response to critical mass media dialogue

i feel that a considerable amount of the hostility and violence toward critical mass stems from the considerable amount of hostility and violence we have inside of us, having been conditioned to believe in the icon of the machine in all its permutations: efficiency, power, supremacy, perfection, war and violence.

as part of the power of this icon, we see cars as having a supreme and unassailable right to dominate what is ultimately public space. we forget that that space has been shaped almost exclusively by corporations without regard to what is in our best interests as a society. since public space has for so long been controlled by a few private interests, our very thoughts become shaped by their interests and we lose the ability to even envision a society that works for the majority. in this case, we see a traffic jam and, so long as it is comprised of cars, it's okay. but substitute cars for bikes (a far less consumptive mode of travel that benefits fewer private interests), and suddenly there's a problem.

where does this "thinking" come from? if we can really take a moment to ponder that question deeply, we may see that we have been conditioned to think in this way by those in whose interest it is that we do. it is no coincidence that more than half of all the major daily newspapers in canada are owned by one corporation; that five people own almost all the media we consume. the effects of being born and raised in programming (it's called that for a reason) are so staggering we can barely comprehend them.

when we can finally separate how we feel from how we have been trained to feel about critical mass, and community use of space, only then can we truly begin to make choices that benefit ourselves and others.

may all beings be peaceful.