stopped running to tell a fellow cyclist to wear a helmet... (Page 4)

I'm all for each of us pushing our agenda!  It's what ultimately makes the world a better place.  If no one ever pushed their own agenda, the world would be a very boring and we'd still be living in caves and throwing sticks at each other!

Lambasting?  Whoa, I need to go back to the OP....

................"you should get a helmet bro!!!"......

Well that bat rastard!  He ought not be lambasting people like this!! 

~Mike

As you are well aware Mike, by Page 4 there is almost always very little reference to the OP in responses ........ by that late in a thread the 100+ other comments in it are subject to inclusion in future responses. 

(i.e. - we can conjecture that the OP's intent was not a lambaste at all, but you can be sure that there are plenty in the thread that can be construed that way)

Case in point - a couple I know thinks sunblock causes cancer. So they never put any on their kids, and their kids get burns to the point of blisters. There's no LAW that says they have to put sunblock, but they are making a choice that I think is idiotic even though it's their kids, their decision. And I say so, often. Or the parents that smoke in the car with their kids inside and the windows rolled up. They are LEGALLY allowed to do it, but it's my right to declare my opinion that I think they're wrong to do so. They are not here to defend themselves, but I will still say their decision is IDIOTIC.

I may not agree with anti-abortionists but I support their right to protest what they feel is wrong. That's part of being in a free society.

I don't think it's wrong to stand up to stupidity (or what in my opinion is stupid). That's how opinions get changed and people learn something. But I would never actually prevent you from doing something legal. I've had my opinion changed on a great many things, and I'm grateful for it.

Preventing people from arguing or stating opinions simply to spare feelings is wrong - that's how things get changed. Or at least thought about.

So if I see someone that is clearly 300+ lbs and I invite them to the gym, am I not judging that individual and pushing an agenda?

If I see someone who is hurting emotionally having just gone thru a rough divorce and I invite them to my church and I not judging that individual and pushing an agenda?

If I see a homeless person on the street and offer them a meal and a few bucks am I not judging that idividual and pushing an agenda?

Point is, we ALL judge other people all the time.  The humanity in us compells some of us to offer what we perceive as a "better way".  Nothing wrong with that.

~Mike

No Rick, you are not stupid.....you just made a stupid decision.  It doesn't mean you are a bad person....just mean that you're using poor judgement.  

Why do I feel like I'm talking to my kids....

Assume that is red fond...not sure I did that right.

~Mike

BTW, I graduated Laudy How Cum?...in EE.

~Mike

Not really red font, but I can guarantee no one will miss that sentence!

That's the second time you've made a statement about talking to a kid in reference to me.  Just because I build Legos and play Wii all the time doesn't mean I'm not an adult.

(Use the button on the left, not the highlight one).

I agree.  The guy can wear a helmet or not, that's his business.  But I don't see anything wrong with OP trying to make a positive difference by suggesting to the fellow cyclist he might want to wear one.  If he doesn't listen, his choice.  But he may talk to his buddies afterwards and reflect on the issue and change his mind on the helmet issue.  It seems to me what OP did harms noone, but may produce a positive outcome.  Not all of us get so defensive about opposing points of view.  I don't mind opposing points of view, sometimes it's through discussions / debates that our positions evolve.

I feel the same why when I see someone smoking in a car with children....or an infant in the car seat.  Just burns me up.  In an effort to be a more engaged citizen, when I see this I take out my 9mm and shoot the windows out of the car to give the baby some fresh air. 

Did I mention I am a "person of interet" in a local investigation?

Kidding!  Uh...about my 9mm....I carry a 45.  OK, stop.  Sometimes I lose control of my rapier-like wit.

~Mike

I am of the opinion let em ride without a helmet, but here is a different angle since people say it doesn't impact them. If I were to get into a bike crash with the helmetless individual on a shared use path (I was at fault).. if he sustains injuries due to not wearing a helmet, if I get sued or have to cover medical bills, whatever.. how does him not wearing a helmet play into the judgment/payout etc?

Excellent point.  There is a case in Toronto this wk where a cyclist who was not wearing a helmet was killed.  The driver who was the former Attorney General was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death (max 14yr imprisonment) and criminal negligence causing death (max life imprisonment).  If the cyclist was injured and not dead, I presume the driver would be charged with the lesser offence of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm (max 10yr imprisonment) and criminal negligence causing bodily harm (max 10yr imprisonment).  BTW, the cyclist not only was not wearing a helmet, he may have been drunk!

x2.