Missed connection

[cvcalhoun]

@sjclaeys 150332 wrote:

Seeing that as cyclists we often have to deal with others making generalities about us, it doesn’t seem constructive to do the same.

I don’t see this as a dig at the Trump administration in general. “Over the next year or so” implies that the issue is new people coming to DC, perhaps from less bike-friendly locales. If it were “over the next four years,” I’d see it as more of a generality.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@creadinger 150284 wrote:

Isn’t the city going to filled with idiots like this over the next year or so with the change in administration? Not to mention that many of the incoming people may be less likely to have ever heard of a bike lane, or realized that people do in fact ride bikes after age 8.

I seem to remember seeing an article about this and the bottom line (IIRC) was essentially that DC doesn’t see a dramatic turnover or influx when the administration changes because most Congressional incumbents won (meaning no real staff changes on the Hill) and the White House staff is pretty small.

[Judd]

@TwoWheelsDC 150391 wrote:

I seem to remember seeing an article about this and the bottom line (IIRC) was essentially that DC doesn’t see a dramatic turnover or influx when the administration changes because most Congressional incumbents won (meaning no real staff changes on the Hill) and the White House staff is pretty small.

Add in that a lot of the political appointee types come from DC based organizations and are absorbed back by these organizations when the party in power changes.

[sjclaeys]

@cvcalhoun 150389 wrote:

I don’t see this as a dig at the Trump administration in general. “Over the next year or so” implies that the issue is new people coming to DC, perhaps from less bike-friendly locales. If it were “over the next four years,” I’d see it as more of a generality.

I’ll let the author of the comment explain what group they were referring to, but it was still making a generalization.

[rcannon100]

@TwoWheelsDC 150391 wrote:

…. and the White House staff is pretty small.

The “White House staff” that is relevant here is the entire executive branch. Cabinet leadership (politics) serve at the pleasure of the POTUS. Independent agency leadership (politicos) are appointed by the POTUS. Basically, everything above civil servant SES and GS-15s. In my building, we will likely see three (out of five) Commissioners change, along with their staff, and almost all Bureau and Office chiefs resign and replaced. Executive Branch wide, we will see massive changes of large numbers of people.

As for us all being “idiots”, HEY! I resemble that remark!!!

[secstate]

To the driver who crossed to my side of a quiet residential street near the Maryland line in order to charge at me, headlights off, before veering away and blowing a stop sign: your behavior was so weird that I wasn’t scared, or even annoyed, just bemused.

[dkel]

@cvcalhoun 150389 wrote:

I don’t see this as a dig at the Trump administration in general. “Over the next year or so” implies that the issue is new people coming to DC, perhaps from less bike-friendly locales. If it were “over the next four years,” I’d see it as more of a generality.

“…over the next year or so with the change in administration” implies a generality about the influx of people associated with the administration.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@rcannon100 150396 wrote:

The “White House staff” that is relevant here is the entire executive branch. Cabinet leadership (politics) serve at the pleasure of the POTUS. Independent agency leadership (politicos) are appointed by the POTUS. Basically, everything above civil servant SES and GS-15s. In my building, we will likely see three (out of five) Commissioners change, along with their staff, and almost all Bureau and Office chiefs resign and replaced. Executive Branch wide, we will see massive changes of large numbers of people.

As for us all being “idiots”, HEY! I resemble that remark!!!

You’re still talking about a couple thousand people, in an area with 6 million. And the number of those people who will move into or out of the area in the shakeup is smaller still. Lots of new staff are here for other jobs already and most from the outgoing administration will stick around.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@secstate 150397 wrote:

To the driver who crossed to my side of a quiet residential street near the Maryland line in order to charge at me, headlights off, before veering away and blowing a stop sign: your behavior was so weird that I wasn’t scared, or even annoyed, just bemused.

[rcannon100]

@TwoWheelsDC 150399 wrote:

You’re still talking about a couple thousand people, in an area with 6 million. And the number of those people who will move into or out of the area in the shakeup is smaller still. Lots of new staff are here for other jobs already and most from the outgoing administration will stick around.

But you dont disagree that we are idiots??

[TwoWheelsDC]

@rcannon100 150401 wrote:

But you dont disagree that we are idiots??

Executive Branchers? “Idiots” is an understatement.

[creadinger]

@sjclaeys 150395 wrote:

I’ll let the author of the comment explain what group they were referring to, but it was still making a generalization.

I was talking about exactly what I said. A change in the administration. We haven’t had a change like this in 8 years. So in my opinion there’s likely to be a lot of new to DC drivers who could get confused and do stupid shit. It’s possible the amount of new people coming in is less than I expect, but apparently there could be a few thousand new staffers, and most of those will cluster in the center of the city. Could 1 bad driver mess up an entire day’s commute. Yes. And considering some of the “circles”, one-way roads and bike lanes in this city confuse the shit out of long time residents it’s possible that the new comers will also get extremely confused. Is bad city driving limited to Republicans? No. e.g. MontCo. How’s that for a generalization?

If I’m wrong about the newcomers, great. Generalizations? Whatevs. We humans evolved to generalize and prejudge things in the environment to quickly assess – will it kill me and/or can I eat it. It’s in our DNA.

[drevil]

@creadinger 150421 wrote:

If I’m wrong about the newcomers, great. Generalizations? Whatevs. We humans evolved to generalize and prejudge things in the environment to quickly assess – will it kill me and/or can I eat it. It’s in our DNA.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12957[/ATTACH]

[slowtriguy]

Me: riding southbound in the right side of the left-hand lane on West St. in Falls Church, approaching Broad

You: Driver of a dark SUV, pulling out of the left-hand lane and driving SB in the in the right-hand lane

Me: Going straight legally at the green light to cross Broad

You: Going straight ILLEGALLY at the green light to cross Broad, from a lane clearly marked RIGHT TURN ONLY

Please don’t do that. Call me unreasonable, but I generally dislike nearly getting hit from behind by someone too impatient to stay in the proper lane.

[Rockford10]

@slowtriguy 150612 wrote:

Me: riding southbound in the right side of the left-hand lane on West St. in Falls Church, approaching Broad

You: Driver of a dark SUV, pulling out of the left-hand lane and driving SB in the in the right-hand lane

Me: Going straight legally at the green light to cross Broad

You: Going straight ILLEGALLY at the green light to cross Broad, from a lane clearly marked RIGHT TURN ONLY

Please don’t do that. Call me unreasonable, but I generally dislike nearly getting hit from behind by someone too impatient to stay in the proper lane.

This is why I totally take the center of the (left hand) lane and don’t let people go around there. I usually make the first left after Broad St., right after the Taco Hell, and have been passed on the right too many times!

[Author]

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