Letters to the Editor

The Right Spin
I am bowled over by Matt Smith's column in the May 10 SF Weekly ("Cracker Morons Who Maim")! The man's hit the nail squarely on the head; this ought to be required reading for the do-nothing San Francisco Police Department. More people have been killed by cars in S.F. in the past five years than by guns, and Smith is the first of your writers to acknowledge this.

You once had a writer who shall remain nameless (but who is now working for Willie Brown) who wrote plenty of snide stuff about bicyclists. Now, it seems, you're starting to come around. Was it the smog? The Ford Explorer that cut you off? The car parked on the sidewalk in front of your building?
Michael Treece
Outer Sunset

Cracker Moron Blather
While expressing all the good pro-bike stuff, Matt Smith uses the term "cracker moron" to describe those who would cut him off in traffic ("Cracker Morons Who Maim").

What gave the cracker away? Was it his license plate, his overalls and corncob pipe, his skin color, or some socioeconomic indicator clearly viewed through a windshield? Is this baiting device merely for entertainment value or to prove Matt's fearless use of racial invective to go along with his famous columns "Who Taught Them Chinks to Drive Anyway?" and "Some Nigger Stole My Bicycle!"

More likely such slander simply exposes the class prejudices inherent in today's preppy-clogged journalism.
C.L. Mullins
Bernal Heights

Pedal When You Can
I have often been amazed by the chutzpah of some drivers ("Cracker Morons Who Maim"). Many seem to think that they own the main streets, the side streets, and for parking purposes, the sidewalk. It's too bad that a few jerks are giving a bad name to the whole. I commute by bike and I, too, have tried to point out to chuckleheads who seem to think that their convenience is worth my life that the law requires motor vehicles to share the road with bicyclists, always to no avail.

The simple remedy proposed by the S.F. transportation department isn't as good as dedicated bike lanes, which would actually make everyone's life easier, as you pointed out in your article, but it's sure a good, cheap start. I also own a car, which I use for long trips and heavy loads. I'm a big fan of appropriate transport. We've got a variety of alternatives, and why not think before we make use of them? When driving, it's a lot easier and less nerve-wracking to get to my destination when I know where everyone is going to be, and when we all have enough room to travel. Thank you for alerting your readers to the fiasco in Sacramento. Here's hoping that it stimulates a flurry of communication with our elected officials.
Erin NhaMinerva
Oakland

The Battle Lines Are Drawn
When driving my car and confronted by a Muni bus, large truck, or even another vehicle that is about to collide with me, I practice the ancient art of accident avoidance ("Cracker Morons Who Maim"). It's better to suffer the embarrassment of not insisting on my right to "take the lane" then ending up with a damaged vehicle or bodily injury.

Of course, a cyclist can continue this behavior and have the satisfaction of the fitting epitaph, "Here lies cyclist Matt, he insisted on the right of way and got squashed flat." Perhaps cyclists should also begin to obey the vehicle code they're so fond of quoting, and stop indulging in their own version of "cracker road rage" such as always running stop signs, running red lights, exceeding the speed limit, riding the wrong way down one-way streets, riding on the sidewalk, and, their favorite, blasting through crosswalks full of pedestrians.

This blatant disregard for the vehicle code is supported by the SFPD accident report statistics, which conclude that 75 percent of all vehicle/bicycle accidents are the fault of the cyclist, and that 95 percent of all pedestrian/ bicycle accidents are the also the cause of the cyclist. Motorists will begin to respect cyclists when cyclists extend the same courtesy to motorists and pedestrians instead of exhibiting this constant defiant militant attitude.
Duane Danielsen
Cow Hollow

Credit Where It's Due
Many thanks for the recognition you gave to Woh Hei Yuen Park in your Best of San Francisco issue ("Best New Neighborhood Park," May 17). I would like to clarify the facts regarding the project's design, which was the result of a collaboration between the Recreation and Park Department, the Department. of Public Works, and the Chinatown community. The project's design team was Edward Chin, Bonnie Ng, and myself of DPW's Landscape Architecture Section.
John Frederic Thomas
Richmond District