Want to take action against car culture but don't know what to do?
Anything that you want to do or think you are capable of doing.
That is what direct action is all about. The best actions are those which are full of colour and laughter. People respond best to ideas presented to them in a fun way. The most successful actions fall into these four "categories":
The most fun and colourful educational acts which reveal all the problems of car culture - beyond the pollution argument and into habitat destruction, resource extraction and human rights abuse,the loss of community space in our cities etc.- presented in a fun fashion.
The most radical (and therefore attention grabbing) actions which confront the hypocrisies in the system or the lies in the advertising and tell the real truth.
The locally focussed actions - which link to a real or planned project in your area.
Amics de la Bici (Amigos de la Bici) luchamos desde el año 1981 para conseguir que la bicicleta sea un medio de transporte respetado y promocionado. Desde nuestra vinculación al movimiento ecologista y pacifista catalán de base, trabajamos para un país y ciudades sin contaminación. Lo conseguiremos restringiendo progresivamente el abuso del coche privado, mejorando el transporte público, y potenciando el ir a pie y en bicicleta. Queremos lugares y calles recuperados para la vecindad, donde los niños y niñas puedan jugar y, en general, todas las personas convivir. Queremos la pacificación del tráfico. Defendemos los derechos de las personas que utilizan la bicicleta como medio de transporte. Y lo hacemos a través de la elaboración de proyectos, la presión sobre las administraciones, la colaboración con más entidades, la organización de actos divulgativos, lúdicos o reivindicativos, así como las acciones directas no violentas. No estamos solos: nos coordinamos a nivel catalán, español-peninsular y europeo, siendo miembros de la Coordinadora Catalana de Usuarios/as de la Bici, ConBici (Coordinadora Ibérica En Defensa de la Bici) y de la ECF (Federación de Ciclistas Europeos ). Tú también puedes ayudarnos. Usa la bicicleta para ir al trabajo, al mercado, a la escuela, al cine... hazte socio/a de Amics de la Bici o, simplemente, participa en alguna de nuestras actividades.
Contacta con nosotros:
info@amicsdelabici.org
Transportation is one of the primary arenas in which wealth is transferred from the majority of the population to the wealthy few. Independent of the state of mind of the participants—whether captains of finance or office workers, industrial titans or factory wage-slaves—the process of wealth formation and its eventual concentration in the hands of a few is a process that offers a framework to understand the deeper meaning of the recent "uprising" of bicyclists in San Francisco and around the world.
http://www.scorcher.org/cmhistory/classncycling.html WE'RE SORRY!
We're sorry you are stuck in your car in a traffic jam. Gridlock is more and more common these days... it'll probably go on getting worse, unless we do something.
We're sorry if we've contributed to your delay, but please recognize that we bicyclists are ignored, obstructed and physically threatened ALL THE TIME, EVERY DAY. This "Critical Mass" ride home is an organized coincidence that happens once a month, giving bicyclists of all persuasions the chance to see that we are not alone, and that we, too, have a right to the road.
We're sorry that absurd and mean-spirited decisions about how we live are made behind the closed doors of the corporate and government elite, leading to a suicidal dependence on the automobile and the oil industry, a cancer epidemic and general ecological catastrophe. We know there are better alternatives, and our monthly ride demonstrates one of them.
We're sorry that we all go on reproducing this silly and self-degrading way of life, instead of throwing it over and making a life worth living. Why should we do jobs which make our lives worse due to toxic waste or pollution? Why are our best intentions always corrupted by the need to "make a living"? These questions have complex and difficult answers, answers worth looking into. But for now...
We're sorry you're not already out here on your bicycle riding with us! But we heartily invite you to join us next time. Remember, every day is a good bicycling day! Meet at the foot of Market Street on the last working Friday of the each month at 5:30 p.m.
