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Biker Protestor 'Throttles' Traffic Around FCC Headquarters
- debt 9y agoThis is pretty damn funny.
- CodeWriter23 9y ago“Bikes may use whole lane for poetic protest”
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- mkonecny 9y ago"Restoring your automotive freedom" - I love this analogy. This is a great way to explain the issue to the masses
- mrguyorama 9y agoMany people have pointed out time and again that the only way to convince politicians on this issue, or any issue where they receive substantial funding, is to make them feel the pain points personally. I'm not making a judgement call as to whether they simply do not understand the plight of those affected, or don't care unless it hurts them personally. However, this concept betrays the actual feelings of large companies like Google and Netflix that claim to be Pro Net Neutrality. They've had over a year to implement a "Congressional access slowdown" protest, and have done nothing of the sort to demonstrate the issue to congress. People should recognize that these companies will benefit from slow lanes in that they can afford faster ones, while upstart competition cannot.
- tomcooks 9y agoWhy not link the original article instead of this sad spamageddon? Original article: https://thenextweb.com/creative/2018/01/29/net-neutrality-activist-throttles-street-outside-fcc-building/ https://thenextweb.com/creative/2018/01/29/net-neutrality-ac...
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 9y agoSo far, all of the gloom and doom scenarios from the repeal of net neutrality have failed to emerge. More people have been inconvenienced by the pro net-neutrality protesters than have been harmed or inconvenienced due to ISP action post-repeal. These net-neutrality protesters are akin to the anti-fur protesters running around throwing blood on people. It may make them feel good about their virtue and that they are doing something, but it is unlikely to change minds.
- claytonjy 9y agoDid you expect downsides to be realized both completely and immediately? I think some of the doom scenarios were far overblown, but surely it's far too early to claim the naysayers were totally wrong.
- pyre 9y ago> So far, all of the gloom and doom scenarios from the repeal of net neutrality have failed to emerge How quickly do you expect these things to happen? Overnight? This isn't Hollywood. The moment the decision is made storm clouds don't appear overhead to signify the ominous direction that things have gone.
- TehCorwiz 9y agoYet. They know it would be suicide to implement anything like that while it's so fresh in people's minds. Just because they haven't doesn't mean that they won't. It was famously said (although by whom is debated) that 'Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.' To prevent the feared negative consequences we need to keep the public engaged and educated on the topic.
- wtallis 9y agoDraconian throttling is not step one of any sane business plan to exploit a lack of net neutrality regulation. The first phase is to start soliciting the protection payments from your intended victims, and that's not a very public process. Actually following through on the threats of throttling is a lower priority, and takes time to deploy.
- eesmith 9y ago
- ccozan 9y ago"Biker" doesn't sound right. I was expecting a bearded man on a Harley. How about a "Cyclist"?
- Mithaldu 9y agoBicycles were there before motorbicycles, and in many countries with robust bicycle culture people think of bicycles first when they hear biker.
- aestetix 9y agoBrilliant stunt. This is the correct way to use pranks/humor to make political protest. Props to that guy.
- snowpanda 9y agoThat thumbnail is priceless: A man with a goal!
- btrettel 9y agoAs a cyclist, I'm wary of "blocking" the lane as a form of protest. Many drivers seem to believe that the only reason a cyclist would take the lane is to annoy drivers, and this reinforces that thinking. This encourages thinking that dangerously close passes ("punishment passes") are justified. To these drivers it doesn't matter if a cyclist is avoiding an illegally parked car and is leaving the bike lane only briefly, etc. I would have preferred that the protester made some sort of checkpoint instead.
- oceanghost 9y agoDo you ever just listen to yourself?
- btrettel 9y agoYes, I do. If you have something else to say, being more direct would be appreciated.
- dang 9y agoPersonal attacks will get you banned here. Would you please stop posting unsubstantive comments to Hacker News? https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- oceanghost 9y agoOnly in this hypersensitive age could a request to evaluate the validity of one's opinions be construed as an attack.
- oceanghost 9y agoAs you wish. In this post, you imply an adversarial relationship with drivers, declare them to be bad, and yourself a victim of people who are just trying to get to work.
- btrettel 9y ago
- YeGoblynQueenne 9y agoChildish, silly and I enjoyed watching every minute of it.
- throw7 9y agopretty funny. reminded me that burger king did an ad about net neutrality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltzy5vRmN8Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltzy5vRmN8Q
- unicornporn 9y agoThis page is dead, if you're not from USA. "I got Sorry, we couldn’t find that page" until I turned on my VPN and tunneled via USA.
- hexane360 9y agoSo, in conclusion, the government had to come in to prevent profiteering on a shared public resource important to commerce and heavily subsidized by tax dollars. Wow, it's shocking how good of a metaphor this is.