Faux ghost bikes

Ghost bikes, in the eyes of any one who isn't involved in the campaign or who hasn't lost some one to cycling on the road are not warnings, they aren't anything special.

You could say that about anything. You should walk past the holocaust memorial in Berlin and not know what it represented or even that it was a memorial. Using people's current ignorance as an argument is stupid.

They are just another roadside memorial to yet another terrible thing that has happened on the street. Its just the same as seeing 20 flowers and some xerox photocopys of a child face tied to the railing of the house where a man broke in and murdered the 16 year old drug dealer living there. Or the flowers tied to the railings for the entire family killed by a drunk driver on the south circular and 7 in the morning on their way to school.

But if they see a white bike and go "someone died here" then there will come a point where they see a white bike (sprayed up, etc, etc) at realise someone has been killed cycling at this point, sub-conciously.

*- I can't say all people for sure. But this is the response I have had from all the people I have actually asked about the campaign, and I have actually asked, a cross section. Not that many, but enough to be fairly sure what I am saying is representative.

*Again, general ignorance and a lack of awareness at the moment doesn't translate to a lack of awareness in the future.

• If its not a memorial then why are most of the people for the ghost bikes referring to it as a memorial.*
  
  

Because the reasons for people wanting one put up vary, but the reason for choosing a ghostbike is for it to serve as a warning. If it was meant to just be a memorial, a plaque or bench would be more usual.

I'm not going to shit of them of course. But I don't stop to read anything about it.I don't ponder my own existance or genuinely care. Its just another. In society where are totaly over-exposed to protests, warnings, peoples causes, charities, memorials, terrible events, bad events, people being killed. We've seen it all, and as a populous we don't care. Thats not to say we endorse it, but we aren't moved by it, it doesn't impact or change our lives.

Ah, apathy. The world's worst reason to not do something.

Everything means something to some one. There are real people behind every campaign or memorial. And its no slight on them that we aren't moved by their campaign or memorial. Its like we are happy for the christian faith to have its symbols inverted, subverted, used out of context, abused etc. And that offends people. But its still done, not usually out of malice, but out of the reality that everything will offend some one somewhere.

Christian symbols are part of our cultural history, so that is a poor example.

Anyway, the Christian Church were very adept at co-opting native traditions and images. Half of the "Christian" mythology in Northern Europe is pagan or Norse in origin.

In this example. your employer is playing the part of the Church, unwittingly or otherwise.

Various things are symbols and have meaning, but only in context. A pink bow used to tie back some ones hair might make you think of it the breast cancer, but isn't a direct link to that symbol if worn regularly.

Bad example, it's a specific type of bow, one which couldn't be accidentally replicated in tying back someone's hair.

The poppy for example. A painting of a poppy or a real poppy don't necessarily mean what you are getting at. Its about context. But you know why they don't campaign for all poppies to mean remembrance? Because the co-opting or misuse of symbols helps to remind people of the desired symbol, and raise awareness of the real thing. People first exposed to an inverted cross soon come to learn what the original symbols means, no?

While this may be the case for very established symbols, it is not the case for the vast majority. Also, I think that if the Church could sue over the use of the crucafix (and I think it has tried, in the past, although mainly in relation to blasphemy/heresy) they would where it was used outside of a Christian context.

(Hypothetically) What about if some little known newly set up charity, set up to help rape victims in war torn countries started to used say a green X as a logo. And you owned a T shirt with a green x on it. Would you through it away because it might offend people who set up the charity? And before you say thats a silly example as you have with every example given against ghost bikes, let me say why its not. Bicycles have been used as advertising boards and a means of advertising for a good while. This isn't the first bike that has ( http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en-us&q=bicycle+advertising&btnG=Search+Images ). Whats annoying you is it is (off) white. So we literally are talking about the same thing. The T-shirt wouldn't offend if it were not green, only because its green. Do you throw the T away or dye it? Or keep wearing it? What if the T cost more then £3.50. I'm sure you will say you would stop wearing it as soon as it was brought to your attention, but is that really the case?

I've never objected to bikes advertising things, in fact I suggested that it be resprayed.

Your example is misleading anyway. The bike serves a specific purpose - in your example, wearing the t-shirt is like Dave riding around on his Vivalo, something I have no problem with. You would have to wear that t-shirt to a organised march to get anywhere near equivalency.

You can call me a monster or a hater or evil or disrespectful if you want. But to do so is to call the population, and probably people you know those things. Its fine to be critical of mine and others apathy. Infact I would encourage it. BUT, you can't change society in an instance. You have to work with what you got, which is why the ghost bikes don''t work and are just another memorial.

You are right that you won't instantly change society, which is why people need to carry on pushing ghost bikes, get it into the public subconcious. This is why ghost bikes need to kept up and supported.