Groucho Marx once said he wouldn’t join any club that would have him as a member.
I wonder what Groucho would think about our recent conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion.
A few weeks ago I got a call from a guy who’s bringing a national ride to northern Colorado. He wanted some help with bike routes. As we chatted, he told me about criteria for his ride – among other items, “no e-bikes.”
Why “no e-bikes?” Just because.
So people like me are excluded. Just because.
Did I mention this is a faith-based effort?
Please don’t misunderstand. This event is awesome, and if they allowed e-bikes it wouldn’t matter to me as an individual. For many reasons this particular ride is far beyond my capabilities.
My point isn’t to criticize or quibble with their entry criteria. But this conversation got me thinking about how easily we draw circles, hard boundaries about who’s welcome and who’s out.
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We’ll be joined on June 19th for the FREEDOM TOUR CLASSIC by a cool guy named PJ. He has birth defects and can’t ride a bike, but he’s enjoyed participating in dozens of cycling events because generous cyclists like Anna tow him. Anna’s a strong rider who could climb and race through the hills on the 62-mile route. Instead, she’ll have a blast cruising 25 miles with PJ. He’ll make new friends and have a great day that wouldn’t be possible without Anna’s sacrifice.
Frankly, people like PJ and me are inconvenient. It takes extra effort (sacrifice) to include us. So much easier to exclude us with facility design. Or arbitrary criteria. Just because.
Let’s be honest. We’re all more comfortable hanging out with “people like us.” People who think like us. Look like us. Ride like us. Walk and talk and believe like us.
So if it’s easier and more comfortable, why make the effort to hang out with inconvenient people?
Just because…Jesus.
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We still need a few volunteers to help make June 19th an awesome day. If you would like to help out, here’s our volunteer form. We’ll get back to you and figure out a way for you to have a blast!