I'll state up front that I'm a commuter cyclist. I've been riding on the roads to/from work for a few decades. The reality is that cyclists are not pedestrians, nor are they motorized vehicles. It's stupid to expect cyclists to obey all motorized vehicle laws, just as it would be stupid to expect them to obey all the pedestrian laws. When I ride, I try to maximize a bicycle's advantages, while minimizing its disadvantages, and be as safe as reasonable. Sometimes it doesn't make sense for me to sit at the traffic light at 6:00 AM when nobody else is there. Why should I wait? Why should I make a complete stop at the stop sign when it's clear to proceed? What safety advantage would there be? I also try to be courteous -- I don't want to pass all the vehicles at a stop light because then the drivers will be angry at me and possibly do something stupid that could put my life in danger when they pass me again. But then again, if the line at the light is so long that I won't make it through on this cycle, then, sure, I might go around the cars to get ahead.
How many times have you, as a vehicle driver, passed a cyclist without giving them the entire lane? How many times have you passed with a double-yellow line? How many times have you passed a cyclist on a blind hill or corner? If you want cyclists to obey all traffic laws, then you'd better treat them as motorized vehicle traffic as well. That's not always reasonable, though. Many times I don't want to take the lane, because traffic will pile up behind me. I'd rather ride in the gutter than cause someone to pass too close to me (but they do it anyway...).
Bottom line is that if I do something stupid and get hit by a car, who's going to wind up in the hospital or mortuary? The driver of the car, or me? Of course I'm going to be watching out for my own skin. But within that constraint, I'm going to try to maximize my own advantage as much as I can.