The next time (when, not if) a young white man walks into a public place and begins to shoot strangers, we have a pretty good idea of what kinds of questions will follow. We will ask whether he purchased the firearm legally. We will ask whether there were warning signs in his behavior, and speculate about his mental health. We will ask his neighbors and grade school acquaintances to tell us about him, as though they have any idea. We will ask weather he used a weapon of war.

We will not, thank goodness, ask whether his victims were wearing their flak jackets to the mall, and suck at our teeth when they learn they were not. Ballistic vests save lives, you know.

And so it is amazing, to me, that when another cyclist is killed by a distracted or aggressive driver, we have so much trouble getting past whether or not that cyclist was wearing a helmet.