Melb protest ride - Channel 10 news

Channel 10 news just started, and they say they'll have a live cross to the
protest ride. Will be interesting to see what they do with it.

Dale Porter

 

Well that was a wasted effort. They concentrated on motorcyclists not
wanting to be tolled or fined, and kept repeating how frustrating it was for
the poor motorists (Ummm.....Hello. Motorcyclists are motorists as well) who
are being slowed down from their trip home from work.

No-one was able to get the government waste message across. Not a single
mention of it. The government have won this battle I'm afraid.

Dale Porter

 

Ummm. And I was talking to my supervisor, so I didn't make it.
Oh well, it'll be on the news again later, and the point probably
won't have been got in the meantime.

Did we not even get a representative soundbite in?

-----sharks

 

In aus.motorcycles on Fri, 18 Jul 2003 17:11:46 +1000

Well yes. what did you expect?

I mean *really*.

Bunch of bikes not paying tolls and holding people up equates to govt
waste how?

Zebee

 

Why do you love defending the government, cops and speed cameras? Are you a
cop? A poli? A mother?

 

In aus.motorcycles on Fri, 18 Jul 2003 19:13:09 +1000

Defending? *laugh*

I'm calling stupidity and useless waste of time when I see it.

Zebee

 

They concentrated on motorcyclists not wanting to be tolled or fined, and kept repeating how frustrating it was for the poor motorists
Its what the people wanted to hear dont you think?

Please dont be stupid, Did you really think it wasnt going to be
Biased against the bikes?

*SHOCK GASP SHOCK WOW SHOCK (another word for shock people)*

 

But this protest was done all wrong in my opinion. Here we go doing a protest ride through the tunnel upsetting people in cages, who think we're protesting about front number plates & tolls, When they've got to pay them.

THANK CHRIST SOMEONE ELSE SEES IT HOW IT WAS!!

 

and kept repeating how frustrating it was for the poor motorists

Of that I have no doubt. Having a father who was a TV news journalist for
many years, and now trains companies and even the odd international
government how to handle the media, I know how these things can turn out.

Don't you be so stupid as to think I am that stupid. I'm merely pointing out
what a waste of time the whole thing was.

Dale Porter

 

but don't you be so stupid as to think I am that stupid to think that
you think I think you are stupid...

Just saying it how it is.. if yor dad was a journo, maybe he could
give some TIPS to our side?

 

Hell; you did more than the rest of us Dale...
(and it was worth a shot)
We'll never advance if all we ever do is attack those who try....

 

But if you were to be so stupid as to think that I think that you're so
stupid as to think that I'm stupid enough to think that you're stupid for
thinking that I'm stupid,.............

Then what place in the world does Chris Langley have?

I was thinking earlier today of chatting to him about his ideas on the
subject.

Dale Porter

 

And if there was never any critisism, then we would never improve and
advance our thinking and tactics.

Dale Porter

 

~
Yeah well [clutches at straws] if it wasn't for Kimbo we'd all feel like WE were the stupid ones!
[settles back happy with the result]

 

Your dad is Hendo?!?!?!?!?!?????!!!??

Mike.S

 

Stupidity == MRAA (MRAV actually, but you know the arguement!)

Cheers
Goaty

 

Umm, what was the protest ride about again. (I'm not trolling - I don't know)

Ron


protest ride through the tunnel upsetting people in cages, who think we're
protesting about front number plates & tolls, When they've got to pay them.

 

There was talk about a name change back to mrav by some of the top brass
in the mra last night goaty, since the mraa name was the brainchild of a
certain ex pres and they desperately want to dissasociate themselves
from him.

 

In aus.motorcycles on Sat, 19 Jul 2003 14:47:29 +1000

As I recall inthe dim and distant past....

MRAV disintegrated in personalities and name calling and deep divisions
about what should be done, and the certain ex-pres decided to use MRAA
to make a new MRAA.. I *think* because the other bods were still
using MRAV and didn't want to let him have it.

Zebee

 

In aus.motorcycles on Sat, 19 Jul 2003 09:25:03 GMT

Even so, I thnk there will be more thinking it was wrong than right.
Especially after ther critical mass business. Perception remember...

The ones who saw on TV may have heard what was said. Would they retain
it? What would be the message they *retained*?

Most folk will remember what they see longer than what they hear. Takes
less brainpower. What they saw was a bunch of bikes.

Plus, they will think about what they know. They know they have to pay.
Was the fact riders don't mentioned by anyone? They know they have to
have front numberplates, what would they have retained about bikes and
numberplates?

The govt message is simple, and hammered home by a lot of money "bikes
have to have front numberplates like cars, to bring the death toll
down".

Anything that riders do has to address *all* of that. As well as make
the average car driver feel it is OK for bikes to have privileges that
they don't - free travel on citylink, ability to go past some cameras.

That's the killer guys - you are asking to continue to "get away with
that". Your message has to deal with that, in a striking and effective
way.

MOre than that, you have to get them to think those intentions and
actions are wrong.

So you have to hammer that this is waste. So start to find what else
the money can be spent on *that benefits everyone*. Joe Average doesn't
give a shit if it just benefits riders, even if riders pay for it.

Riders are a small and uninteresting demographic to a polly.

They are a minority, meaning they won't swing any elections purely as
riders. few people identify with them, whereas everyone is a pedestrian
at some point. They can't point to health benefits like cyclists can,
and cyclists get screwed too.

If you want to get the government going, you have to attack on two
fronts.

You have to make them worried that many people - not just riders - will
be upset over the money, and you have to offer them things that they can
do. Meaning you have to have a good relationship with the bureaucrats
who feed info to the pollies so you can find out stuff that isn't being
done now, that you can work with them on doing.

So start finding road safety things that are not being done. Find
crashes - not just bike ones - due to road design. Find black spots
that communities are upset about. Get allies - find other road safety
groups.

Find a polly who has a record of interest in road safety. Then schmooze
them. Give them ammunition to use, give them things to make them look
good. Bonus if they are in a marginal seat.

This is how the game is played. Protests do nothing, you have to play
the polly game the polly way. Because they have more clout than you do,
they don't *care* what you want. You have to make them care, and you do
that by hitting them where it hurts, and beating them at spin.

Zebee