In retrospect he should have been paying more attention to his surroundings and not hit the person in the first place.

Well if your mom thinks so, they must be!

Because responding to violence with more violence is absolutely necessary and solves every issue.

I say this as a cyclist in the UK, the cyclist could easily be at fault here. I have been taken off my bike by more cyclists and pedestrians (stepping off the curb without looking or walking across the cycle path) than I have motorists. I have cycled everywhere for the last 16 years, IMO dog walkers are the WORST!

As a pedestrian I hate cyclists. The majority seem to think they can ride on the roads and the pavements and change whenever they want. Red light ahead? Ride on the path. Pedestrians ahead? Change to the road or try to squeeeeeze past without warning or a thankyou if I move out the way. As a disgruntled walker nowadays I just stay in the way until your bell dings, you say 'excuse me' or you go around. Needless to say, most cyclists don't understand the word 'footpath' either and happily hurtle downhill toward me, expecting me to just move. It's so tempting to throw crap in their spokes. I will happily let my dog get in your way too. I realize not all cyclists are like this but it seems to be the case for the majority. So when you moan about pedestrians, imagine the shit we go through too when we're just trying to get home.

79, I totally agree. I've had too many close calls with too many cyclists who think they can just go wherever they want. And where I live at least, it's actually illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk or on a crosswalk (except for children). So they shouldn't be on the sidewalks at all, yet they run people down like they own the world. However, I've had just as many close calls with drivers who don't stop at a red light or stop sign when they're supposed to, or who look like they see me crossing and are slowing down but then speed up again and nearly hit me! So personally, I think there are just too many people not paying attention to their surroundings or what they're doing. Whether they're on bikes or in cars isn't the point, the problem is that no one seems to pay attention. As for the OP, if it was their fault, they kind of deserved to learn the lesson to watch out for cyclists. If it was the cyclist's fault, which it could also have been, then he's a jerk who needs to learn to pay attention and I feel sorry for OP.