As I have said before, what bothers me the most about these sorts of incidents, is that cyclists are seen as 'they', or some sort of other, lower being.
I would like to have a conversation with someone who thinks it's acceptable to knock a cyclist down, and ask them if it Ok therefore to beat someone to the ground in a shopping centre, or enter someone's home and assault the person who lives there.
At what point in these people's estimation does a they / cyclist turn from some sort of object, back into a living human being, with family and friends.