Thread by @velobetty

While cycling yesterday I was mulling over that question "why are cyclists so angry?".

Here is a thought experiment.

Imagine every few times you walk out of the front door of your house somebody jumps out and screams "F*CKING C*NT" at you and swings a baseball bat at your head.

Not every time but very regularly. Now imagine how you'd start to feel just leaving your house; waiting for somebody to jump out and hurl abuse at you then swing a baseball bat at your head.

How would you feel leaving your front door?

Calm? On edge? Ready to fight back?

Imagine how this constant state of awareness and stress would affect you every single time you leave your front door.

You don't know if this will be the day you'll be abused or potentially hospitalised and you deal with this every single time you leave the house.

You try wearing different things. You try altering your behaviour when you leave the house. You try reasoning with the person abusing you. But nothing has any effect.

So you occasionally shout back. You occasionally fight back.

"Cyclists" aren't "angry". They've just often dealt with this sort of situation day in and day out in our cities.