Sentenced to Life Without Parole at Age 16
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Category Archives: injustice
Dooring and Driving Without Insurance
Thought I should share my experience today watching a fellow cyclist get CREAMED by a thrown open door on Williams, just south of Russel (outside of a retirement home I believe). If there was a car next to him, the rider would have most likely been another bicycle fatality. Thankfully, he was not seriously injured, and was wearing a helmet which may have saved his life. His bicycle is going to need about $500 worth of work. The kicker is that the driver had no insurance. But you figure, OK, when the police show up she’s going to at least get a ticket for that. Actually, since she wasn’t actually ‘driving’ (car was parked) and they couldn’t prove she was the driver (even though two of us witnessed the driver throw open the driver side front door), there is no crime and technically no one is at fault (this is all according to the PO).
It is very scary that there is such permissiveness to drive (or park) in Portland and not be held accountable for driving insuranceless — and ultimately, whoever these drivers hit are going to pay that price. If this rider was injured severely, he’d have to pay for it completely himself.
Granted, this woman did not mean to knock over the cyclist and was extremely upset about it. Her door couldn’t even close. She apparently had a fight with her passenger and threw the door open in haste. Not exactly safe parking behavior along a bike route. But when I put myself in the driver’s shoes, beyond my own care to look in the mirror to watch for cyclists, there are NO REMINDERS to drivers to watch for bikes approaching in the bike lane. Why is there no law that drives this point home loud and clear?
And through this experience, I think once again we have an infrastructural issue that leads to this perpetual conflict. Why on earth would we put a bike lane on one of the most highly traveled bike routes in Portland, alongside these parked cars? It makes bike lanes actually MORE DANGEROUS to ride in than simply taking the lane.
So, thanks for this opportunity to decompress and hopefully spark (or rehash) some conversation, particularly action items for dealing with Williams and all of our bike lanes that abut parking lanes. If my perception is wrong, I’d love to hear other views on this.
Gates Arrest Drama Should Focus on Policing
After following the Henry Louis Gates arrest, I believe the racial component isn’t the issue, but perhaps the distraction.
Undoubtedly, people-of-color are unfairly targeted everyday by police. Since a 911 call was placed with no clear mention of race, I believe the arresting officer was abusing his power to ‘discipline’ Gates for his verbal taunting of the cop. Because Gates put up a VERBAL fight, it sounds like the cop went for the “let’s teach this guy a lesson” move that I’ve seen too many cops take.
By focusing on the more obvious issue of race, I’m afraid we’ll miss the opportunity to ask some important questions about how police have so much unchecked power, and how they can be better trained and held accountable to respecting civil rights.
I’ve seem too many folks arrested for saying things like “Why are you arresting him?” I’m afraid Henry Gates is another victim of saying too much. The big problem is, there’s absolutely nothing illegal about what he or thousands of Americans do every year when they ‘talk back’ to police. Even though charges may be dropped later in court, often times the damage is already done. This type of reactionary justice on the part of our police has to end.
Boat Delivering Aid to Gaza Refused and Seized by Israeli Occupation Forces
IVAW Winter Soldier Series Trailer
If you want to end the silence about the occupations,
The series you’ve been waiting for is here!
This is Where We Take Our Stand starts this week.
Click here to watch the trailer, and on Saturday, July 11, watch Episode One:
For Those Who Would Judge Me.
Join the network and spread the word!
Avoid Screenaid.com and Bliss Computers
I was hassled for months by these two companies when they refused to fulfill an order for a replacement screen for my laptop. It took 4 months to actually understand why they weren’t delivering my screen (the customer service doesn’t seem to have any connection with the actual company – I think it’s completely outsourced).