this. Better than to dwell on random acts of violence and misfortune.

I can understand posting about some mishap we can learn from, but really, what is there to learn from this? Apart from the fact that the world is a scary place full of nasty people out to get us and we should stay huddled in our cars or in our living rooms in front of the TV sets so that the boogeyman won't get us.

Bah.

[Trek420]

Yikes, the world is scary - Everybody panic !!!

Yes, the world's a crazy place. Crazier each day. As I work with the great unwashed public (in my job at the antiques shop) and contact a lot of people. I have theories.

Is it from sitting in cars, in home in front of the idiot box, on the web? Maybe.

Is it education or lack thereof? Maybe.

Are we desensitized by too much Grand Theft Auto games and too few books? Maybe.

Or have people been doing awful stuff since forever and now we're more aware of it? Maybe.

Everybody settle down and have some chocolate. And on a positive note.

Don't panic, get out and ride. Here's some bikes riding for peace, check it out. An Oakland ride to stop guns and violence!!

http://scraperbikes.net

[KnottedYet]

Wow, Mimi, that's a scary one! And not far from your house, either!

I often see folks out watering those traffic circles (we have them here in North Seattle, just like the ones you've got in South Seattle and Rainier Beach) and just never imagined that kind of response to someone tending the plants!