On Bicycle Violence in the Netherlands

Since I began my fierce Facebook campaign for gun regulation in the US, I have challenged, and been challenged by many gun aficionados with many different arguments. Here are some of the arguments that NRA members and "Second Amendment" people have responded with:

1) FUCK YOU

2) Here is one for you Kenneth shit head: Germany early 1900's ADOLPH HITLER disarms the Germans, takes over their country, then STARTS WORLD WAR1. Who was the country that stopped that bastard from doing that? The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Suck on that fact you NAZI PIG.

3)  We as Americans love our guns thank you!

4) Kenneth Lawrence Schroeder you make me sick!! Stay the fuck out of the US you weak ass pos!

5) The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. -Thomas Jefferson


I believe these are all very good arguments for going grocery shopping with semi-automatic rifles slung over one's shoulder, and I had a difficult time responding to them. 

However, when I recently posted my admiration for the state of Rhode Island, which apparently has the strictest gun regulation, the lowest gun rate death per capita, and has recently divested from the gun industry, I was challenged by an old friend and lover of liberty in a new and unparalleled way. 

When are they going to stop bicycle violence in The Netherlands????  he asked.

I immediately Googled bicycle violence in the Netherlands to see if there was some news about a man beating another man to death with a bicycle. When my search produced no results, I searched further-- maybe it wasn't a whole bike being used to commit acts of violence-- a whole bicycle would make an unwieldy weapon-- maybe it was bicycle parts-- maybe there have been a series of mass bludgeonings to death in schools with the perpetrators using handlebars or forks or deflated inner tubes. But I found nothing. 

Then it occured to me that my thinking was wrong. By 'violence', my friend must have meant 'death' or 'injury'. And it occured to me that there must be a relatively high rate of bicycle deaths and injuries in Holland, given that so many people ride bikes there. What I discovered was that, indeed, in 2008, nine out of a million people were killed in Holland while riding their bike, compared to only two per million in the UK.  I couldn't find the statistics for bike deaths in the USA. By comparison, when I checked the statistics for gun deaths in 2011, in Holland it was about 5 deaths per million, while in the USA it was about 100 deaths per million. 

So I considered my friend's argument, which seems to be:  Both guns and bicycles are mere objects, and the use of either of them can result in death. 

It also seems that my friend chose bicycles in Holland to make this point, rather than, say, jelly beans (which can also kill if you choke on them)  because bicyles in Holland are thought of as good things by peace freaks such as myself. 

Yet, I am not convinced by my friend. I believe that it is also important to consider the purpose of an object. While both guns and bicycles can be used for sport, a bicycle is ultimately made for transportation, hence the wheels, while a gun is ultimately made to kill something, hence the bullets. Furthermore, the bicycle is a relatively passive mode of transport. Most of the cyclists who are killed on the road, are killed by cars, which are objects used for transport in a less passive way. Walk down the highway sometime, and you will understand.  

In any case, a  person on a bike intends to go from point A to point B. A person with a gun intends, at some point,  to shoot something or someone. 

So, to answer the question: When are they going to stop bicycle violence (sic) in the Netherlands????

My answer is that I believe the Dutch are working on it. They have very good bike paths there, and I believe they are serious about bicycle safety. And if everyone decides to ride a bike there, then aside from the resulting quiet and reduced carbon emissions and better health of the population, I believe bicycle deaths will be reduced, as there will be fewer cars to kill cyclists. 

But my question remains: When are we going to stop gun violence in America?