Change

Last week I suddenly realized it’s been almost five years ago since I began investigating this rider ed issue, and I was astonished.

So many thoughts have been going through my mind lately and came to a head as I was IMing with my friend V. She has digestive problems and her stress level has increased lately and it’s so bad now she can hardly eat at all. She’s been seeing a homeopath by the Hollywood Bowl for a while. “I don’t know why,” she wrote, “I’m spending all this money on therapies and products that don’t work.” She’s thinking about making a major change in her life.

I’m thinking she’ll do something like move out from her mother’s house, get a job she doesn’t hate or at least get some real physical exercise. Instead she tells me her facialist told her about a new homeopath who has a “new method/technique/approach” and is cheaper than her old homeopath.

Which reminded of the New York DMV who believed it was time for a change and believed MSF’s hype about it’s great track record running state programs and was the lowest bidder, too.

Change is the new buzz word: Things can change. People can change. We can change. Things will be better if only this happens. We just have to change this one thing and everything will be better.

So what has changed in five years?

Back then the Motorcycle Safety Foundation presented itself as a charity safety and educational foundation instead of what it really was—a trade group controlled by the manufacturers to promote its self-interests and protect them from government regulation.

• Five years ago MSF was plotting to take over states and taking them over and is still plotting and taking over states today.
• Back then MSF was becoming more dictatorial and secretive and is even more so today.
• Five years ago the manufacturers were cynically using rider training as marketing—and they still are today.
• Back then deaths and severe injuries were occurring with student-centered/adult-learning instructing approach and they’re still are occurring today.
• Five years ago the manufacturers were greedily seeking maximum profits no matter what the physical costs to riders—and they still are only they’re greedily seeking to lower their costs at the expense of independent providers.

A lot has happened in those five years.

But not a lot has changed.

So I’d really like to believe that V will find the change she can believe in with her new homeopath and the leopard can change its spots for all the NY training providers Joe the Instructors and Joe the Administrators in the nation. For some reason I keep humming The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”:

… For I know that the hypnotized never lie

Do ya? …

There’s nothing in the streets

Looks any different to me

And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye…

I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution

Take a bow for the new revolution

Smile and grin at the change all around

Pick up my guitar and play

Just like yesterday

Then I’ll get on my knees and pray

We don’t get fooled again

Don’t get fooled again

No, no, no no, no!

Don’t get fooled again.

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Meet the new boss

Same as the old boss.

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