John Kass Chicago Tribune Article - Email Him and Show Him Some Cyclist Love!!!!

I emailed John Kass (as I've done before, with no reply ever received, of course) this morning and asked that he set up a time to meet with me and discuss cyclists and cycling. Regardless of his less than friendly view of cycling and cyclists, I would love to see him be better informed an perhaps change his tune a bit.  I also invited him to go for a ride with me, as I've done before.

Maybe if many of us dropped him a line and invited him to have a discussion and go for a bike ride with us he'd eventually give in and understand better who we are and our community.  Don't slam him, don't insult him, don't denigrate him -- show him some cyclist love and get him to support us.

Grazie, Bill

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-met-kass-0509-2013...

jskass@tribune.com

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Permalink Reply by Juan Primo on May 11, 2013 at 3:29am

John Kass is paid to write his opinion on news subjects.  So many of you react with "He must be silenced" and "He must be reeducated".  Why don't you try being civilized and ignore him if you don't like him?

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on May 11, 2013 at 6:16am

Would you be upset if pigeon holed cyclists just like you have WLS listeners?

Tolerance works both ways.

Jeff Schneider said:

Kass, like the other right-wing blowhards on WLS, has a job to do.  That's keep their listener base of hateful geezers tuned in, so that they can continue to sell ads for cancer treatment centers, cosmetic surgery, and ED clinics.  His Tribune gig is the same schtick.  I don't let this right-wing entertainment crap worry me, because it's not serious.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on May 11, 2013 at 7:12am

Not liking the entertainment and passing a negative judgement on their listener base are two different things.

I do not care for the programming on WLS either but I also don't pass judgemt of those who do as 'hateful geezers.'

How is what you said different from somebody calling all cyclists inconsiderate jerks on the road?

Jeff Schneider said:

I have an opinion about WLS, based on personal experience.  I don't like their kind of entertainment.  That's preference.  You may disagree.  I have never suggested that they shouldn't be allowed to provide that kind of entertainment to those who want it.  That's tolerance.  See the difference?

notoriousDUG said:

Would you be upset if pigeon holed cyclists just like you have WLS listeners?

Tolerance works both ways.

Jeff Schneider said:

Kass, like the other right-wing blowhards on WLS, has a job to do.  That's keep their listener base of hateful geezers tuned in, so that they can continue to sell ads for cancer treatment centers, cosmetic surgery, and ED clinics.  His Tribune gig is the same schtick.  I don't let this right-wing entertainment crap worry me, because it's not serious.

Permalink Reply by Bill Nedza on May 11, 2013 at 8:04am

Well, unfortunately this whole thread has disintegrated from my intent, so maybe we should just stop the replies at this point and let it fade away into obscurity.  I simply asked him to have a discussion and invited him to ride a bike.  I somewhat regret posting this fact on the forum.  Yes, let us all, if we want to, ignore "the guy who writes for the Tribune".  Nuff said, end of story, let the thread die with some dignity.  Let's all go ride our bikes and be happy.

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on May 11, 2013 at 7:17pm

That's exactly how I read it also. HAHA

Serge Lubomudrov said:

Even his e-mail address almost reads like "jackass" :)

Permalink Reply by Jason W on May 13, 2013 at 11:35am

+2

Anne Alt said:

I agree.

Lisa Curcio 4.0 mi said:

Not only does clicking on the link to his article feed the troll, mentioning the name does as well.  You know they use those automatic things to find mention of the name.  The man does not warrant attention.

Permalink Reply by David Stowell on June 7, 2013 at 4:21am

I agree with you, Bill.  Media in general and "writers" like John Kass are interested in one thing and one thing only.....eyes on the ads.  That's how they justify their salaries to their editors.  So....in general don't feed the trolls......but this guy is particularly nasty.  "The Little Bike People" sort of implies "The Big Car People"  doesn't it?  As if it's helpful to increase the distance in peoples minds between bikers and drivers.  I wonder what John Kass thought about the death of Robert Cann by the drunken Mercedes driving "Big Person."  Perhaps he thought that "The Little Bike Person" was getting in the way of "The Big Car Persons" jolly drunken night on the town and deserved to be killed for his inconvenient prescence on the street?  Personally, I ALWAYS ride assuming that NO driver out there sees me AT ALL, and that I must ALWAYS see them and respond in advance to any moves that they may make.  At least thirty percent of the drivers I see on my commute are texting.

That's just as bad or worse than being drunk behind the wheel!

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on June 7, 2013 at 4:31am

Not even John Kass would go so far as to say someone deserved to die in print. That would be suicide for the Tribune.

Or perhaps I just have too much faith in humanity.

David Stowell said:

I agree with you, Bill.  Media in general and "writers" like John Kass are interested in one thing and one thing only.....eyes on the ads.  That's how they justify their salaries to their editors.  So....in general don't feed the trolls......but this guy is particularly nasty.  "The Little Bike People" sort of implies "The Big Car People"  doesn't it?  As if it's helpful to increase the distance in peoples minds between bikers and drivers.  I wonder what John Kass thought about the death of Robert Cann by the drunken Mercedes driving "Big Person."  Perhaps he thought that "The Little Bike Person" was getting in the way of "The Big Car Persons" jolly drunken night on the town and deserved to be killed for his inconvenient prescence on the street?  Personally, I ALWAYS ride assuming that NO driver out there sees me AT ALL, and that I must ALWAYS see them and respond in advance to any moves that they may make.  At least thirty percent of the drivers I see on my commute are texting.

That's just as bad or worse than being drunk behind the wheel!

Permalink Reply by David Barish on June 7, 2013 at 5:51am

I think Lisa's advice is good. Please refer to "the columnist" rather than any particular name. 

Also, he is a columnist rather than a reporter.  A columnist writes opinion pieces and does not write the same way a reporter does.  He does not need the pretense of objectivity.  A point of view is a good thing for a columnist even if it taints a reporter. Its not a bad thing to have a point of view.  It just happens that I rarely agree withg the columnist's point of view.  Its a shame. He essentially replaced the late great Mike Royko. I have not been interested since he took over the space previously occupied by Royko. This is not a new thing.  I doubt we will hear from the columnist about the recent tragedies on the road. They do not fit into the perspective he has carved out for himself.  He will wait until one of use pulls a bone headed move on the road and he will roar back into the public view on issues near to our hearts.

Permalink Reply by Agnieszka Z. on June 7, 2013 at 6:50am

Bill, I think your reaching out is a great idea. As a former reporter for the Tribune, I'd be game to meet with Kass if he does write back. His columns about bikers are of course belittling and boorish. That said, I have seen him display open-mindedness at times on some matters and I think a conversation with him would be a fine idea.

I think the comments on this thread that cast him as a great threat, or a troll, or as a powerful columnist all give him a tad too much power. He's not all that. Sure as hell he is not so powerful that I will fear talking about him in a public forum, for whatever reason--be it raising his google results or whatever. But he does have a certain influence among some conservatives in this city. If he were amenable to learning a little from the cyclists and then if he were to write about it, the effect in making Chicago more bike-friendly--one conservative mind at a time--could be non-trivial.  

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 7, 2013 at 6:53am

All powerful - no. But does the placeholder columnist currently occupying the space formerly held by the late great Royko have an audience? Unfortunately, yes.

Permalink Reply by David Barish on June 7, 2013 at 6:59am

(sigh) alas, you are so right.  We have to be aware that there is an audience for whatever it is that he brings.  His voice sings in a chorus, a shrill one, but still a chorus.  Its not the most off key voice in that newspaper. Have you ever read Dennis O'Byr(hush your mouth boy! don't speak profanity)...

Anne Alt said:

All powerful - no. But does the placeholder columnist currently occupying the space formerly held by the late great Royko have an audience? Unfortunately, yes.

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