Angry cafe owner Jason Wells, Jon Ronson and internet shaming

I think the lynch-mob mentality is a sign of frustration with the mainstream legal system - "if the courts won't deal with these people, we will" sort-of-thing. There are endless number of stories about careless, drunk or aggressive drivers maiming or even killing cyclists and walking away from court with quite minimal penalties. So when an incident like this happens, and the individual receives a laughable fine of £90, it's not surprising to find the 'community' using the media to hit the perpetrator where it hurts, reputation and business. Just to be clear, I'm not saying it's right.

I think the lynch-mob mentality is a sign of frustration with the mainstream legal system - "if the courts won't deal with these people, we will" sort-of-thing. There are endless number of stories about careless, drunk or aggressive drivers maiming or even killing cyclists and walking away from court with quite minimal penalties. So when an incident like this happens, and the individual receives a laughable fine of £90, it's not surprising to find the 'community' using the media to hit the perpetrator where it hurts, reputation and business. Just to be clear, I'm not saying it's right.

Birzzles: Arse > Handed.

Chapeau Bez

The problem here above all else is that justice has neither been done (£90 fine is a bad joke for driving like that) nor seen to be done (the non apology from Wells sums it up). It is a total failure of justice and as history tells us, when justice fails, the vacuum is filled with unpleasantness.
For the record, I don't feel an ounce of sympathy after his lack of any genuine remorse and will make sure everyone I know locally knows who the owner of Brew is.

PS I've not seen Jacco's tweet before and haven't read Ronson's piece about it, but it's a pretty good joke if you ask me. There is a world of difference, as noted, between making an actually pretty witty joke about at least two controversial subjects, that some people don't get, and driving a couple of tonnes of metal at someone. Just as there is between yelling at someone to "stay away from me you f— c—" and driving a couple of tonnes of metal at someone, or of then threatening violence towards them if there hadn't been a witness.

I'd be interested to know how much practical impact all this pathetic outpouring of hate from keyboard jockeys has actually had on the café business. Someone getting angry is unfortunate, and regrettable, but it isn't something to get outraged by.

All you professional offence takers should try taking an interest in real issues.

I'll sort-of-disagree with one point in this article (which I'm going to guess you may agree with, John).

A "careless driving" charge, which I know you mention because that's really as high as we have come to dream of in cases of no serious injury, obviously fails—linguistically speaking—to fit Wells's actions. This was not carelessness. Arguably, the initial pass was, but then Wells drove his vehicle directly at the chap on the bike.

This is assault. It seems quite clearly so, whether by the linguistic or legal definition. Attempted GBH is probably a bit of a stretch in this instance, but it's perfectly usable where people are assaulted with vehicles. (Look up Carl Baxter for a successful GBH prosecution for deliberately driving a vehicle into someone, in response to a cyclist waving at him after a very close pass, much like Wells responds to a cyclist shouting at him after a very close pass.)

I'm reminded of the chap who was deliberately knocked off by a driver in a funeral convoy, who then got out of the car and verbally assaulted him. The driver was sent on an "awareness" course; hardly befitting the crime as he was quite patently aware of the guy. He should have been sent on an anger management course. (And, in my idea of an ideal world, a learning-to-drive-again course to repass his test and a going-to-court-on-a-charge-of-assault course.)

The offences in the Road Traffic Act 1988, and the wording of them, are problematic enough in cases of low standards of driving ability and lack of care; where there is clear malice and threat, there are other offences which are more appropriate, and I would suggest that it is better to focus on these.

None of this would be necessary if a number of things had happened differently.

Missing from your list is the need for the local council to install proper, protected cycling infrastructure that meets the needs of people on bikes of all ages and abilities in order to keep them and other vulnerable road users safe from motor traffic. The paint on a narrow shared footpath is simply not good enough. They should also do more to manage the road system in and around the park to reduce levels of through traffic.

It's a real shame that a beautiful resource such as Richmond Park is completely surrounded by traffic sewers and invaded by parking craters.

The flaw in these arguments is that Jason Wells isn't really the problem so while having a go at him might make you feel better it doesn't really solve anything. If you're annoyed about this write to your MP about it. Maybe if enough MPs hear about the problems with prosecuting people in these sorts of incidents something might happen. I very much doubt that meting out twitter justice to Jason Wells, or people like him, will change anything, other than to possibly help confirm the notion that cyclists are angry, selfish people that seems to be not uncommon in comment threads.

Secondly, you don't want people to think "I should be careful round cyclists because MOB JUSTICE" and instead because they actually have some understanding of what it's like to be a cyclist. This sort of action doesn't really do much towards that goal either. Nice calm reasonable articles, or letters, explaining the issues, ideally in mainstream press and not on cycling sites, are likely to get much further than "angry cyclists angry about angry man" stories in getting our perspective across. Angry shouting very rarely changes peoples minds and surely what we want to do is change minds over exacting 'revenge' on any particular individual?

I really think that if the answer to "why did you do that mean thing" is "it made me feel better" then it was probably not the right thing to do.

So yes, I think Ronson is right, but as much because I don't think these mobs will really enact the changes we want and people's energy would be better directed elsewhere.

I think all cyclists can relate to the 'glee' of a dangerous bully getting his come-uppance. However, I thought the Twitter hounding crossed a line when they started linking to those images of him standing on his scales with a less than impressive manhood visible (original photo was enhanced to show his naked reflection).

It's one thing to criticise/shame someone for their behaviour, but body-shaming is not something that should be carried out by adults. He can change his attitude, but he can't easily change what he has between his legs. (Although I think he should hop on a bike and actually interact with cyclists - that would help defuse the situation).

As immature as the "Big Car Small Dick" syndrome posts were though, I did chuckle at some of them before thinking that they were unfair.

He is Australian, they aren't known for dress sense. Much like the UK

Plus, he should sack his PR firm.

A more genuine apology and donation of a grand or two to a local cycle charity would have diffused 90% of the backlash.

Jon Ronson only needs to rewrite his original tweet as:-

"Ferocious man is filmed terrorising a stranger with meat-cleaver and Twitter terrorises the man." to understand how stupid it is to be trying to defend, or even feel sorry for, a psychopath who uses his 2.5 tonne truck as a weapon.

Then layer onto that the totally ineffective police response and you get to where we are.

These storms will continue to become more and more frequent, as technology advances the reduction in size and cost, and improvement in quality of cameras. The ONLY reason this (or any other 'cycle cam' event) is news is because of technology progressing.

What I hope will happen in very short order is that the general public will come to think that *every* cyclist is cam'd-up. Therefore there is a high likelihood that their actions will be reported with indisputable evidence, that will almost certainly lead to a prosecution. (yes, in this case the CPS didn't prosecute for dangerous driving - that's a separate issue and we should be told why). Some police forces are ahead of the trend on accepting and handling video evidence, hopefully ACPO will come up with a nationwide standard / best-practice.

I have just purchased a Cycliq Fly6 for club run use, after numerous close passes. We'll get a Fly12 when they come out. I've already announced to the local area Facebook page that motorists should expect *any* cyclist in the valley to have a camera recording them. There is simply zero argument against this. The innocent, considerate motorists have nothing to fear.

I think Jon Ronson fails to understand that Wells has given all those thousands of cyclists, like me, who have taken evidence / video's of driving offences to the Police only to be dismissed, the chance to finally feel they can get a form of justice, even if that is just for Michael, rather than themselves.

There are too many bullies driving cars/vans/lorries, we have all been victim to them, Jason Wells happens to have offered a perfect opportunity for people to give him a social media 'slap'.

If everyone were not in such a hurry all the time these things would not happen. Slow down and respect each other.

At some point you have to say enough is enough.

He did a stupid and dangerous thing and then compounded it with a vile and disgusting rant at his victim and other cyclists. He was in the wrong, but he is far from the only motorist to act in this fashion. The fact that the authorities have chosen not to punish him properly for his actions is neither here or there.

Collectively we have punished him and flexed our 'muscles' by hurting his reputation and his business. We have voiced our disapproval at his actions.
But it is time to stop!

If we continue this on too long then it will backfire spectacularly on us. We will become the bullies and he will become the victim. Public sentiment is a very fickle thing.

I'm not saying that we should forgive and forget, far from it. But I do think that the media shitstorm should end.

So I will repeat - Enough is enough!

This case is just the kind of publicity Wells' behaviour needs. He is FAR from the only driver that behaves like this; I think I meet one of them a month. OK, so very few of them have driven their vehicles into me, but I have had all the slanging matches you can imagine, I've had them turning round to block me, I've had them reversing at high speed trying to catch me (most of them don't have ability to drive forwards that well...) all because I point out their bad driving. It isn't acceptable behaviour, and he deserves every bad consequence that comes as a result of his actions.

I think one of the nastiest aspects of this whole sorry affair is the venom that has appeared in the comment sections of various news websites reporting this incident. It's clear on reading these comments that there is huge sympathy for the "all cyclists are scum and deserve to be squished" sentiment. I'm sure I'm not the only cyclist who's read this bile and hardened my attitudes towards this selfish, aggressive species of driver so eminently exemplified by Jason Wells, and for me, it's entirely appropriate that he suffers as a consequence of his actions.

I have tried, as I know others have, to combat the extreme views posted by the great unwashed. It's an uphill struggle, but I'm hoping that meeting the kind of crap you see with a cyclist's perspective and common sense will at least make some people think that driving at speed without the "obstructions" of cyclists is not a right enjoyed by drivers.

Quite frankly fuck him - there are millions upon millions who are genuinely persecuted on a daily basis, all of which deserve consideration before Jason Wells.

Wells brought it on himself - he's indicative of much of what is wrong with our society so it's no surprise that many of us are quite happy to see him reaping the consequences of his actions, where so many others do not.

The law may have failed but public opinion appears to be quite an effective punishment.

I like Jon (he managed 'The Men From Del Monte', an indie band back in the day and co-wrote the screenplay for 'Frank').

I can understand his viewpoint that there is a certain amount of glee people are taking in seeing Jason Wells ship sink but I think there is a direct correlation between that and the impunity with which drivers injure and kill cyclists (in fact, the vast amount of road deaths in this country alone that seems to be collectively accepted by its populace without even a murmur).

I made a comparison to Gerald Ratner to Wells on Twitter in conversation with Jon, in that Ratner gleefully espoused his contempt for his customers and the 'tat' he sold that htey lapped up, and it bit him on the arse.

Wells decided to use his vehicle as a weapon then verbally threaten the person, all while it was being filmed (and remember when in public, you have no reasonable expectation of privacy - and because of incidents like this, bike cams are now prolifically in use). The contempt he showed has got peoples backs up and so they have chosen hit him in a manner that is the only thing that matters to most people: financially.

I cant agree with Jon on several fronts that he presented: this isnt a facebook bullying of someone for a characteristic they have, a sexual orientation, or a fetish they have. This is the public shaming of a man who thought it was ok to drive aggressively then act verbally violent to try scare people into submission, has an complete lack of remorse for his behaviour, and is now feeling the wrath of 'the herd' that sees it as socially unacceptable.

I have no sympathy for the guy but in two weeks most people will have forgotten his name (who thinks about Emma Way and her dumb tweet nowadays?) but will he take anything away from it or just become more bitter because he refuses to accept the responsibility for his actions?

I look forward to an article by Jon on how injuring and killing cyclists goes largely un(der)punished.