Motorcyclist detained after riding through San Francisco health care protest

[duncang]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by DonViejo (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: CBS News

SAN FRANCISCO — A man who allegedly rode his motorcycle through a crowd of activists blocking a San Francisco street during a Wednesday afternoon protest against the GOP health care bill was detained by police after the dangerous stunt.

CBS San Francisco reports protesters had gathered outside the San Francisco Federal Building at 7th and Mission streets at around 12:30 p.m. and were conducting a "die-in," in which a group of around 20 people laid down on Seventh Street to block traffic, when the incident occurred.
Trump protests around the world
101 Photos
Trump protests around the world

Emily Lee, a spokeswoman for the group Bay Resistance, which organized the protest along with Senior and Disability Action, said the man drove up on a red motorcycle, traveling the wrong way on Seventh Street.

"Everyone thought he was just confused, but he didn't stop, and at some point it became clear he was going to come through the crowd and people jumped out of the way," Lee said.



Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/motorcyclist-detained-after-riding-through-san-francisco-health-care-protest/

[bagelsforbreakfast]

1. someone should have "clotheslined" him. n/m

[juxtaposed]

3. not nice, maybe shoved an object in his spokes!

[juxtaposed]

2. nazi dip shit on roids

[Buckeye_Democrat]

4. Security: Hire the kid who rammed into the motorcyclist in California the other day.

[cab67]

5. I'm probably going to make myself unpopular here -

but except for narrow circumstances, traffic blockages are a very unintelligent form of protest.

They work if the people being blocked are those who could affect change and, usually, those who are not aligned with the cause being promoted by the protest.

Please note, I am NOT defending the motorcyclist. He should be prosecuted. But I really dislike traffic blockages - they may have worked with the Civil Rights movement, but they won't make a difference here and they actually aggravate those who support the good side.

[cstanleytech]

7. Except he went the wrong way down a one way on purpose toward the protesters which would

tend to imply that he could have gone other ways to avoid the protesters entirely and thus any claims his attorney might try to make that he was frustrated over being blocked would kind of fly out the window you would think.

[cab67]

13. I was not speaking in defense of the motorcyclist.

He should be prosecuted, as I said.

[duncang]

8. As far as I know it was a organized protest.

In other words it was probably permitted.

[cab67]

14. whether it was permitted isn't the issue for me.

Whether blocking traffic, for any length of time, has a positive impact on the causes we all promote - including making sure Obamacare is not overturned for something like Trumpcare - is. And as far as I can tell, it doesn't.

[tazkcmo]

16. I doubt the protesters considered your or others people's disapproval

Then again, maybe they did and I don't meant this in snark but maybe they decided peoples' inconvenience is unfortunate but necessary. One reason for a protest like this as I'm sure you're aware is to simply raise awareness, not necessarily to gain support. In the case of the Senates health care bill, it's an effective form of protest because no matter how irritated a person is about the resultant traffic congestion, it's highly unlikely that it will cause a person to support that bill or other wise alter their general position on the subject. They either believe health care is a fundamental human need and right or they consider it a commodity to be bought and sold on the market, traffic be damned.

It gets the word out really well because of commuters complaining about the traffic jam these protesters created, the conversation will eventually turn to the actual bill. Without the traffic jam and inconvenience, the conversation may never take place. I acknowledge you don't like it and I'm not asking you to, either. Traffic sucks on a good day.

[cab67]

20. The conversation doesn't always turn around to the reason for the protest.

First - I acknowledge a couple of differences between this protest and the traffic blockages that really turned me against the practice:

1. This particular protest appears to have been organized (and announced) in advance. I was unaware of this (blame incomplete reading on my part) when I made my first comment. People know they're coming and, in general, they're organized to allow emergency traffic or alternative routes for those going somewhere.

Spontaneous traffic blockages really piss people off and tend to be the focus of attention. Interstate 80 was blocked for a while near my home after Trump was announced as the president-elect; nearly all of the news coverage was directed toward the families who were trying to get to a local hospital to visit relatives in the ICU. Likewise, when BLM blocked highway exit ramps leading to airports, the media spent more time covering people who missed flights as a result of the action.

2. This particular protest had a specific goal - block Trumpcare. Other traffic blockage protests have not been so centered. Consider some of the BLM protests - what, exactly, did they intend to accomplish beyond making people aware of police violence toward African Americans? Were they protesting for or against specific legislation, or individual political officials or police officers? (Protests organized in reaction to specific acts of police brutality often call for a specific officer's dismissal and prosecution, but not all BLM protests did.) Likewise - what, exactly, did those who blocked freeways in reaction to Trump's "election" hope to accomplish? Again, the news reports focused on the outcome relative to travellers and commuters, not the reasons for the protest.

[Bradical79]

17. When I think of the most well known protests, I think of people in the streets

How many took place on sidewalks so as not to inconvenience motorists?

[cab67]

21. The difference (which I missed in the context of this particular protest) is advance notice.

Spontaneous traffic blockages tend to annoy people without advancing the cause. But if people know they're coming, disruption is minimized.

[Blues Heron]

23. We'll make sure to clear it with you guys next time LOL

[deurbano]

10. My daughter was there. It was arranged with police. Just a ten minute protest.

The guy took matters into his own hands at seven minutes. Many of the protestors were disabled (like my daughter, who uses a wheelchair) or elderly.

San Francisco has lots of much longer road closures for more frivolous reasons all the time.

[Honeycombe8]

18. +1. It's also against the law, I believe, to block traffic.

That's interfering with others' rights to be free to travel and move around.

That doesn't excuse the motorcyclist.

[cstanleytech]

6. That wasnt a stunt it was clearly premeditated and he should be charged to the max. nt

[jpak]

9. But none call it Terrah

just because the biker dude was a white MAGA-queen.

yup

[PSPS]

11. This doesn't belong in LBN.

The event and the article is several days old.

[cagefreesoylentgreen]

12. This gem

This real gem of a deplorable ran a Facebook group called "The White Privilege Club" and calls his own Asian-descent wife a "slant eye import."



Read it here: https://nextshark.com/man-ran-white-privilege-club-calls-asian-wife-slant-eye-import/

[deurbano]

15. Disgusting. My daughter was at the die-in. I'm going to tell her they should rally outside

the SF company for which he works.

[Bear Creek]

19. Legitimizing

[link:https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029241759|

North Carolina, North Dakota and Tennessee are trying to make this legal. All I could think of was those terrible attacks in London. They want to be the terrorists? I guess if it a right winger acting out it is patriotism.

[dembotoz]

22. Wonder if his motorcycle insurance company knows about this

Doubt he cares, but I bet his agent just shit a brick

[Bengus81]

24. Nah....he didn't have a clue,he was all "confused"!!

Funny how those Replican THUGS get caught they turn into an instant snowflake and had NO IDEA they were or could hurt anyone.

[DonViejo]

25. Locking...

Published June 22, 2017, 7:14 AM, posted in the LBN Forum Jun 24, 2017, 06:50 PM way over 12 hours old.

From the SOP of the LBN Forum:

Post the latest news from reputable mainstream news websites and blogs. Important news of national interest only. No analysis or opinion pieces. No duplicates. News stories must have been published within the last 12 hours. Use the published title of the story as the title of the discussion thread.