Oh, that article was well written - not *objectively* written (heavens, in this decade?) but well written in that it manipulates the reader well.
The cyclists were "an angry mob," the motorists "terrorized." yes, there was a token disclaimer that of course the author doesn't *know* what the drivers were doing ... besides being in a car and therefore at a huge advantage, but we'll ignore that, too... can we say "slanted from the start?"

I completely agree that the mob thing doesn't help anybody. I was *very* relieved that our Ride of Silence folks broke up into subgroups because of stop signs and red lights, and aggravated when at least one passerby was sure we were a critical mass ride.
I'd said at the beginning of our ride that we were about sharing the road; that yes, there was a temptation when being a big enough group that it was harder to "mess with us" to fall into riding as if we were the only ones on the road, but that we should avoid that temptation if only because that "we're in power and so we don't have to care if we hurt you" attitude is what we're trying to stop.