As a kid growing up on a farm in wheat country North Dakota I never had a bicycle.
Didn't want one, didn't miss one. As a result however, I never was very good at riding bike when I bought one in the 1980's.   Riding with no hands-no way!   I learned that riding a couple miles to and from work everyday was more work than fun.  
So years later, when Lance Armstrong was putting together a string of Tour de France victories, I took an extra interest in his amazing cycling accomplishments. But then -betrayal!  As Wikipedia reports"Armstrong's reputation was tarnished by a doping scandal and he was stripped of all of his achievements from August 1998 onward, including his seven Tour de France titles."
Armstrong was a real hero to a lot of people and his cheating scandal was a major disappointment to millions of fans and donors.
"In January 2013, Armstrong publicly acknowledged his involvement in doping. In April 2018, Armstrong settled a civil lawsuit with the United States Department of Justice and agreed to pay US$5 million to the U.S. government."
Eventually Armstrong resigned as CEO of his foundation and he slid off into obscurity which I guess is where disgraced heroes go.  But then this morning (8/10/20) I read that an Austin, Texas, bicycle shop founded by Armstrong announced it was no longer going to work with the Austin Police Department, canceling a five-year $350,000 contract.
Brietbart News reports store management as saying, "We are not anti-police... our refusal to work with the police is the best way to do our part to keep our customers safe and this city moving in the right direction.”
Really?  First doped AND now "woke"?  Not having properly outfitted bicycle patrols somehow keeps bike customers more safe?  Tell me if you've heard this liberal line of BS before?
In a statement posted to Facebook, bike store management writes, “Businesses can no longer be non-participants in the communities they serve. We chose what we think will do the most to suture these divides and place our community on the right side of history."
I have no idea to what extent Armstrong is involved in this "dopey" decision--like I had no idea how involved he was in the cheating scandal- but who does he think police bike patrols help?  Fellow bikers, his customers, people at family friendly events in downtown Austin?
I do mean to be critical so i'll quote from Alexander Pope's 1709 work: An Essay on Criticism .  Hey Lance Armstrong,  "A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again."  
I'll translate - Lance, I feel you have been sipping again, your people know just enough to be dangerous. You have bought into the emotionality of the mob.  It's time to drink deeper and study the facts & statistics, research the motives of activist groups and apply clear full thinking on the subject. 
In other words, put that brain of yours to work with the same kind of calculated clarity and detailed precision that allowed you to fool us all for nearly a decade. 
Don't be a dope....the police aren't the problem. 

 

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