Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kate on August 30, 2010 at 7:38am

It is unfortunate that this man died this way, particularly for his family and friends. And sad for the bad rep point it gives to cyclists. RIP.

edit: I guess I'll also say that after I read about this on the newspaper website, I came here to see if there was a discussion thread. I was expecting to find a thread which was maybe people who knew him, offering supportive statements ("be careful!") to each other as cyclists, people wondering what he was thinking. Obviously it was a dumb move, but we don't know why he got on the expressway, and it makes me sad to see people respond so callously.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on August 30, 2010 at 7:46am

I'm not really allowed to call people names here, or curse, anymore but I am more than willing to risk another ban in order to break those rules to make my position here crystal clear because I am not sure a mouth breathing ignorant asswipe such as yourself is going to be able to grasp what I have to say and digest it unless hit over the head with it.

1. This is not a 'public' forum and any effort to keep dumb shits such as yourself from saying ignorant or inflammatory shit is not, in any way shape or form, the trampling of anyone's first amendment rights. When you joined this site you agreed to terms and conditions that govern acceptable conduct on this form and can be reprimanded for not doing so. I think you also need to ask yourself if this, a thread about a man's untimely death, is really the place to start a debate over free speech rights? Rights you have already made it clear you do not understand all that well?

2. I am, arguably, one of the meanest and most crass people on this forum and I feel it is poor taste to say anything about this kid getting himself dead. I may be a bit of a jerk but even I realize that saying much of anything about it is just fueling a fire that does not even really need to be ignited; what purpose does it serve to say anything about this beyond that fact that it is a shame he lost his life and that you feel sorry for his loved ones?

3. Your bullshit of making asshole statements and then trying to hide behind 'free speech' when you are called on it is a load crap; stop trying to excuse your own ignorant behavior by calling it a right. People like you who act like a total dong and then try to excuse it all with talk of the first amendment are exactly the sort of bullshit that makes it hard to defend the people who have a legitimate first amendment beef. Do the rest of the country a favor and learn how to think before you speak.

4. To the O/P, the pictures are in bad taste; if this had been your loved one who would you feel about coming up on your post after a google search? Once again, I put it out there that even I find it ignorant.

James Baum said:

I agree with all of your points -especially the one about there isn't anything that can be done without severely limiting people's Freedoms. This goes double for enforcing "civility" and staying classy in a public forum -not much can be done without having the civility cops ban anyone who says anything that might upset anyone or be tacky/rude/offensive or politically incorrect. Sure that could always be done but such measures usually turn said forum into a ghost town eventually as people tend to abhor such totalitarian moderation.

It'd be nice if people were to stay classy 100% of the time. But since most people are NOT it's kind of hard to expect them to act that way.

I hope the family of the unfortunate soul who ventured out into the highway can find some closure and don't wish upon them any further indignity. But short of silencing everyone and closing down this thread there isn't much anyone can do at this point. People tend to talk -even if there aren't many facts to go on. And this kind of an event usually seems to attract a crowd.



H3N3 said:

As Rick suggested, it's possible this person had a cognitive disability.
With the current lack of safe infrastructure for cyclists, there's not much one would be able to do to prevent such a death without limiting such a person's freedom, but common decency would still prevent a decent person from gleefully dancing around the corpse with taunts and jeers.

Also remember Jepson Livingston-- we had multiple family and friends of the victim find the chainlink discussions via web search, register, and reach out. Would you want this victim's family to read "the age of stupid" and "Darwin Award?"

James Baum said:

Good point. I'm sure there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation why someone was out in the express lanes of the Dan Ryan long after nightfall on a bike.


H3N3 said:

Obviously nobody here has heard of or remembers Trish Quane, a speech pathologist and mother of young children from Oak Park, and president-elect of the Oak Park Cycle Club at the time she walked in front of a Metra train. I watched with horror as the same disgusting "Darwin Award" comments rolled in on an unnamed bike club list, and slowly it came out who the "idiot" was, and ultimately it came out that the gates were broken and a Metra employee apparently waved her across the tracks to her death.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 30, 2010 at 7:53am

Do you feel better now that you got that all off of your chest?


notoriousDUG said:

I'm not really allowed to call people names here, or curse, anymore but I am more than willing to risk another ban in order to break those rules to make my position here crystal clear because I am not sure a mouth breathing ignorant asswipe such as yourself is going to be able to grasp what I have to say and digest it unless hit over the head with it.
1. This is not a 'public' forum and any effort to keep dumb shits such as yourself from saying ignorant or inflammatory shit is not, in any way shape or form, the trampling of anyone's first amendment rights. When you joined this site you agreed to terms and conditions that govern acceptable conduct on this form and can be reprimanded for not doing so. I think you also need to ask yourself if this, a thread about a man's untimely death, is really the place to start a debate over free speech rights? Rights you have already made it clear you do not understand all that well?
2. I am, arguably, one of the meanest and most crass people on this forum and I feel it is poor taste to say anything about this kid getting himself dead. I may be a bit of a jerk but even I realize that saying much of anything about it is just fueling a fire that does not even really need to be ignited; what purpose does it serve to say anything about this beyond that fact that it is a shame he lost his life and that you feel sorry for his loved ones?

3. Your bullshit of making asshole statements and then trying to hide behind 'free speech' when you are called on it is a load crap; stop trying to excuse your own ignorant behavior by calling it a right. People like you who act like a total dong and then try to excuse it all with talk of the first amendment are exactly the sort of bullshit that makes it hard to defend the people who have a legitimate first amendment beef. Do the rest of the country a favor and learn how to think before you speak.

4. To the O/P, the pictures are in bad taste; if this had been your loved one who would you feel about coming up on your post after a google search? Once again, I put it out there that even I find it ignorant.

Permalink Reply by dan brown on August 30, 2010 at 7:53am

I think it is time to close this thread.
I'm sure these same sentiments will resurface again soon in another thread.

I just read the updated story and it is really sad and IMHO the comments associated with it
belong in their own thread ('rants and raves').

just my $.02

DB

notoriousDUG said:

I'm not really allowed to call people names here, or curse, anymore but I am more than willing to risk another ban in order to break those rules to make my position here crystal clear because I am not sure a mouth breathing ignorant asswipe such as yourself is going to be able to grasp what I have to say and digest it unless hit over the head with it.

1. This is not a 'public' forum and any effort to keep dumb shits such as yourself from saying ignorant or inflammatory shit is not, in any way shape or form, the trampling of anyone's first amendment rights. When you joined this site you agreed to terms and conditions that govern acceptable conduct on this form and can be reprimanded for not doing so. I think you also need to ask yourself if this, a thread about a man's untimely death, is really the place to start a debate over free speech rights? Rights you have already made it clear you do not understand all that well?

2. I am, arguably, one of the meanest and most crass people on this forum and I feel it is poor taste to say anything about this kid getting himself dead. I may be a bit of a jerk but even I realize that saying much of anything about it is just fueling a fire that does not even really need to be ignited; what purpose does it serve to say anything about this beyond that fact that it is a shame he lost his life and that you feel sorry for his loved ones?

3. Your bullshit of making asshole statements and then trying to hide behind 'free speech' when you are called on it is a load crap; stop trying to excuse your own ignorant behavior by calling it a right. People like you who act like a total dong and then try to excuse it all with talk of the first amendment are exactly the sort of bullshit that makes it hard to defend the people who have a legitimate first amendment beef. Do the rest of the country a favor and learn how to think before you speak.

4. To the O/P, the pictures are in bad taste; if this had been your loved one who would you feel about coming up on your post after a google search? Once again, I put it out there that even I find it ignorant.

James Baum said:

I agree with all of your points -especially the one about there isn't anything that can be done without severely limiting people's Freedoms. This goes double for enforcing "civility" and staying classy in a public forum -not much can be done without having the civility cops ban anyone who says anything that might upset anyone or be tacky/rude/offensive or politically incorrect. Sure that could always be done but such measures usually turn said forum into a ghost town eventually as people tend to abhor such totalitarian moderation.

It'd be nice if people were to stay classy 100% of the time. But since most people are NOT it's kind of hard to expect them to act that way.

I hope the family of the unfortunate soul who ventured out into the highway can find some closure and don't wish upon them any further indignity. But short of silencing everyone and closing down this thread there isn't much anyone can do at this point. People tend to talk -even if there aren't many facts to go on. And this kind of an event usually seems to attract a crowd.



H3N3 said:

As Rick suggested, it's possible this person had a cognitive disability.
With the current lack of safe infrastructure for cyclists, there's not much one would be able to do to prevent such a death without limiting such a person's freedom, but common decency would still prevent a decent person from gleefully dancing around the corpse with taunts and jeers.

Also remember Jepson Livingston-- we had multiple family and friends of the victim find the chainlink discussions via web search, register, and reach out. Would you want this victim's family to read "the age of stupid" and "Darwin Award?"

James Baum said:

Good point. I'm sure there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation why someone was out in the express lanes of the Dan Ryan long after nightfall on a bike.


H3N3 said:

Obviously nobody here has heard of or remembers Trish Quane, a speech pathologist and mother of young children from Oak Park, and president-elect of the Oak Park Cycle Club at the time she walked in front of a Metra train. I watched with horror as the same disgusting "Darwin Award" comments rolled in on an unnamed bike club list, and slowly it came out who the "idiot" was, and ultimately it came out that the gates were broken and a Metra employee apparently waved her across the tracks to her death.

Permalink Reply by Dr. Doom on August 30, 2010 at 8:30am

Taste aside, I'd hold off on the Darwin Award here until we find out what happened, because something doesn't add up. I won't ride on the Dan Ryan in a car; there's no way this guy thought this was a good idea unless he was drunker than I've ever seen anyone get.

Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on August 30, 2010 at 8:40am

If I was a gambling man I'd bet that the poor kid felt threatened by something or maybe was being chased and ended up on the expressway out of sheer panic. That's not a neighborhood I'd want to find myself in that time of day. It would be great if anyone that's said any cruel, disparaging words in regards to this - including the person that posted the artless and utterly tone-deaf pictures - takes a big bite of something rotten today.

Permalink Reply by Rick norris on August 30, 2010 at 8:48am

+1 on shutting it down....I got my opinions, and so does everyone else, but only a couple of people, the driver and the cyclist know most of the story, and only one can talk about it.

As far as the "Darwin award" We all.. EVERY ONE OF US HERE....has had a lapse in judgement some have lasted seconds, or minutes, and some have gone on for decades, yet we are still here. Some of us have even bragged about our stupidity..."yeah I run stop signs all the time" or (probably most common) "How'd I get home last night? Did I leave my bike locked by the bar?" Yet we will give a Darwin Award to someone else, because they did not survive?

IF this guy was just doing something stupid, well I can't defend his actions, but he does leave behind friends & family that don't need to read this stuff.

My heart goes out to ALL involved in this accident, the cyclist and the driver are victims. I know this will prove unpopular, but the driver is left now to deal with a lot of crap, the cyclist is gone with nothing left to deal with.

Permalink Reply by Vondo on August 30, 2010 at 9:02am

I agree... reading some of these posts it's almost as if some people think that whatever reason he did what he did merits him losing his life. It is sad to see members of our supposed "cycling community" talk like this about another human being.

I also think Michael Perz might be on to something. I myself have sometimes taken the four-lane arterial street instead of the slower, empty side streets when trying to pass through certain areas of the city with the idea that it would be safer than crossing paths with the local hooligans...

Rick norris said:

+1 on shutting it down....I got my opinions, and so does everyone else, but only a couple of people, the driver and the cyclist know most of the story, and only one can talk about it.

As far as the "Darwin award" We all.. EVERY ONE OF US HERE....has had a lapse in judgement some have lasted seconds, or minutes, and some have gone on for decades, yet we are still here. Some of us have even bragged about our stupidity..."yeah I run stop signs all the time" or (probably most common) "How'd I get home last night? Did I leave my bike locked by the bar?" Yet we will give a Darwin Award to someone else, because they did not survive?

IF this guy was just doing something stupid, well I can't defend his actions, but he does leave behind friends & family that don't need to read this stuff.

My heart goes out to ALL involved in this accident, the cyclist and the driver are victims. I know this will prove unpopular, but the driver is left now to deal with a lot of crap, the cyclist is gone with nothing left to deal with.

Permalink Reply by knowbody on August 30, 2010 at 9:11am

friend of mine said he saw someone riding a bicycle near the construction zone northwest (salmon style) on the i290/i53 friday.

been holding my tungue because... i paddled most of the worst parts of the chicago shoreline marathon this weekend didn't see the likelihood of surviving the drunk boaters off of diversey so decided to call it quits at north avenue. the best description i could come up for it at the time was it was like "riding a unicycle on the freeway" too many close calls sure made it feel like a darwin moment. gonna think twice before putting a surfboard into that blender again.

Permalink Reply by Leah on August 30, 2010 at 9:20am

I believe that much of what's been said about this tragedy has already been said here. Out of respect for the cyclist and the family he leaves behind, this discussion is now closed.

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