The ore packed into the San Francisco political crucible was part transpo-anarchy, part traditional urban activism; it had a heavy dose of low tech with just a trace of info-tech. The alloy that resulted is Critical Mass.
The Mass, an event mysterious even five years after its inception, rolled into public consciousness after weeks of posturing by San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and counter-rhetoric by cyclists brought 6,000 to 10,000 riders into the streets for last Friday's rush hour. The ensuing traffic snarls and confrontations between cyclists and cops, cyclists and motorists, and cyclists and pedestrians resulted in more than 100 arrests and a barrage of anti-Mass press.
In response, San Francisco Web consultant Ken McCarthy set up a Critical Mass Web page, offering a forum for bikers to tell their tales, address media miscontruction of events, and obtain free legal services.
"I was illegally arrested. Can I sue?... I was beat up by cops. Can I sue?... I was beat up by a driver. Can I sue? ... Yes you can!" reads attorney Jennifer Granick's Web page. "Isn't America great!"
"While the newspapers and especially the television news were still failing to cover the real story - that the arrests were a set-up and innocent people were being used for political purposes - Web sites went up overnight," said Jason Meggs, a long-time cycling activist who often emails elected officials and news editors. "We were able to break the story and now you can see police abuses on almost every station."
Meggs and others say the Net, in the form both of broadside sites like McCarthy's and of listservs, has played a role in helping organize Mass events. Referring to Edison's aphorism that genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, Meggs said: "The Internet lets that 1 percent inspiration fly far and wide, but it usually isn't a viable substitute for the 'perspiration.'"
Still, the Net offers a communications forum that almost perfectly mirrors the ride's structure - or lack thereof.
"Critical Mass is the closest thing to true anarchy that I've ever seen," says Joe Speaks, a volunteer for the San Francisco Bike Coalition. "There really are no leaders. The Internet only enhances that. Anyone can jump on the list and make a suggestion, and suddenly that's the plan."
Critical Mass grew out of 1990-91 Gulf War protests, in which cyclists played a leading role. From the first ride's pack of about 25 in 1992, the number of riders has increased steadily to the current level, which varies seasonally, from 1,000 to 4,000. For the past couple of years, participants have added listservs to their arsenal of organizing and strategizing tools.
Like many online forums, the lists were initially dominated by a few loquacious bullies. But because they were populated by local residents, that hurdle was eventually overcome in the most old-fashioned way possible: In October 1996, users met face to face to figure out how to defuse the online tension. When they went back online in November, the tenor of the conversation changed entirely,
Suddenly, the lists became the perfect complement to the leaderless Critical Mass rides.
"Extensive discussion started taking place, and those began forming a lot of what happened in public," said participant David Powers. "For example, after we started talking online, we started a smaller weekly ride. That wouldn't have happened except for a bunch of people talking about testing out an alternate route."
People chattered with one another about what had happened on last ride and what might happen next. At times, the lists veered toward political topics such as transportation, at times they remained relatively chatty.
Then Mayor Brown, angered by the sight of the Mass legions rolling through red lights with a police escort, decided to crack down on the rides.
In the midst of Brown's road rage, said Powers, the networking virtues of online activism have been somewhat curtailed. With the police advertising the fact they are monitoring the lists, the mayor calling Critical Mass leaders "lawless, insurrectionist types," and the San Francisco district attorney set to prosecute eight of last Friday night's riders for misdemeanors that might land them in jail for up to a year, standing up as a Critical Mass leader - even inadvertently - is a less-than-attractive role.
"Anyone who stands up online can be identified as a leader," Powers says. "So in a lot of ways, meeting face to face is better. Strangely, it's more anonymous."
