We should take the cyclists out and shoot them

CramCycle

magicbastarder wrote: »

the typical - albeit very hard to police - response would be 'you should let cars with three or more occupants use them'. which is a nice idea, but i can't see it working easily.

I wouldn't be against the Diamond lane idea on roads like the N11.

Have a bus lane, a diamond lane and regular traffic. Cameras at every junction with some sort of recognition software.

If nothing else it would either be revenue generating or would reduce traffic immensely (people filling up or turning to bikes or buses).

Bunnyhopper

Cienciano wrote: »

He's obviously on a wind up. […] "Hate speech"? You're having a laugh.

He (and possibly you) might regard it as a bit a wind up, just a laugh, but the problem is that this sort of comment, particularly when it comes from a prominent public figure, risks reinforcing more broadly held hostile attitudes to cyclists and cycling.

Comments like "Cyclist should be dragged out and shot", "They should be run off the road", "I'll flatten the next one of those ****s I see", or even less violent things like, "They don't pay road tax so they shouldn't be on our roads", all reinforce a sense that any cyclist is fair game for the aggression of other frustrated road users.

Someone with that angry mindset can feel more justified in their anger and aggression when they can reassure themselves that it's a feeling they share with Michael O'Leary (or Jeremy Clarkson or James Martin or Shane Warne or Nigel Havers or whatever eejit it is this time).

'Hate speech' isn't a laugh when it lends succour to someone who leans out of a car to push a cyclist into a ditch; who tries to hit them with a bottle thrown out a car window; who aims their car at them to try to ram them off the road; who swerves at them, pins them to the kerb or passes too close and too fast, just to 'teach the stupid cyclist a lesson'; or who does any of the other nasty and aggressive things that do happen to cyclists from time to time - many of them suffered and reported by posters on this forum.

They're all dangerous and hateful, and they're certainly not a laugh when you're on the receiving end of them.

Even when you step back from that sort of overt hostility, stupid and irresponsible public comments like O'Leary's undermine the efforts of planners to make cycling safer by making the road and traffic networks themselves less hostile to cycling. The representative from the SFA had the sense to distance himself from the 'shoot them' idiocy, but his contributions were still ill-informed, divisive and deeply unhelpful.

Red Kev

I somehow doubt that O'Leary has the actual balls to say something like this when Ryanair launch their next flights in Denmark, Holland or Germany.

He knows that there would be an enormous backlash against them.

flatface

If I was driving from Mullingar every day I would be an evangelist for cycling. everyone cycling except for me would be a clear road nirvana.

I'm not sure why any 'hardcore' motorist would want me driving too, strange.

harringtonp

velo.2010 wrote: »

He says he's driving himself so I assume he sold his taxi then? If he hasn't and is driving without a separate driver and not metering his journeys then he's in breach of taxi carriage rules. Knowing Michael, he wouldn't care and would probably just laugh at the fine!

Have always like o learys manner. Shooting cyclists is as way out as charging for a piss on planes or having people stand so you can pack more in. Basically he doesn't give a **** what peoples reaction is or how outrageous his sound bites are. It's all about media coverage. And it works !

You have to enjoy people's reaction to it, most are cool about it but a few get really worked up

tomasrojo

harringtonp wrote: »

Shooting cyclists is as way out as charging for a piss on planes or having people stand so you can pack more in.

It's considerably more "way out".

"Take them out and shoot them" is also a completely hackneyed formulation beloved of people who can't write actual jokes.

tomasrojo

It's not the first time he's used the phrase publicly, incidentally:

Elaborating on his comparison with the board of Fas, Mr O'Leary went on: "It's ministers' representatives, the trade union movement, representatives of the aged and the infirm and everything else. You want people there who can actually run an airline and make a contribution. What has their [the board's] contribution been in the last two years? Aer Lingus costs have gone up by 18 per cent per passenger, they've raised the fares, increased the fuel surcharges, all these ministers and government representatives. Just take 'em out and shoot them. Useless."

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/oleary-take-them-out-and-shoot-them-26497655.html

‘Screw the travel agents. Take the f****rs out and shoot them. What have they done for passengers over the years?’

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/news/travel-agents-take-them-out-and-shoot-them-ryanair-chief-olearys-classic-words-of-wisdom-28498554.html

(Searching for "take them out and shoot them" on DuckDuckGo on the default International setting returns lots of Michael O'Leary advocating the taking out and shooting of various people, even excluding the latest cyclist-related one. He seems to be especially fond of the phrase.)

tomasrojo

We want to annoy the ****ers whenever we can. The best thing you can do with environmentalists is shoot them.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/shortcuts/2013/nov/08/michael-o-leary-33-daftest-quotes

It just gets funnier the more he uses it, doesn't it? So smart, so very funny.

tomasrojo

I would shoot any consultant who came through my door.

http://quotes4all.net/michael-o-leary-quotes

Priceless! I wish I had a tenth of his wit.

tomasrojo

European Commission regulators will rule on the Ryanair-Aer Lingus tie-up by February, but Mr O'Leary is already fearful. Asked if he was considering any sweeteners for the regulators, he responded: "No, you don't want to sweeten regulators, you want to shoot them."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/ryanair-sketches-plan-to-dominate-europes-skies-8282980.html

NeedMoreGears

The problem with this type of comment is that it adds weight to a view that cyclists are somehow less human than others. It contributes to a subtle but significant erosion of the perceived worth of a group of people. This has two consequences

a). Some will see it as a license to behave in a manner that either actively or passively compromises the safety of cyclists because cyclists don't matter as much.

b). Many will be less receptive to the idea of giving cyclists a fair break in general

Imagine if he replaced the word "cyclist" with <race, creed, sexual orientation.....> - it's not that different really.

Chips Lovell

Anyone who takes O'Leary seriously is beyond help.

Leroy42

I never take MOl too seriously (apart from the fact he is a great business man) and many of his 'pronouncements' are nothing more than PR stunts.

However, this one does cross a line, IMO.

He is treating cyclists as a single group, classed together because of one common trait without taking into account the myriad of differences within that group. It is exactly the same as people treat women, black people, travellers etc etc.

Would people see it as nothing but a laugh if he had said that all black cyclists should be taken out and shot, or simply all black people?
What is different in this to the stuff that Trump says about Mexicans, or women etc?

The fact that he is a very successful businessman, one the country can rightly be proud of, does not excuse this behaviour.

Would the same people who say we should just forget about it say the same if he said that all football supporters should be shot, or disabled people? So even those that say it has no effect are accepting that cyclists can be treated differently, which by itself is unhelpful.

Is it a hate crime, don't know, but it is certainly ignorant and prejudiced and has the potential to cause problems for others based on nothing more than a single identifiable trait.

Roadhawk

Michael O'Leary for taoiseach

brocbrocach

harringtonp wrote: »

Have always like o learys manner. Shooting cyclists is as way out as charging for a piss on planes or having people stand so you can pack more in. Basically he doesn't give a **** what peoples reaction is or how outrageous his sound bites are. It's all about media coverage. And it works !

You have to enjoy people's reaction to it, most are cool about it but a few get really worked up

I don't get how it benefits him or Ryanair to be in the media for that. Who looks at that and says 'God he's gas, I'll buy a few tickets abroad with the outrageous guy'?

Roadhawk

brocbrocach wrote: »

I don't get how it benefits him or Ryanair to be in the media for that. Who looks at that and says 'God he's gas, I'll buy a few tickets abroad with the outrageous guy'?

I agree, it looks like he's finally addressing a real problem worth addressing.;)

smacl

Roadhawk wrote: »

Michael O'Leary for taoiseach

Arrogant príck who clearly disdains the peasants who worked so hard to put him in the lofty position he now enjoys. Sounds like an ideal candidate.

OleRodrigo

Good article a few weeks ago in the Guardian about the man who mentored Trump on media strategy. Basically, the more outrageous your comments, remarks etc..the better. Tabloids love that stuff.

O'Leary is the same. So is that blundering, fumbling, bellowing half-wit..George Hook.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/20/roy-cohn-donald-trump-joseph-mccarthy-rosenberg-trial

Captain Havoc

OleRodrigo wrote: »

Good article a few weeks ago in the Guardian about the man who mentored Trump on media strategy. Basically, the more outrageous your comments, remarks etc..the better. Tabloids love that stuff.

O'Leary is the same. So is that blundering, fumbling, bellowing half-wit..George Hook.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/20/roy-cohn-donald-trump-joseph-mccarthy-rosenberg-trial

There's no such thing as bad publicity

doozerie

Roadhawk wrote: »

Michael O'Leary for taoiseach

If we are being turkeys and voting for Christmas (given that O’Leary almost certainly really wants the roads cleared not just of cyclists but of anyone in/on any mode of transport that might impede him), then why not Trump for US President too? Wouldn’t that be nice. We’d all go to hell in a handcart together.

But in an uncomfortable handcart with standing room only. And no toilets. And it’ll only drop us off somewhere vaguely within the general region of hell, we’ll have to do the last leg of the journey ourselves.

But by no means can we travel along the highway to hell, ‘cos that’s just for O’Leary and his car. He stamped his feet so much, and held his breath for so long, that even Satan capitulated and gave O’Leary the entire road to himself just to be shot (Satan is a divil for irony) of him.

Bloggsie

Roadhawk wrote: »

Michael O'Leary for taoiseach

is he not already running the country?

MOL reminds me of the drunk uncle at a family event, spouting nonsense, farting, belching etc, probably end up prancing with his tie around his head to metalica playing an imaginary guitar!

jjpep

Roadhawk wrote: »

Michael O'Leary for taoiseach

Roadhawk for learning more 'jokes'

Roadhawk

In a week where Michael O'Leary says cyclists should be 'taken out and shot', Dublin Live finds 1 in 5 of fined cyclists last year were in Dublin.

http://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/75-spot-fines-issued-cyclists-11297782

ThisRegard

Roadhawk wrote: »

In a week where Michael O'Leary says cyclists should be 'taken out and shot', Dublin Live finds 1 in 5 of fined cyclists last year were in Dublin.

http://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/75-spot-fines-issued-cyclists-11297782

And what's the ratio of cyclists vs the rest of the country? What I find surprising is that it's not more, that's pretty low, Dublin cyclists are great.

Edit, and as I type this Hook is on another rant about cyclists.

cython

Roadhawk wrote: »

In a week where Michael O'Leary says cyclists should be 'taken out and shot', Dublin Live finds 1 in 5 of fined cyclists last year were in Dublin.

http://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/75-spot-fines-issued-cyclists-11297782

And? Is this that far out of proportion with the per-capita rates of cycling? Have you anything to offer beyond parroting an incredibly badly written article? For example, one instance of astounding stupidity in that "article" - somehow 444 of 588 is simultaneously "75%" (not too far wrong, to be fair), but also "1 in 5 of fined cyclists". In fact the general grammar of the page you have linked actually makes my brain sore, so excuse me for wondering what point exactly you are trying to make with this.

Beasty

Well firstly 1 in 5 is not what the figures show - it's 75% or 3 in 4. I've no idea what they are trying to suggest with that headline.

More interesting is the comment at the end of that article

Garda figures show in 2014 there were 13 cycling deaths, 9 in 2015 and 2 so far in 2016.
Commenting on the decrease "the number of cycling fatalities has drastically reduced which is very welcomed.


"The more cyclists there are, the safer it becomes as other road users become more accustomed to seeing and interacting with them."

ie ie it's better to get more cyclists on the road

tomasrojo

All the same it is, as ever, very strange (though I'm well used to it) to see officials investing time in the deep meaning of what is mostly statistical noise.

(Fatalities per year have definitely fallen over the last twenty years, but you need a larger window than five months to get a meaningful picture, especially with such inherently small figures.)

cdaly_

tomasrojo wrote: »

All the same it is, as ever, very strange (though I'm well used to it) to see officials investing time in the deep meaning of what is mostly statistical noise.

(Fatalities per year have definitely fallen over the last twenty years, but you need a larger window than five months to get a meaningful picture, especially with such inherently small figures.)

Not at all strange. How many public officials are (or have on their staff) trained statisticians?

On the other hand, how many public officials (or their staff) are capable* of creating a graph in a spreadsheet program?...




*Admittedly, this may be a small number also...

traprunner

Roadhawk wrote: »

In a week where Michael O'Leary says cyclists should be 'taken out and shot', Dublin Live finds 1 in 5 of fined cyclists last year were in Dublin.

http://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/75-spot-fines-issued-cyclists-11297782

Nice to see the Daily Mirror keeping up their standard of journalism.

snubbleste

O'Leary on a rant on Newstalk at the moment. Podcast will be up shortly

Called cyclists "dim and stoopid" and referred to Dublin City as being "run by cyclists" for the benefit of 11k cyclists and what about the 1.8m motorists...