Automatic Authority Response...

RedFox said:

T.C. said:

The whole scenario you described in the opening post sounded like you didn't want to wear the helmet out of resentment. We start getting resentful when we feel like we're being forced to do things we don't really want to do, but give in and say yes to.

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I get the same impression. In which case fighting the helmet law, and running into authoritarian law would be viewed through the same lens - resentment, battling, and giving up (and getting angry at giving up - 'Yes, sir!'). i.e. powerlessness.
Acting from a position of strategic enclosure isn't about giving up or rejecting our feelings. It comes from knowing the lenses we view life through, being aware of and listening to our feelings (resentment, powerlessness, anger etc) and then acting strategically.
Without listening to what we are feeling without judgement (or resentment, or anger at the feelings), and being aware of these lenses, we act out the emotions mechanically.
We need to grow an observer between emotion and action.

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Thinking back a bit, in the day or so before heading out to ride, I'd read an article about police abuses, one of which was a cyclist who had been assaulted because he'd not had a light on his bicycle. That had been bubbling in my thoughts.

Noticing this and my feelings regarding it with a middle observer, and then choosing my actions strategically would have been an easier way to pass that nugget without the accompanying indigestion.

Woodsman said:

I grew up before those times, survived somehow, ...

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I can sympathise with you on this, I grew up in times when there were not bike helmets and it was completely safe, nor a law demanding that you wear one. However, the world has changed and it is infinitely more dangerous for the cyclist on the road today.

Data said:

...
But I understand the emotions you experienced. Remember, you are a warrior as soon as you are aware of and in control of your emotions. That also includes wearing a helmet when you don't feel like it. Because in the external world, we must do what is necessary and what is expected -- not blindly, but in a smart and conscious way. And, always expect 'attack': a possible accident with the bike, as well as being confronted with the police.

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This is the base to work from in all cases.

Hey Woodsman

Like you, I detested wearing helmets. I was lucky enough to live in a city where the local police had better things to do then harass me for not wearing one, and I didn't, daily, when I commuted to and from work on my bike.

It wasn't until one day, on my way home from work around 2 AM, that I had a nasty spill of a bike accident and landed straight on my head.

I went and got the gash glued shut at the hospital that night and the concussion wasn't major but I tell you, from that day forward, I wear my helmet.

It's not that it's the law for me, it's that I want to be able to continue to function as a human if I happen to take another spill like that again.

If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it. Julius Caesar
_http://mobile.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/juliuscaes134260.html

zin said:

Hey Woodsman

Like you, I detested wearing helmets. I was lucky enough to live in a city where the local police had better things to do then harass me for not wearing one, and I didn't, daily, when I commuted to and from work on my bike.

It wasn't until one day, on my way home from work around 2 AM, that I had a nasty spill of a bike accident and landed straight on my head.

I went and got the gash glued shut at the hospital that night and the concussion wasn't major but I tell you, from that day forward, I wear my helmet.

It's not that it's the law for me, it's that I want to be able to continue to function as a human if I happen to take another spill like that again.

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Ouch! That sucks!

-I've been biking for getting close to four decades, more than half of that sans helmet, and I'm very good at it. Though I actually think helmets are a great tool and I've owned helmets long before there were any laws on the books; there are many primary roads and hills I would feel naked navigating without head protection, regardless of my confidence in my skills.

However, where I live now, the route I like to take is slow and scenic and flat, where no cars are allowed, designed exclusively for bike and foot traffic. It spills out into town, where I've taken to walking my bike along sidewalks out of consideration for pedestrian traffic, or just leaving it locked up in one location to walk everywhere I need to go. The police officer literally caught me moments before dismounting upon entering the edge of town. (Still, though, I managed to set things up for a deliberate confrontation, I think. I was being petulant.)

What chafed at my ego was that the choice to wear a helmet is now enforced, and thus not really a choice at all. -That and other issues with authorities in general; I was taking a relatively small thing and pinning greater importance to it than it deserved. That was unproductive and in these times, even dangerous, -and indicative of a program which I don't think serves me well.

I'm going to wear my helmet every time I bike now, regardless of my own judgement of its immediate necessity, out of respect for the Danger of Authoritarians and out of respect for the officers obligated to enforce such laws. -If not respect for the actual law itself.

That makes me feel a whole heap better!

A friend of mine lost use of his legs from doing some mountain biking. He isn't sure if wearing a helmet would have resulted in a different type of injury, but he wasn't wearing one at the time.

I scoffed at safety gear and felt that I'm far too responsive to let things like a helmet or seat belts become a requirement in my life, considering that I too had a childhood where these things weren't a pre-requisite or law.

After smacking my head and quite literally hearing what sounded like the matrix glitching out and experiencing a loss of vision for the few seconds, lying contorted on the pavement, I spent the rest of the night in the emergency room recounting important events from childhood, faces & names, songs, dreams, etc, in a state of shock, surprised that I can still function after such an eye opening occurrence.

I still wonder if I lost something that night.

IMO, the argument “well it’s good for you so just do it”, is beside the point. You cannot legislate wisdom and take away the freedom of choice to learn from life’s lessons. When I was a kid I too did not wear a helmet. Now that I’m an adult and I see their benefit I would choose to wear one simply because of learning from life experiences of myself and others.

Helmet laws and seatbelt laws are about taking away the power from you as an individual human. I have seen how this gradual creep has led to exactly our hysterical society. Where kids just can’t be kids anymore.

Also on the subject of seatbelts, they don’t always save lives.

There was a story in Vancouver Canada a few years ago, where a lady got killed because of a brick that came off a semi-truck and struck her in the head. Apparently she tried to duck but the seatbelt prevented her from completing the maneuver.

Accidents happen and in a truly free society everyone should be responsible for their own safety. There can be guides and suggestions, but in the end it has to be a personal choice.

Now with that said, in the world today if a cop barked an order at me about such issues, no matter my personal belief I would do it immediately and say “yes sir”.

Pick your battles I always say.

Oh my god.

So I'm heading out the door with one of those huge blue carboys of water; I'd promised to deliver some spring water to a friend. It's just a two minute walk, but I've got a fully loaded backpack and a bag of groceries knocking against my knees. It's awkward and my muscles are already complaining.

I'm passing my bike which is leaning up against the wall and I remember a story about the Chinese using bicycles to move tonnes of war materiel across huge distances. I know what I'm going to do already. I knew before I closed my apartment door; the thought half-formed. So I grab the bike from the wall, balance the big jug on the cross bar and start walking. It works for about 10 feet and then the wobble is too much and I almost crash the whole arrangement.

I say, "Screw it" and hop on, balance the jug on my leg and I'm off. It's super-easy to carry heavy things while biking. But I've got no helmet.

I'm nervous. Not about crashing, mind you. I'm super-comfortable biking like this. I'm nervous about getting caught!

And I'm thinking, "You're totally doing this on purpose. You're tempting fate. What the hell, dude?" And another part of me is thinking, "It's like two blocks, there's no traffic. It's night time. Nobody will even see me. I'll be riding a total of twenty-five seconds tops. I'm good."

So I relax. My brain track goes back to what I was thinking about before leaving the house. Which was, "Gosh, this iodine therapy is intense!" (I'd just drunk my daily dose). "Reality sure is super flexible these days! You really have to be up on what you believe you deserve to experience. Gotta have a clean machine!"

And in an amazing feat of idiot blindness, I literally made no connection between any of these thought streams or my immediate actions in the moment.

The police car met me right at the end of my driveway. It just happened to be the only car on the entire road and it arrived exactly at the perfect intercept moment. I could feel the cops and my eyes snap in contact. What the hell are the odds? This town only has two police cars!

But...

It kept driving. I know they saw me. Maybe he'll let me go...?

Then it flashed its lights and siren.

"Oh boy. I'm going to get a ticket. This is SO nuts!"

I kept going, didn't look around. I turned up the side road where my friend lives, thinking, "he's going to turn around and come roaring up and engage me. I wonder how much a helmet ticket is going to cost me? Or maybe I'll get tazed or shot or put in jail. This is completely crazy."

I was suddenly shaking with adrenaline and thought, I'd better at least get off my bike and walk the rest of the way. I tripped while doing this and the top of the water jug came off, soaking my pants and making a crashing mess of me, bike, jug and grocery bag all over the road side.

Cripes!

I picked myself up, fished around for the jug lid, found it, put everything back together and walked the remaining fifty yards to my destination. The cop car never came back.

So.., wow. Manifestation, eh?

You NEED to have your internal shit worked out before those genes switch on, boy! There are only so many bill boards you can take crashing down around your ears before you get flattened for good.

So I feel stupid, shaken and.., weirdly more confident than before. Every time I encounter myself like this, I get a more solid feel for how it all works. It's like learning how to walk.

Heh. No. It's like learning how to ride a bike..! :)