Read on Twitter
1/A harmless joke at a group who take themselves too seriously, or thoughtless, institutional out-grouping with real life consequences. Some thoughts on yesterdays post by @DrEmmaFrans. https://twitter.com/DrEmmaFrans/status/1287064060593397760?s=20
2/I have cycled for many years for sport and transport, often with children. I have become desensitised to the "fun poking" and disdain showed to me on social media by other road users based on my choice of transport.
3/But I have never become desensitised to how that disdain plays out on the road, with overt displays of irritability, passive aggression, and on frequent occasion, actual aggression by drivers at cyclists (and pedestrians).
4/Usually I would scroll past. Another not very funny, idiot joke about cyclists. But this was no idiot posting. This was @DrEmmaFrans. A well known epidemiologist of @karolinskainst with almost 100k followers on Twitter, and apparently, sometimes "the funniest Swede on Twitter".
5/But on this occasion, Emma's comedic timing was a little off, being only a week since an incident in which, a driver in Sweden left a mother and child dead, a father, seriously injured, and a surviving child, traumatised for life. https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/misstankt-bilforare-efter-cykelolycka-inte-frihetsberovad/
6/And Emma is by no means the only, recently active public figure to either knowingly (or not), out-group cyclists through misjudged wit. She follows hot on the heels of @Erik_Helmerson, lead writer at http://dn.se . https://twitter.com/Erik_Helmerson/status/1277555965886373890?s=20
7/And this in itself is nothing new, with a Swedish media, also largely complicit in out-grouping cyclists as posted here by Bicycling columnist @KristerIsaksson, (although this is by no means a Swedish only issue!). https://twitter.com/KristerIsaksson/status/1277560236786712580?s=20
8/Posts like Emma's and by other influential figures with large followings on social or traditional media, legitamises out-grouping. Whether intentionally or not, that is the end result. In fact, you only have to scratch the surface of the many Tweets Emma received in support,
9/largely but not exclusively men, salivating at their perceived vindication: roads are for drivers, cyclists get out of the way, or else you'll have no one to blame but yourself. Article credit @jwolfers @Gillinger https://www.cyklistbloggen.se/cyklist-pakord-kanske-med-flit/
9/Any regular cyclists know what it is to be exposed to casual, intentional road violence, or almost as bad, indifference. Largely normalised via car-culture and a dominant in-group. Out-grouping is something we have all been anecdotally aware of for a long time.
10/But now, that idea is being given credence through recent research: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2018/12/21/new-studies-show-some-motorists-hate-cyclists-wont-ever-slow-down-when-overtaking/
11/Lastly, while I may not have found Emma's post funny. I was somewhat struck by the irony of an epidemiologist, inadvertently legitamising the out-grouping of cyclists. The health benefits of increased cycling, at a population level, can be astounding https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2017/sep/17/the-miracle-pill-how-cycling-could-save-the-nhs
12/Yet in Sweden, between 1995-2014, there has been a 40% drop in adults and children cycling, (The development of cycling in Sweden 1995-2014, Transport Analysis), a trend which has continued to this date.
13/This loss of cyclists, will inevitably have resulted in a health benefit loss at population level. Cycling is not usually replaced by other forms of active travel. And, the biggest barrier to more people cycling is the perception of cycling as an unsafe activity.
14/And that is a huge shame, because comparatively, Sweden is a safe country for cycling, and cycling is an inherently safe activity.
15/So, Emma, I am sorry if I did not find your joke funny. But I hope now you can see the situation is a little more complex than you gave thought to. Perhaps you can show a little humility and acknowledge why your "joke" may have hit a raw nerve for many cyclists.
16/Or even better, perhaps you could use your skills as an epidemiologist, and your social media platform to support work to increase cycling and the associated health benefits.
