“Perfect” suspect in Critical Mass incident

090715-kgo-ian-hespelt-imgI swear you can’t make this stuff up.

Pictured right is Ian Hespelt. The 31 year old cyclist has been arrested in connection with a recent Critical Mass incident involving a U Lock and a Zip Car. According to an ABC7 article on the story, neighbors were “shocked”, saying “…he’s not a violent person.” Well, the actions caught on film which he is now being accused of enacting sure are violent.

Could this guy seriously be a more perfect stereotype for the Critical Mass cyclist gone amuck? And truth be told, if this guy really isn’t normally a “violent person” does this speak to the mob mentality that, by some accounts, has unfortunately taken over Critical Mass? After all, the person in the video is wearing a tee shirt that appears to say “Non-Violence is our strength” – all while bashing the car with a U Lock.

I will admit a part of me thought this was all just a little too perfect at first. This is San Francisco. I’m cynical of everything. It reminded me of the video of the protests of the Google bus some time ago. The video showed a “google employee” saying all the things that everyone expects them to say. All the things that make many others in the city hate them. And it was totally staged… the guy didn’t even work for Google.

Now I’m not saying this guy is a plant… but damn. If he were they picked the perfect person. Even though many will tell us that hipsters are dead, Mr. Hespelt unfortunately represents exactly what most would expect someone to look like at Critical Mass. He went from being Just Another Cyclist to looking like Just Another Asshole.

Let’s get him some canvas kicks and an earflap hat to finish it off.

MF Bike
I seem to always find a way to include this video in my posts…