I admire the messenger cyclists of New York City. We’re all desperately trying to make our way around in this world, and NYC cyclists are just another one of the crowd in the big impersonal streets of NYC, specifically to the taxi drivers. The taxi drivers take great freedoms to infringe on the cyclists lanes. There seems to be a general attitude around here that whatever “I” am doing is more important than what “you” are doing.
In fact, just yesterday I was contentedly browsing through books at Borders using some precious minutes of freedom. Out of nowhere, a lady attempted to shove me aside with her elbow.
Actually, she succeeded, because she was bigger than me.
My curiosity was roused more than anything, so I watched her. Come to find out she was in a painful hurry to see a long lost friend. I suppose that was more important than me and my book which I was merely browsing through.

My Borders experience may seem like an irrelevant tangent, but it relates. Speaking to the cyclists, I discovered within this humble job, very humble people who are not ashamed of their “errand boy” style job, but rather generally enjoy and embrace it; not to mention, depend on it. I observed the hardships messenger cyclists face- being criticized for weaving in and out of traffic. But in reality, their “safety area” designated by the law is really not available, since the taxis use it to their advantage. What are they expected to do? They need the money as much as the taxi drivers, though they are smaller and much more vulnerable. The taxis dominate NYC streets. The bicyclists survive, barely. Each one must provide food for his person, and perhaps family. But who's got more freedom? It’s the bigger guy who defines it.
Sometimes the governement is the taxi, the people the cyclists.