Letters to the Editor
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Joan Walsh
It didn't load yeasterday but saw it fine today. I think Joan is looking great out there. Your are holding your own. keep up the good work. You make us proud!
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SF Has No Values For Joan To Defend
Minivan's rude introduction to Critical Smash
Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
It was supposed to be a birthday night out for the kids in San Francisco, but instead turned into a Critical Mass horror show -- complete with a pummeled car, a smashed rear window and little children screaming in terror.
The spontaneous Critical Mass bike rides, in which thousands of free-spirited cyclists roam the city, have been a fixture on the last Friday night of the month since the early 1990s. But even bike-weary cops, who have seen their share of traffic disturbances and minor skirmishes, weren't prepared for what happened during the latest exercise of pedal power.
Here's the story:
Susan Ferrando, her husband, their two children and three preteens had come to San Francisco from Redwood City to celebrate the birthday of Ferrando's 11-year-old daughter. They went to Japantown, where they enjoyed shopping and taking in the blooming cherry blossoms.
Things took a turn for the worse at about 9 p.m., when the family was leaving Japantown -- just as the party of about 3,000 bikers was winding down its monthly red-lights-be-damned ride through the city.
Suddenly, Ferrando said, her car was surrounded by hundreds of cyclists.
Not being from San Francisco, Ferrando thought she might have inadvertently crossed paths with a bicycle race and couldn't figure out why the police, who she had just passed, hadn't warned her.
Confusion, however, quickly turned to terror, she said, when the swarming cyclists began wildly circling around and then running into the sides of her Toyota van.
Filled with panic, Ferrando said, she started inching forward until coming to a stop at Post and Gough streets, where she was surrounded by bikers on all sides.
A biker in front blocked her as another biker began pounding on the windshield. Another was pounding on her window. Another pounded the other side.
"It seemed like they were using their bikes as weapons,'' Ferrando said. One of the bikers then threw his bike -- shattering the rear window and terrifying the young girls inside.
All the while, Ferrando was screaming, "There are children in this car! There are children in this car!"
She had the presence of mind to dial 911 on her cell phone -- and within minutes, the squad of motorcycle cops who were assigned to keep an eye on the ride descended on the scene.
The cyclists were loudly demanding that Ferrando be arrested for hit and run.
According to police, Ferrando had allegedly tapped one of the cyclists' tires.
When the alleged bicycle victim was approached, however, he said he wasn't hurt. He also refused to give his name or any other information.
Then, after a few swear words, the alleged victim took off on his bike while the rest of the crowd continued to yell at both the cops and the van.
Sgt. Ed Callejas -- the lead cop on the scene and a veteran of Critical Mass rides since their inception -- said he'd never seen anything like it before.
"I've seen the bikes swarm cars, and scratch them as they go by. I've seen guys get out of their cars and start fighting with the bikers, but if you had seen the faces on those little girls in tears,'' Callejas said. "All I could do was apologize for what they had been through."
The sergeant suggested that Ferrando write a letter to the mayor.
Estimated damage to the car: $5,300.
For Callejas and other cops assigned to the bike ride, Critical Mass has long been a study in contradictions.
For starters, San Francisco is a "green" city, and bike riding is about as green as you can get -- yet residents and commuters complain endlessly about getting trapped in the rides.
The city tries to ignore the unplanned rides, but there are always cops on hand to monitor the gatherings, even though any kind of traffic planning is impossible because no route is announced.
And even though the rides are held every month, Critical Mass has no organized leadership -- so no one can be held accountable for the group's actions.
In 1997, then-Mayor Willie Brown tried to control the rides. The result was anarchy and mass arrests.
Since then, the rides have shrunk in size. The city's generally hands-off attitude leaves cops as little more than bystanders.
"We sit there and they just go right through the red lights,'' Sgt. Callejas said. "What else can we do? Arrest one rider while 500 keep going?
"The only way to control this is through a massive effort by police and the Sheriff's Department,'' he said.
As for reaction from City Hall, Mayor Gavin Newsom said such acts of violence -- if true -- "only serve to undermine the worthwhile message of Critical Mass, which is to raise the awareness of bike transportation issues."
The mayor also said that -- if the charges are grounded -- he expected the attackers to be "punished to the greatest extent of the law."
Riiight.
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Nicely Handled, Ms. Walsh
So well done, Joan. Grace and a sense of humor trump nastiness every time. Keep up the good work.
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"ScarCo"
Scary name for a scary show.
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Sam, your point?
Is Joan Walsh the equivalent of an out-of-control bicyclist? Something lacking in the logic.
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Critical Mass
Just for the record--I don't believe it. Stories about Critical Mass similar to this have been posted before and they turn out to be blown way out of proportion, if not outright lies once investigated. Same thing happened in Seattle and was debunked.
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Bravo
Well done, Joan! You were graceful, intelligent, articulate, and immensely likeable. I look forward to more of your appearances.
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Here is exactly what is wrong with Joan Walsh's on-air persona
The problem with Joan Walsh's on-air persona is.....okay, Joan, do I have your attention now? I want you to read this letter.
I had never seen you in person and the only image I had of you was based on the Salon cartoon. My impression after seeing this is that you're somebody I respect. You seem like people I know and look up to who are professional and thoughtful and nice (but with spine guiding the niceness).
No no no, people, I am not fawning over Joan. Give me a break.
Anyway, you practically made the veins pop out of Pat Buchanan's head with the silly "Is San Francisco liberal a legitimate term?" debate. He seemed to be stuck on that question long after it mattered.
It's funny how "San Francisco liberal" is used as the boogeyman term as if there's something inherently sinister about being from a large metropolitan city full of hills and prohibitively expensive rental units. (Imagine if "Phoenix liberal" or "Milwaukee liberal" were used as a slur.) The way Newt Gingrich used the term masked his lack of any real argument against Pelosi's trip.
I liked the way Joan Walsh came out swinging, going on the offensive about Gingrich's adultery and the fact that a Republican also went to Syria. The whole anti-Pelosi-in-Syria thing is a fake controversy anyway, just another tactic the GOP and White House are using to distract attention from Alberto Gonzalez, ongoing Iraq violence and myriad other corruptions. God forbid a U.S. congressman should ever travel to an important country in a volatile region and have dialogue with its leaders.
I actually think Joe Scarborough is a relatively even-handed pundit herder compared to all the other Fox-News hacks. He has one of those voices where the volume seems perpetually stuck at one level, but he does seem to maintain a sense of humor and keep his ego at bay, unlike "Shill Bill" O'Reilly.
Please Joan, appear on TV more often. I'd like to see you on the Colbert Show but I'd settle for more Fox or CNN programs.