Photo by Stephanie Keith / Getty
I’m sure you’re on the edge of reading-fatigue as the world’s largest civil rights protest has engulfed all aspects of your life. It is important, however, to note that these two-wheeled mechanisms we ride are inherently political. The New Yorker has a great piece on how this politicized form of transportation has played a crucial role in the current protests:
“A week ago, on Wednesday night, the third night of a citywide curfew in New York, police officers were seen confiscating bicycles. Posts on social media described N.Y.P.D. officers violently seizing bikes from peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrators, who were continuing to march in defiance of the 8 p.m.. lockdown. In one widely shared video clip, a jittery camera captured a cop wheeling an apparently commandeered bike; a woman can be heard screaming at police, asking why bikes are being taken, and how protesters are supposed to travel home. Another piece of viral footage, retweeted by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among others, shows three policemen clubbing a cyclist with batons on a Manhattan street. It’s unclear whether the man was arrested, or what became of his bicycle.”
If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. Head on over to the New Yorker.
