Last night the Advocacy and Education/Outreach committees met for our annual, in-person barbecue. We had 27 full-size people, plus 4 pint-size ones (it’s still ok to say that about kids, right?) show up. If you’re wondering if this is always the case, it is not. But something is brewing in our community lately. There’s an air of… what would you call it? Urgency? Excitement?
I always think that the words escape me because English is technically my third language, but this time, I don’t think the reason is my inability to speak 3 languages very well.
The reason is that the community is finding its place, and the bike people are ready and willing to stand up and make a change.
This week someone shared a clip of Nick Cave on the Late Show with Stephen Colbertand in it Nick said, “Hopefulness is not a neutral position — it is adversarial. It is the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism. Each redemptive or loving act, as small as you like — such as reading to your little boy, showing him something you love, singing him a song, or putting on his shoes — keeps the devil down in the hole.”
Bike advocacy is that. Riding a bike is that. Finding your people is that.
Thank you for being on the other side of this missive. Thank you for supporting our advocacy on your behalf.
Whether you’re a member, or still on the fence, it doesn’t matter. We’ll continue to be adversarially hopeful for you.