Reclaim the Streets!

[Gulliver]

Several major city streets were clogged with bicycles this morning, as the environmental group 'Two Wheels Good, Four Wheels Bad' staged a protest. Several hundred riders ambled through downtown streets, blissfully ignoring the torrent of abuse hurled at them by thousands of motorists running late for work.

1. "People are sick of dirty, smelly automobiles," said protest organizer Miranda Smith. "They're choking the city, the environment--our lives! Cars must be banned!"

2. "The only thing people are sick of is long-haired idiots riding their bicycles at two miles an hour on major thoroughfares," says committed motorist Chloe Longbottom. "People shouldn't be able to protest like this. The government needs to crack down on them."

3. The Automotive Manufacturers Association, meanwhile, has called for government support. "It's clear that we need to boost the level of automobile support in this country. This protest this morning is a clear indication of... um... anyway, we need more government funds."

[Gulliver]

I think option 2 may be prudent in this case. While I'd usually balk at anything decreasing political freedoms, ours are currently rated at "excessive" so we won't exactly devolve into an oppressive regime. Likewise, I don't believe the right to protest protects obstructing public ways for others. Finally, it might help push our crime rate down from moderate.

[Eluvatar]

Would it really hurt crime to crack down on peaceful protest?

I'd give subsidies to the auto industry

[Gulliver]

Why should we be spending taxpayer money propping up dying industries in the face of market forces? It's a costly distortion that delays painful but necessary restructuring.

[Myroria]

I agree with Gulliver. "Excessive" seems to imply our Great Founder Nation's political freedoms are corrupted and abused. In addition, fuck cyclists.