I'm halfway through a fifty-mile ride as I write this.
I think I'll swing into Cato and grab a tea dress.
I'm told I have great legs (but my antler is even better).
Moose
On Jun 13, 2011 3:20 PM, "Jonathan Ashley" <jonathanashleyii@lavabit.com> wrote:
> *Saudi Arabia on the Hudson: NYPD Officer Stopped Cyclist For Wearing Skirt*
> by Noah Kazis on June 10, 2011
>
> When Jasmijn Rijcken, the general manager of the VANMOOF bicycle
> company, traveled from Amsterdam to New York in late April, she was
> excited to see what she'd heard described as a city that had embraced
> bicycling. It wasn't NYC's new protected bike lanes that defined her
> ride through the city, however, but the New York Police Department,
> currently in the midst of a major crackdown against cyclists.
>
> Jasmijn Rijcken was stopped and almost ticketed by an NYPD officer for
> biking in this outfit. Her skirt, the officer said, was too distracting
> for drivers.
>
> Rijcken was in town for the New Amsterdam Bike Show on April 30. After
> she had dismounted on Broadway in SoHo, an NYPD officer stopped,
> berated, and threatened to ticket Rijcken for wearing a skirt while
> cycling, which, it must be noted, is entirely legal and common. Rijcken
> says the officer told her that her skirt was dangerous because she would
> distract drivers and potentially cause them to crash.
>
> "I was standing there next to my bike, looking at my map, and then this
> police guy stops and starts telling me about my skirt," reported
> Rijcken. "At first I thought he was making a joke or maybe even a
> compliment, but then I found out he was serious because he got really mad."
>
> The officer got out of his car and threatened to ticket her, said
> Rijcken, even though, it bears repeating, there is no law against biking
> in a skirt. The justification for a potential ticket was the danger her
> exposed skin posed to everyone on the street. "That was the bottom line,
> that I was very dangerous," said Rijcken. "I think every woman, even
> when walking in a skirt, would be dangerous then."
>
> According to Rijcken, the cop's words were not merely an empty threat.
> He took her ID and only began to back down when he saw that she was
> Dutch. She hurriedly explained that in Amsterdam, it's common for women
> to bike in skirts. In the end, the officer told her she should change
> into pants and let her go.
>
> At the time, Rijcken said, she wasn't sure that she hadn't broken the
> law. "If you're by yourself in a different country and a police guy
> comes really angrily at you, you get scared," she said.
>
> This is not the first time an NYPD officer has stopped cyclists for
> completely frivolous non-offenses. In April, a private school
> administrator received a ticket for biking with a tote bag on her
> handlebars. The police have not responded to a Streetsblog inquiry about
> Rijcken's allegations.
>
> Her harassment at the hands of the police has colored Rijcken's
> perception of not only New York City but the United States. "I was
> shocked," she said. "In Holland, people refer to America as the country
> of freedom."
>
> --
>
>
> Freedom is always illegal!
>
> When we ask for freedom, we have already failed. It is only when we
> declare freedom for ourselves and refuse to accept any less, that we
> have any possibility of being free.
-- > *Saudi Arabia on the Hudson: NYPD Officer Stopped Cyclist For Wearing Skirt*
> by Noah Kazis on June 10, 2011
>
> When Jasmijn Rijcken, the general manager of the VANMOOF bicycle
> company, traveled from Amsterdam to New York in late April, she was
> excited to see what she'd heard described as a city that had embraced
> bicycling. It wasn't NYC's new protected bike lanes that defined her
> ride through the city, however, but the New York Police Department,
> currently in the midst of a major crackdown against cyclists.
>
> Jasmijn Rijcken was stopped and almost ticketed by an NYPD officer for
> biking in this outfit. Her skirt, the officer said, was too distracting
> for drivers.
>
> Rijcken was in town for the New Amsterdam Bike Show on April 30. After
> she had dismounted on Broadway in SoHo, an NYPD officer stopped,
> berated, and threatened to ticket Rijcken for wearing a skirt while
> cycling, which, it must be noted, is entirely legal and common. Rijcken
> says the officer told her that her skirt was dangerous because she would
> distract drivers and potentially cause them to crash.
>
> "I was standing there next to my bike, looking at my map, and then this
> police guy stops and starts telling me about my skirt," reported
> Rijcken. "At first I thought he was making a joke or maybe even a
> compliment, but then I found out he was serious because he got really mad."
>
> The officer got out of his car and threatened to ticket her, said
> Rijcken, even though, it bears repeating, there is no law against biking
> in a skirt. The justification for a potential ticket was the danger her
> exposed skin posed to everyone on the street. "That was the bottom line,
> that I was very dangerous," said Rijcken. "I think every woman, even
> when walking in a skirt, would be dangerous then."
>
> According to Rijcken, the cop's words were not merely an empty threat.
> He took her ID and only began to back down when he saw that she was
> Dutch. She hurriedly explained that in Amsterdam, it's common for women
> to bike in skirts. In the end, the officer told her she should change
> into pants and let her go.
>
> At the time, Rijcken said, she wasn't sure that she hadn't broken the
> law. "If you're by yourself in a different country and a police guy
> comes really angrily at you, you get scared," she said.
>
> This is not the first time an NYPD officer has stopped cyclists for
> completely frivolous non-offenses. In April, a private school
> administrator received a ticket for biking with a tote bag on her
> handlebars. The police have not responded to a Streetsblog inquiry about
> Rijcken's allegations.
>
> Her harassment at the hands of the police has colored Rijcken's
> perception of not only New York City but the United States. "I was
> shocked," she said. "In Holland, people refer to America as the country
> of freedom."
>
> --
>
>
> Freedom is always illegal!
>
> When we ask for freedom, we have already failed. It is only when we
> declare freedom for ourselves and refuse to accept any less, that we
> have any possibility of being free.
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