Whether that benign spin will be enough to rescue Bryant’s political career is another matter. More than a mere matter of traffic safety, Sheppard’s death seemed to stir some deep-rooted sense of unfairness, giving the cycling protests an undertone of social justice. “It’s symbolic because you can’t get anybody at a higher status than Bryant,” said Serge, a 24-year-old cycle messenger who attended a rally near the site of the incident, and asked to not have his last name printed. “Allan, well, he was like me—pretty much the bottom of the barrel in terms of what’s defined as success.”
Of course, what passes between two angry men on a street can have precious little to do with social station—not least when they’ve never met each other before. Given the facts as they now stand, Bryant may well receive exoneration in a criminal court of law. His trial in the court of public opinion has only just begun.
