Post-June 2010 CM Discussion

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jason W on June 28, 2010 at 10:13pm

Chicagoist story here

http://chicagoist.com/2010/06/28/critical_mass_rider_maced_after_ev...

Permalink Reply by yaoyao on June 28, 2010 at 10:51pm

The following threads were closed in favor of consolidating to this thread:

http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/what-about-the-chicago-police
http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/please-help-gather-informa...
http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/we-need-witnesses-of-june-ccm

Repost from that last link:

Chicago Copwatch knows of footage and eye witness testimony of the that proceeded and occured during the June CCM LSD altercation. We will release this information to the public as a solidified series of events as soon as we get further witnesses willing to be cross examined and we consult the lawyers of those suspects harassed, detained and arrested by the CPD.

With that said can people please email contact@chicagocopwatch.org if they have any information they would like to share that is useful. We are looking for the contact information for any and all suspects who were harassed, detained, arrested and potentially abused. If you are a witness and are willing to be subpoena should it come to it, please, please, please email us. In addition if you are the author of footage that has been posted online or has yet to be posted online please contact Chicago Copwatch. We do not recommend further posting of footage without consulting the lawyers of the suspects or Chicago Copwatch.

In addition Chicago Copwatch is looking for witness testimony of any and all other altercations with the CPD that happened during the June Mass. Specifically those that involving ticketing or arrest.

Please note, that if you are not a DIRECT witness and are not willing to be subpoenaed we are not very interested in what you have to say or your opinion on this or that. Also note that whatever we release to clear up speculation will not be immediate if ever. It depends on the advice we receive from the suspects lawyers.

Thank you,

Chicago Copwatch
contact@chicagocopwatch.org

PS. Copwatch does not believe that the CPD is in general out of line when it comes to Critical Mass and we support many of the efforts the CPD takes to ensure our safety while on the Mass. However the stated goal of Chicago Copwatch is to uncover police misconduct and hold officers accountable. If there was misconduct or if there was not that can and will only be revealed after experts examine all the evidence. Copwatch is merely attempting to assist in this collection of evidence.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on June 28, 2010 at 10:54pm

I thought I already spelled that out to Mike on page 2?

Anyways, Anarchy does not equal chaos-- my preferred definition is the absence of heirarchy and one of the things I love most about CCM is that we often come darned close to having a perfect system of anarchical organization on the mass in a way that's seldom experienced elsewhere in our lives.

Barbra Mann said:

But there was a map and we stuck to it...just so you know...the route wasn't a surprise at all except a little variation. Oh well mute point...but I thought it was odd you thought there was no route planned out. I would think there really has to be route planning in a season of street fests.


Rowbike Mike said:

Just for the record, what I meant by "anarchic" is that I liked the fact that it didn't feel like the entire route was planned out, and I liked that sense of surprise in a ride. That aspect of last week's the ride was a nice change of pace.

A lot of other things (already mentioned by other riders) were really discouraging. For example, riding around cars stuck in traffic was not a good idea, both in terms of breaking up the mass and unneccesarily encouraging a lot of ire amongst the police and motorists. Not allowing momentum to build at the beginning by doing some loops around the Daley center was a bad idea. Riding on Lake Shore Drive was a terrible idea (where I was riding, it seemed like I was one of only a handful of riders who chose to go on the sidewalk).

When I first started riding in CCM a few years ago, I remember seeing fliers that spelled out some of the "guidelines" for a critical mass ride (if there can be such a thing). It would be great to see that again, given how many new riders participate during the summer months. It may sound trifling, but I only heard a few people shout out "Happy Friday!" during the ride - little things like this can set the mood for the ride.

Permalink Reply by lauren sailor on June 28, 2010 at 11:03pm

hey gang, much of the analysis i've seen so far is spot-on. i, too, noticed that we were moving way too fast early in the ride, and that gaps were forming before we even hit chinatown. i didn't make it to the front until we were heading west on 26th street, though, where two or three bike cops were leading the ride (i think that's how we stayed on route so well!). i kept calling to "MASS UP" to no avail, and finally yelled something like, "MASS UP! STOP AT THE LIGHT! we are so SPREAD OUT that cars are driving through the mass!! the cops want us to keep moving but we want to STAY TOGETHER!!" that worked for a light cycle or two, but some unfamiliar faces got tired after waiting through just one red-to-green-to-red, and pedaled off (in the middle of a red light, no less) with the group behind them. (meanwhile, the three cops had already lead two or three dozen riders ahead to 26th and halsted, where they had no choice but to wait for everyone else). that's when i started falling back from the front, and stopping to cork a little later meant i wasn't too much help, sorry gang.

i also saw a LOT of instances where the riders in front were threading through cars stopped at lights. this was mid-chinatown, when i was trying to make my way up front. unfortunately, my yells of "STOP BEHIND THE CARS! you can squeeze through traffic ANY OTHER DAY OF THE MONTH!" were too far back to reach the lead riders.

one thing i will note is that there were not too many obvious places to mass up on the way into chinatown. it's damn near impossible to get people to stop and mass up at a stop sign, and even more so when they don't understand the ride's mechanics and the necessity of massing up. as much as i love neighborhood side streets, maybe we should tend toward major intersections (with traffic lights) early on in summer routes. inexperience was a definite factor in our dispersion.

relatedly, i tried yelling "MASS UP! call it forward!!" when i found a gap forming ahead of me as we headed north to university village, on racine near taylor. i was too far back, again, for my cries to reach the front, where riders had a green light and turned east onto taylor without pausing. however, a girl nearby asked her friends what 'mass up' meant, and one replied "oh, you know, ride faster to catch up to the people ahead of you." i was able to explain, no, that was what "close the gap!" means; massing up is when you stop so people behind you have a chance to catch up. so, at least two riders learned what mass up was that friday.

getting info into the derailleur is all well and good, but i'd agree with howard's assessment that people probably don't study them before the ride. a separate handout might be better. also, mad props to this month's derailleur--i always ALWAYS recommend bicyclesafe.com, aka "how to not get hit by cars," to new urban riders. i think that was MUCH more useful information to give the newbies than info on corking and massing up, which only applies to one ride a month.

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on June 28, 2010 at 11:20pm

Great site, thanks Lauren -

lauren sailor said:

getting info into the derailleur is all well and good, but i'd agree with howard's assessment that people probably don't study them before the ride. a separate handout might be better. also, mad props to this month's derailleur--i always ALWAYS recommend bicyclesafe.com, aka "how to not get hit by cars," to new urban riders. i think that was MUCH more useful information to give the newbies than info on corking and massing up, which only applies to one ride a month.

Permalink Reply by yaoyao on June 29, 2010 at 4:58am

Maybe there should be several "mass-up" points designated on the map ahead of time. Not a lot, maybe just 2 or 3 (not including the beginning and end obviously). Just something so that leaders know there should be a 1-2 minute pause at a location, allowing everyone to catch up from behind and remind us that it's not a race. I know that the mass doesn't always follow the map, but injecting the idea of frequent mass up points may be good practice regardless.

one thing i will note is that there were not too many obvious places to mass up on the way into chinatown. it's damn near impossible to get people to stop and mass up at a stop sign, and even more so when they don't understand the ride's mechanics and the necessity of massing up. as much as i love neighborhood side streets, maybe we should tend toward major intersections (with traffic lights) early on in summer routes. inexperience was a definite factor in our dispersion.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on June 29, 2010 at 8:04am

Not sure how this could work-- most months it's participants who work together to get the ride massed up -when needed-. Sounds like you've never been involved in helping at the front?

(Who are you by the way? It's really tough to have a discussion aimed at problem solving when you have no idea of the experience level of the person you're communicating with.)

yaoyao said:

Maybe there should be several "mass-up" points designated on the map ahead of time. Not a lot, maybe just 2 or 3 (not including the beginning and end obviously). Just something so that leaders know there should be a 1-2 minute pause at a location, allowing everyone to catch up from behind and remind us that it's not a race. I know that the mass doesn't always follow the map, but injecting the idea of frequent mass up points may be good practice regardless.

one thing i will note is that there were not too many obvious places to mass up on the way into chinatown. it's damn near impossible to get people to stop and mass up at a stop sign, and even more so when they don't understand the ride's mechanics and the necessity of massing up. as much as i love neighborhood side streets, maybe we should tend toward major intersections (with traffic lights) early on in summer routes. inexperience was a definite factor in our dispersion.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on June 29, 2010 at 8:06am

Good info, thanks. I heard some of your calls to mass up but nobody was passing them along (I tried . . .) and as you said you were hopelessly far back from the head of the mass at the time.

lauren sailor said:

hey gang, much of the analysis i've seen so far is spot-on. i, too, noticed that we were moving way too fast early in the ride, and that gaps were forming before we even hit chinatown. i didn't make it to the front until we were heading west on 26th street, though, where two or three bike cops were leading the ride (i think that's how we stayed on route so well!). i kept calling to "MASS UP" to no avail, and finally yelled something like, "MASS UP! STOP AT THE LIGHT! we are so SPREAD OUT that cars are driving through the mass!! the cops want us to keep moving but we want to STAY TOGETHER!!" that worked for a light cycle or two, but some unfamiliar faces got tired after waiting through just one red-to-green-to-red, and pedaled off (in the middle of a red light, no less) with the group behind them. (meanwhile, the three cops had already lead two or three dozen riders ahead to 26th and halsted, where they had no choice but to wait for everyone else). that's when i started falling back from the front, and stopping to cork a little later meant i wasn't too much help, sorry gang.

i also saw a LOT of instances where the riders in front were threading through cars stopped at lights. this was mid-chinatown, when i was trying to make my way up front. unfortunately, my yells of "STOP BEHIND THE CARS! you can squeeze through traffic ANY OTHER DAY OF THE MONTH!" were too far back to reach the lead riders.

one thing i will note is that there were not too many obvious places to mass up on the way into chinatown. it's damn near impossible to get people to stop and mass up at a stop sign, and even more so when they don't understand the ride's mechanics and the necessity of massing up. as much as i love neighborhood side streets, maybe we should tend toward major intersections (with traffic lights) early on in summer routes. inexperience was a definite factor in our dispersion.

relatedly, i tried yelling "MASS UP! call it forward!!" when i found a gap forming ahead of me as we headed north to university village, on racine near taylor. i was too far back, again, for my cries to reach the front, where riders had a green light and turned east onto taylor without pausing. however, a girl nearby asked her friends what 'mass up' meant, and one replied "oh, you know, ride faster to catch up to the people ahead of you." i was able to explain, no, that was what "close the gap!" means; massing up is when you stop so people behind you have a chance to catch up. so, at least two riders learned what mass up was that friday.

getting info into the derailleur is all well and good, but i'd agree with howard's assessment that people probably don't study them before the ride. a separate handout might be better. also, mad props to this month's derailleur--i always ALWAYS recommend bicyclesafe.com, aka "how to not get hit by cars," to new urban riders. i think that was MUCH more useful information to give the newbies than info on corking and massing up, which only applies to one ride a month.

Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on June 29, 2010 at 9:52am

Yaoyao, on any of the maps I have made, or rather collaborated on, we have put in round up spots. These IMO are like the ultimate Mass Up. The problem with a large mass up is that it's boring and the people looking for action are itching to leave. The round up solves this by giving everyone something to do while letting the back catch up. Problem with the round up is a total lack of control. But it's never too hard to take back control of the Mass.

Permalink Reply by Spencer "Thunderball" Thayer! on June 29, 2010 at 9:53am

I have created a discussion within the CCM group. http://www.thechainlink.org/group/criticalmassdiscussion/forum/topi...

Permalink Reply by J M on June 29, 2010 at 6:25pm

Can we all get along?

If LA can make a little peace, maybe we can?
http://laist.com/2010/06/28/success_critical_mass_lapd_take_to.php

"But today I believe that I witnessed the death of antagonism between two great powers in Los Angeles, the two gutsiest powers in LA’s streets - cyclists and LAPD. I look forward to, with courage and clear purpose, exploring this new and undiscovered country of friendship and support."
http://www.bikesidela.org/undiscovered-country-lacm-lapd/

Permalink Reply by Jerry on July 1, 2010 at 6:28pm

Hello Guys,
For whatever it's worth, here are a few thoughts from me:

1. I think mapmakers need to be a little more conscious of where they direct the ride. Any time we go East of Michigan, there are risks. Going East of Michigan at Grant Park during a major event like Taste of Chicago is the biggest risk of all. You can take this in one of two ways: (1) if you want a peaceful ride, it's best to just avoid the anxiety at the Lakefront, or (2) if you are determined to make trouble, you're really fucking stupid if you decide to make it in a place where half the police department is deployed. Whoever decided to take the ride on to LSD picked the worst possible place to do it. He drove right into a huge concentration of anxious cops -- what an idiot. I wonder whether it was that idiot who paid with his liberty, or whether some innocent schlub who didn't know any better, and just followed the idiot's lead, paid the price instead. The idiot who steered on to LSD was using the rest of the riders as human shields. I consider that incredibly irresponsible behavior. The police are seriously edgy about Grant Park now. They canceled the July 3 fireworks because they couldn't handle it, and they are even approving overtime for Lakefront duty because things are getting really hairy there. They are short-handed, and under tremendous pressure. Growing up on the South Side, I learned to steer clear of anxious cops -- it kept me out of jail (usually.) It's wise to give anxious cops a wide berth.

2. Perhaps we need to educate people about how to behave when a police officer puts his hands on you? It's hard to swallow for some but, the fact is, once the police put their hands on you, it's best to submit. Now, I am no fan of submission, and that's putting it mildly, but doing otherwise is guaranteed to get you hurt. Police officers are trained to keep a subject under control by escalating one level above wherever the subject is. If you resist, they escalate, and the more you resist, the more they escalate. It doesn't take a genius to realize that you can't win that one, since you don't have pepper spray, batons, or pistols. You will always lose a physical struggle with a police officer. Always. With the WNBR, the handbills tell people to comply with orders from police officers, and people pay attention to that, and we don't get arrests at WNBR as a result (the use of force begins with physical presence, then moves to verbal direction, then escalates to empty hand control -- best to cut that process off before it gets physical.) It was very painful for me to watch that video on the CM site of the guy getting pepper sprayed. He didn't get the basic proposition that you don't resist, and he suffered horribly as a result. Watching that video, I just kept thinking: "Oh my God -- I hope they don't bring out the tasers." Yes, it could have been worse.

3. We should try, really hard, to take charge of the front of the ride next time, and keep it massed. Let the cowboys do whatever they like with themselves (that's their choice, and they will suffer the consequences), but we should not let them lead innocent people into trouble. We shouldn't let them use innocent people as human shields.

4. We should also figure out a way to warn people that the police are likely to be loaded for bear next time, so they should definitely avoid things like open consumption of booze. This is another area where resistance is counter-productive. At a ride a couple of years ago, they were ticketing for booze. But, if a rider squawked about the ticket, they were rewarded with an arrest instead. The police do have the discretion to choose between an administrative citation and an arrest. It's kind of dumb to provoke that sort of escalation. Put a sock on it, fool!

Do we ride to ride? Or do we ride to fight the police? If it's the former, it's better to defuse encounters with law enforcement. If it's the latter, then maybe you should go off on your own ride, so the rest of us can enjoy ourselves -- please don't use the rest of us as human shields.

These are just my suggestions -- you can take them, or leave them.

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