What is it about bikes that sends right wingers into a paranoid, frothing rage?

[phantom power]

The wingnut echo chamber, where conservatives convince themselves that urban planning, walkable neighborhoods and bikes are the camel's nose of One World Government. Or something.

...right wingers have their own version of a dystopian sci-fi world, but being a rather literal group, they are convinced that it’s real. They call it “Agenda 21″ and the claim is that it’s a shadowy U.N. conspiracy to remake the world into an a dystopian hellscape from which there is no escape. Raw Story’s own Travis Gettys has a report on the conspiracy theory and how it’s creating problems in the real world as paranoid wingnuts flip out when local governments try to engage in any kind of environmentally sustainable development or try to make community spaces more accessible and easier to use.

An article on Jones’ Infowars website says simply,“Agenda 21 = Death,” and Beck has published a fictionalized account of a dystopian future under the imposition of the U.N. guidelines.

Urban planners are sometimes surprised when they’re accused of plotting to undermine capitalism and sovereignty by taking away their neighbors’ cars and forcing them to live in cities, reported The Post and Courier.

Death! Destruction! Forced relocation! Soooo scary.

What is going to be the source of all this dystopian misery and destruction? Well, when you dig in a little, you realize that it all basically comes down to one thing: Bicycles.

“High-density urban development without parking for cars is the goal,” said Rosa Koire, of Democrats Against U.N. Agenda 21. “This means that whole towns need to be demolished and rebuilt in the image of sustainable development. Bike groups are being used as the ‘shock troops’ for this plan.”
And:

“Sustainability is a buzzword that you hear about all the time, and you hear about how they want mass transit and people riding bikes to work,” said John Steinberger, chairman of the Charleston, South Carolina, County Republican Party. “Blocking a lane of traffic coming in to Charleston from West Ashley to create a bike lane is an example of that thinking.”

Yes, while typical dystopian fantasies involve things like state-mandated murder or an overbearing surveillance state, the deep-set fear that is making conservatives nationwide interfere with attempts to improve urban and suburban development is the fear of having to see people out on the streets riding bicycles. Sure, you might think that seeing the ass wiggles of people who dare venture out without a ton of gas-powered steel around them might be, in the grand scheme of things, so small a sacrifice that it calling it a “sacrifice” does disservice to the word “sacrifice”. But right wingers know: Jesus died on the cross so you don’t have to see those horrible two-wheeled monstrosities called “bicycles” while zooming around in your SUV. You may think a bicycle is just an energy-efficient and fun way to get around, but wingnuts know that it’s actually an attack on freedom itself.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/what-is-it-about-bikes-that-sends-right-wingers-into-a-paranoid-frothing-rage/

[johnp3907]

1. I'm a shock trooper?

In a stupor?

[Dont call me Shirley]

2. This "agenda 21 group" must be funded by the oil, coal, auto, and other polluting industries.

[silverweb]

5. Yup.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Bet on it. And aimed directly towards chronic RWNJ paranoia to incite hysterical, overblown reactions!

[hibbing]

14. Me too!!

I never thought I was all that powerful, but I guess now I'm a threat to the American way of life. Don't it always seem to go, they paved paradise and put up a bike lane.

Peace

[Dont call me Shirley]

23. Oh, you horrible bicycles are just wrecking the American dream!

[NYC_SKP]

3. "Democrats Against U.N. Agenda 21"????

We're going to expand the list of "batshit crazy sites", it's highly doubtful that they're democrats:

http://www.democratsagainstunagenda21.com/

It looks like the site hosts Tea Party and Alex Jones materials.

SMART METERS AND UN AGENDA 21/SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT


INFO ON THIS SITE (CLICK ON TITLE):
REFUSE SMART METERS
GLOBALIZATION IS THE STANDARDIZATION OF SYSTEMS
POLICE TO CITE SMART METER INSTALLERS
AND THEY CALL US CONSPIRACY NUTS?
ANOTHER SMART THING THAT ISN'T: SMART METERS
THERE IS NO SWITZERLAND IN THIS FIGHT
- See more at: http://www.democratsagainstunagenda21.com/smart-meters.html#sthash.YPa0ATZ3.dpuf

&list=PLulGbN3PuRTILg7PM1ZQfeQNxXImuYAdm

[muriel_volestrangler]

24. SPLC on Agenda 21 conspiracy theorists, including Koire's "Democrats":

The vast majority of opponents of Agenda 21 come
from the right, mostly the far right. But in the case of
Rosa Koire (pronounced CORE-ee), a self-described
lesbian feminist and longtime forensic commercial real
estate appraiser specializing in eminent domain evaluation,
the criticism is ostensibly coming from the left.

Not that it’s very easy to tell.

The main difference between Koire, who runs the
Democrats Against UN Agenda 21 website and is executive
director of the closely linked Post Sustainability
Institute, is that she says the UN wants to “erect
Communitarianism” — as opposed to socialism, or
communism — “as the dominant form of world governance.”
Communitarianism is a system of cooperative
groups that practice some communist principles but
are generally less centralized than historic communist
states. She also claims that the Democratic Party
has been hijacked by socialists.

After that, Koire sounds like most Agenda 21 fearmongers.
“(Y)our local government is in the process
of controlling where and how you live, what you eat,
what your children learn, and what laws you will
live under.” She also says on her website that the
Agenda 21 plan means “to inventory and control all
land, all water, all minerals, all plants, all animals,
all construction, all means of production, all energy,
all education, all information, and all human beings
in the world.”

http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/publication/agenda_21_final_web_0.pdf

She's in company with the Constitution Party, Eagle Forum, John Birch Society, Heritage Foundation, and more.

[hlthe2b]

4. Their hatred towards prius owners echoes this insanity...

Some days I just want to......

[phantom power]

6. yes, well they showed us, and how:

[Aldo Leopold]

20. Haha, "your".

Idiots do tend to announce themselves clearly and loudly.

[tridim]

7. My motorized bike causes mass confusion.

Last edited Tue Sep 30, 2014, 05:07 PM - Edit history (1)

Wingnut or otherwise. It's a bike and a motorcycle, two things lots of car drivers hate. People don't know what to think about it, but it's fun to watch their reactions.

And it's even more fun when I tell them it gets about 160mpg (not a typo).

[phantom power]

9. stop messing with our predefined taxonomies

[tridim]

13. I think that's exactly what's happening.

I find it pretty entertaining.

Cops give me the same look... Sorry cops, it's legal. Deal with it.

[1dogleft]

18. anything under 49cc needs no

Lic or registration but stay on the side of the road. They are very common in my area and only a problem on hwy (not allowed)and center of the road on busy streets

[tridim]

22. Yep, but I wish it could be licensed so I could insure it.

It's a 49cc 4-stroke, running through 7 gears.

We have bus and bike lanes here in the city. Works out well.

[happyslug]

25. That is NOT the law in ALL States.

Pennsylvania is one of those states, any size engine attached to any wheeled vehicle MUST be licensed AND registered in Pennsylvania AND operated by a licensed driver.

There are exceptions, first are any MEDICALLY needed devices, i.e wheel chairs and Segway obtain an exception for its Segway but NOT anything else.

If you attach a 750 watt engine to a bicycle, it is called a "Motorized Pedalcycle" in Pennsylvania. You still have to have insurance on it, but it does NOT need to be inspected (and still must be licensed and registered AND the driver MUST have a Driver's License).

A bill was passed by the State Senate in August to call such 750 watt bicycles, bicycles and drop the need for insurance, registration and licensing, but it is still sitting in the State House, where I suspect it will die. I keep looking at it, but it just sits in the Pennsylvania State House Transportation Committee.

[1dogleft]

27. point taken n/t

[TreasonousBastard]

32. NY pretty much the same way...

Mopeds are classified according to speed, with the fastest ones requiring insurance, inspection, and such. All of them have specific restrictions.

Electric bicycles are absolutely forbidden-- don't even think of adding that little motor to your bike until they change the law. Which they won't do any time soon. The excuse is essentially that bicycles are too fragile to be motorized.

[irisblue]

8. A guess

an unfortunate childhood experience with a banana seat on the bike.

[cascadiance]

10. Must be why they could identify with this "child"'s experience with a Segway...

[Efilroft Sul]

11. I was thinking these ding-dongs hit their ding-dongs on the crossbar.

[justgamma]

12. Hey, hey, hey!

Wasn't there a Republican official in Arizona who claimed that Agenda 21 wanted to take over the golf courses. We had a state rep that wouldn't run for reelection in Iowa because she wanted to spend all her time fighting against Agenda 21. It's in the Iowa Repub platform in 2012. These people are beyond nuts.

[Dopers_Greed]

15. Corporations don't make as much profit when people ride bikes

[starroute]

16. Afraid of losing their giant mechanized penises

That plus the fact that rabid right-wingers don't normally encounter urban planners in their daily life -- but they're probably cursed at people on bicycles now and then for getting in the way of them zooming down the city streets quite as fast as they'd like.

[Arugula Latte]

17. Soma them Raleigh do get all Surly and have a Giant Huffy fit with their Haro on fire Schwinn they

think about bikes.

[jtuck004]

19. Agenda 21 meetings third Thursday, any Starbucks. Maybe the folks above should show up.

We use napkins instead of a whiteboard for plotting the agenda. Hey, it's secret. It's not like we have signs. And some in the undercover division drive cars, just to blend in.

Our efforts to encourage walking are cleverly disguised drill practice sessions for our army, btw.

[Shrike47]

29. If you write your evil plans with jelly on bread you can always eat the evidence!

[jtuck004]

31. Plans to Concord the world. n/t

[Aldo Leopold]

21. Why, I was coal-rolled just today

on my way home on my bike.

[arcane1]

26. Decades of cars advertised as stand-ins for male sexuality, perhaps?

[procon]

28. they've seen photos of crowded cities in China

Where the streets are choked with bicycling Chinese. It's just another example of rightwing projection as they picture a bicycle seat wedged in their pudgy ass as their ponderously swaying beer belly causes a multi lane accident that will make the evening news and make them the brunt of jokes with their pals.

[indie9197]

30. They think of cycling as a European sport or activity,

similar to their views on soccer. OK for kids but stupid for adults to enjoy. Maybe men wearing lycra are just too much of a threat to their masculinity.
Think about it, what sports do adult Republicans enjoy participating in? Not much that doesn't involve guns or engines that I can think of.

[hunter]

33. Near as I can tell, automobile culture is the state religion of the U.S.A.

Bicycle people mock the state religion whenever they zip past automobiles stuck in heavy traffic, or when they refuse to pay thousands of dollars every year to be confined to the roadways strapped to a seat inside a metal can.

The "freedom" of automobiles is an expensive illusion.