Trippin' blog makes joke about dooring cyclists

Last week Fredrick Kunkle, who writes the "Tripping" blog for the Washington Post, wrote an article about how Virginia joined most other states in the civilized world by making dooring a traffic violation. This is a story that most other local news sources ignored and as David Alpert wrote in his post on the article, Kunkle dug into how the bill found a champion "an aide to state senator Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) got scars from being doored while biking, yet a police officer blamed him, the cyclist." Which was all good and useful and real journalism.

But then Kunkle decided to make a joke about intentionally dooring cyclists.

Tripping loves bikes of all kinds and gladly supports dooring laws. But about that exception, which focuses only on the driver-side door and exempts people from opening the door on the side away from traffic? We might argue that if you nail an adult riding his or her bicycle on the sidewalk, you should get a $50 award. Double, if it’s during lunch hour on K Street.

It's not a particularly funny joke. And for those of us who ride bikes, it's worse than not funny, it cuts a little close to home. People do get doored in the area. There's even been a case in DC of someone who died because they got doored, and I'm sure it's happened in Virginia. The exception he referred to is even a bit contentious, because in some states - like Oregon and Rhode Island - it IS illegal to door someone on the passenger side, even if they're on a sidewalk or trail. When you're in fear of something - like being injured by a collision with a car, it's discomforting to hear people make light of it or even to imply that injuring you would be a good thing. 

The general rule is that jokes should be made at the expense of those who are more powerful than you, and that making fun of those who are weaker than you comes off as mean-spirited, insensitive and bullying.  Making fun of slave-owners is funny, making fun of slaves is not. Making fun of wall street bankers is funny. Making fun of people who've lost their homes is not. Etc...The dynamic between cyclists and drivers, and who fears whom, sets this up as a mean joke.

Kunkle responds to the GGW criticism

But I also wonder whether GGW -- or maybe bikers in general? -- has lost his sense of humor. When did so many smart people get so literal?

Which shows that he doesn't get it. "It was just a joke" is not in an of itself a defense. Elyse Anders has good advice on this subject

If someone is mad or hurt or offended by your joke, you cannot demand they find it funny. Instead of telling [them] “It was just a joke”, try not insulting [them] in the first place and if you can’t do that, then try using these words, write them down on a note card and keep them with you:

“I am sorry I hurt you. That was not what I wanted to do at all. It was mean of me to say. Your feelings are valid. I should not make jokes to upset you because jokes are supposed to be a thing that makes us enjoy each other’s company more.”

Here, instead, is Kunkle's "apology"

Several people have now issued demands for an apology over a joke that was, admittedly, made in poor taste.  
So here goes:  
I'm sorry I am not Emily Badger. 
Sincerely, 
Charlie Sheen!

Kunkle has a video, here's mine.

Hilarious, no?

Comments

[atlas]

the only time i've ever been injured on my bike from a car was getting doored back in 2012. and that was from a passenger getting out the right side of a taxi that was double parked. that driver certainly did not get a prize for injuring me.

[Bayley]

What I'm uncertain of is if these a$$holes deserve our scorn. It didn't really do anything for Courtland Milloy except lots of publicity. At a time I use to try contacting them on Twitter, email, and submit complaints to the editor, but idk if it's best to simply ignore them and not read the article. Thoughts?

[washcycle]

It's the old "there's no such thing as bad publicity" saw. But I think that in today's journalism world, each writer is his/her own brand. If Kunkle is cool with being a bomb-thrower than it probably doesn't hurt him, but if he'd like to have a different kind of reputation, then I think it does.

[jeffB]

Dooming is such a scary thing for every city cyclist. No way to avoid it unless you rigorously refuse to ever ride in the "kill zone".

I've never been doored but have come close a half a dozen times or so.

[jeffB]

Oops - I was "doored" once. While stopped on my bike in the right lane for a minute or so a driver in a parked car flung their door into the side of me.

I recall they gave me a dirty look and didn't apologize.

[Roo_Beav]

After I read one of his first columns in which he had a "joke" about getting murdered in Baltimore, I decided to never read his writing.

I appreciate good dark humor, but his dark humor is so bad it comes across as mean. I think he's smart enough to realize this, which means he's trolling for hate clicks. Don't give him what he wants.

[bobco85]

I'm going to apply Hanlon's razor here (Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity) and say that Kunkle probably wrote his article without knowledge that people have died from dooring collisions.

His whole perspective is from someone who views cyclists as annoying instead of someone who actually understands why this dooring bill is important in the cycling world.

I don't care if he apologizes, but I would like for him to gain a better understanding of issues before he writes about them. His ignorance here annoys me more than his snark.

[scoot]

No way to avoid it unless you rigorously refuse to ever ride in the "kill zone".

Which should be standard practice for anyone riding a bicycle. Dooring from parked cars is one of the few collision types that is 100% preventable by a cyclist.

Now if only we could convince our communities to stop painting bike lanes in the danger zone...

[SJE]

When was it a special privilege to cyclists for the law to say you can't hit them with your car?