Ammon Bundy, You're a Jackass

There are a lot of nutters coming out of the woodwork to defend the Bundy boys and their jackass friends and sadly a lot of people in the mountain bike community are among them.

From what I can tell a lot of the people that are cheering the court's decision are cut a bit out of the same cloth, white middle aged males that are still engaged in adolescent pursuits of glory.

"I just won a master class division cross country race".

"Against how many people?"

"Six".

Ugh.

Obviously, I exaggerate for comic effect but you get the point.

It's funny seeing them trying to equate what was going on with the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge with Standing Rock.

Oh, boo hoo. A rancher that repeatedly broke the law and was asked to pay for the land he had been illegally grazing his cattle on is now finally has to pay up is not the same as a marginalized community that has been systematically murdered and discriminated against for centuries.

The fact that an oil company decided to put a pipeline directly through a reservation (a sovereign nation under US law) a cemetery and  sensitive watershed areas is not the same as a bunch of yahoos fucking up a wildlife center.
Some members of the MTB community see the Bundy bro's victory in court as having some relevance in their fight for trail access.

In a broader sense, they are correct because lawyers look at other court cases for presidence. Future cases will look at the Oregon decision and pick and choose on how to use the court's decision for either prosecution or defense purposes.

Personally, I think the Oregon decision sets a dangerous precedence. The decision sends a perhaps unintended message that occupation of federal land by armed individuals is all right.  It also okays flagrant disregard of court orders to pay for land use by ranchers. I'm sure oil and mining companies are wringing their hands with glee concerning the court's decision.

What does this decision mean for mountain bike advocates?

Trespass may be tolerated if you are white and you have a good lawyer.

Certain members of the MTB community have begun to doubt the viability, the validity, and, indeed, the necessity for lands to be held in the public trust.

The wilderness is seen as an inconvenience, an impediment to living out their fantasy life.

People conveniently forget why national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and wilderness areas were established in the first place and that was largely due to the fact that they were under siege by large economic interests. There is a concerted effort to erode these protected areas and relinquish them to private hands.

If the mining industry is any indication of how well private entities manage things we're in trouble. Our country is dotted with abandoned mines, many of which were previously owned by now-bankrupt companies, that are leaching toxic chemicals into drinking water or that have irrevocably scarred the landscape in the pursuit of capital gains.

Speaking of precedence I have little doubt that if public lands are sold off to private entities that some of them will look to clubs like the Bohemian Club, the Olympic Club, the Forest Lake Country Club, and the Black Sheep Golf Club in order to exclude women and minorities from open space areas.

Shaun King said it best, “Deny it if you want, but white privilege is a powerful thing”.