[Closed] cyclist kicks toddler...

That's not a cyclist, that's some scrote riding a bike.

Media is great at fueling hate for cyclists.

surely the headline should be

baghead kicks toddler..

still, I can't say that I blame him... toddlers are noisy selfish little creatures

Scheme goblin on a bike does not a cyclist make.

That's not a cyclist, that's some scrote riding a bike.

Man in Leith boots small child,there happened to be a bike involved.
Read that [s]pish[/s] this morning

Probably the same point that some trainer sporting trackie wearing smack head ceases to be an athlete

This isn't going to end well,is it?

This isn't going to end well,is it?

Can't we just have a [s]rant[/s] nice debate about what defines a cyclist 😉

"Bicycle thief kicks toddler" perhaps?

What is a cyclist then? When does a bloke on the street stop being some random fella and become a cyclist?
I'm not having a pop as it's a genuine question

"walker kicks man to death outside pub" ?

What is a cyclist then? When does a bloke on the street stop being some random fella and become a cyclist?
I'm not having a pop as it's a genuine question. A scrote on a bike is a cyclist at that point in time, as am I. I then change to a driver when I get in the car and a resident when sitting on my sofa.
I agree on two points, he was indeed a scrote and the press do like to fuel hate for cyclists. But what is a cyclist?

If the guy had been on foot and had run past and kicked the child, in his jeans and hoody, would the headline have been 'Jogger sought....' No.

When does a bloke on the street stop being some random fella and become a cyclist?

For the purposes of reporting an event: the point at which whether he's riding a bike becomes so integral to the story that it must be included in the headline.

This incident would be just as accurately described with the headline "Man sought for kicking toddler on Edinburgh path."

Unless you have some sort of image to project.

If your retired mam takes medication for her heart and wins the lottery, would the headline read 'unemployed drug addict scoops a windfall'?

If the guy had been on foot and had run past and kicked the child, in his jeans and hoody, would the headline have been 'Jogger sought....' No.

What I was trying to say, but more succinctly 🙂

when the press use headlines like that...is it to give the rest of us a bad name?

Anyone on a bike is a cyclist, same as anyone in a car is a motorist. The difference being, everyone by comparson (figuratively) is a motorist so the word is almost meaningless/indefinable. Cyclist on the other still means me who is committed and enthusiastic, has a sense of decorum and responsibility (aren't I a nice guy) and the **** on a BSO in his joggers and puffa jacket swinging a plastic bag from the handlebars and trundling through the red light on Geo IV bridge this morning.

I appreciate and understand how the press uses the term cyclist, the point I was looking at was the "he's not a cyclist" comment. We have line where we can differentiate between a bloke on a bike and a cyclist and it's something I've used in conversations with non-cycling friends. I was looking for alternative views only or clarity for myself.

it gives the rest of us a bad name

It certainly does.. And the fact that we are viewed as a single entity was illustrated beautifully when I stopped on a sustrans route recently to discuss the use of bicycle bells with an angry old lady who was out walking her dog..

I was very helpful and understanding and feel that I placated her anti-cyclist stance somewhat, but as we parted company she asked me if I would be good enough to pass on her views 'to all the other cyclists'!! 😯

Thing is, he was on a bike. The police want people to remember a bloke on a bike to see if they can find him. If the report just said 'bloke kicked toddler' and then didn't mention that he was on a bike then people wouldn't be thinking about whether they had seen a bloke on a bike.

'Chav on bike kicks toddler' is probably not pc enough.

Bloke on a bike = cyclist i'm affraid. Bloke driving car = motorist. Bloke walking = pedestrian. Doesn't matter if your wearing your best Rapha or a your best Kappa!!

Officers are now urging witnesses to come forward.

Unless they do all you have is one side of a story.

I was accused of knocking a lady over in the local park. You can imagine the headlines now - "bearded hippie immigrant scrote in hoodie knocks over defenseless middle-aged pillar of the community".

In fact I was walking in the park with my young son when we were lept on by a free running red setter (not generally a dog that bites but very daft). Junior was knocked to the ground in the mud, I grabbed the dog by the collar to keep it off junior and held it for a woman who was ordering me to let the dog go. I asked her to put it on a lead reminding her of the park regs, she refused. I asked her for the lead she had, she refused. I told her I was taking to the dog to the park office or police as she wouldn't put it on a lead. She grabbed the dogs collar and tried to pull it away, I held on. She started beating me with her umbrella so I took that off her with my free hand bending it double in the process. She then pulled with all her might, slipped and fell in the mud.