Bikers are human too?

In the face of the Democratic debate last night that was specifically held to address gay and lesbian issues (story here) I wanted to rant about something that really riles me. First off, I don’t understand why a certain segment of our society feels the need to have a debate ‘catered’ just to them but if the Dems want to do it, I guess they should have at it. The questions were interesting (“Is homosexuality immoral”, “Is homosexuality a choice or is it biological”, “Are you comfortable around gay and lesbian folks”) but I thought once again, we as a society are continuing to see each other as part of these competing groups that need to have their needs specifically addressed, not as part of the larger community that we live in but as that behavior or activity or gender, etc. that we choose to define ourselves. I am sure gays and lesbians are concerned about the Iraq War, Health Care, National Security, Public Education, our country’s infrastructure, etc. but those seem to get lost in the shuffle when it comes to the issues that make the headlines.

So I really wanted to talk about bikers (people on bicycles – not motorcycles). What really gets me is the arrogance of these silly helmet and spandex folks on their Cannondales that forget that they need to obey the rules of the road. For example, if you are on a bike and you come to a red light, I believe it is the law of Massachusetts that you need to stop at the light, not just go through it, trusting in the grace of the motorists that have the green light that they will stop or avoid hitting the biker right where they deserve it. Every weekend bikers folk to the streets and back roads to ride incredible distances for exercise or to see the country and I wish they would be more respectful of the other folks on the road, namely those of us in large SUVs that are actually obeying the laws. This is not to indict all bikers, just those that think that they are above the law and everyone else should defer to them. In my opinion, in a contest between a Ford Expedition and a Guru Road bike, the helmet will wind up wearing the biker rather than the other way around.

Maybe the bikers should have their own Presidential debate as well to address issues important to their community?