Big Cars and Bad attitudes...is there a connection?
Saturday night, as my daughter, Kaeli, and I returned to our car after the Timbers' soccer match, we had an experience with another driver which left me feeling quite upset. I had put it behind me until today, when another incident put me back in the same foul mood. And I found myself mulling over how difficult it is to escape stereotyping. The dark blue, Ford F350 on Friday night was parked in the second from the last parking space on 15th Ave right by Artist's Rep Theater (in case he happens to read this). When we were looking for our parking space, and pulled into the space behind this behemoth, I had to get out to check whether I could park there. The giant Ford, on oversized tires, hung over the parking space in front of it by a good foot and a half and intruded into my parking space by a foot. On eyeballing the situation, I could give him clearance to get out and still keep my rear bumper from sticking into the crosswalk. So....off we went to the game. Which was a corker by the way. Timbers are going to the playoffs again. But I digress. When we came back to the car, the blue Ford driver was maneuvering out of his spot. I stopped on the sidewalk to keep an eye on my bumper. His wife looked out at us from the passenger seat.
And then he did something unexpected. He rolled down his window and yelled, "Why don't you get another parking space you stupid f***ing a**hole?" (editorial hashmarks for young eyes). I was speechless. I couldn't quite comprehend why he would yell at me when his vehicle was the one too big for the space? And I wondered how his wife felt listening to his display of "manliness"? But the attitude expressed was just astonishing.
As I say, I put the issue behind me. however, today I went to the hospital to pick up my mom and dad and bring them home. When I got to the parking structure, I was going to pull into an empty space in the section marked "compact". Next to the empty space was a white Ford SUVwith a six inch tow assembly coming off the back of the vehicle. No way this could be considered a "compact" anything. It protruded into the driving lane a good two feet. And I thought, "this is like the guy on Saturday night". The attitude is "I can park anywhere I want. It's all about me." It got worse when I went to the Emergency loading zone to actually put Dad and Mom in the car. A bronze Ford Expedition pulled up ahead of me, into the pedestrian walkway. The driver anchored it, got out (no flashers), and walked off into the hospital, forcing all the partially ambulatory folks to go around the monster.
I know people with big cars who are very nice, very considerate, and have big cars because business or other necessity dictates. So I am not labelling people with giant cars as awful as a class. But I think, without doubt, there's a large class of monster car drivers who have them because they are an expression of 'power' and because they create a clear separation from everyone else, a separation that allows the owner to ignore 'the little guy'. I think it says something else about them- not something good either. We'd be better off without them. Much better off.
Next up, nasty little car drivers.....maybe.
And then he did something unexpected. He rolled down his window and yelled, "Why don't you get another parking space you stupid f***ing a**hole?" (editorial hashmarks for young eyes). I was speechless. I couldn't quite comprehend why he would yell at me when his vehicle was the one too big for the space? And I wondered how his wife felt listening to his display of "manliness"? But the attitude expressed was just astonishing.
As I say, I put the issue behind me. however, today I went to the hospital to pick up my mom and dad and bring them home. When I got to the parking structure, I was going to pull into an empty space in the section marked "compact". Next to the empty space was a white Ford SUVwith a six inch tow assembly coming off the back of the vehicle. No way this could be considered a "compact" anything. It protruded into the driving lane a good two feet. And I thought, "this is like the guy on Saturday night". The attitude is "I can park anywhere I want. It's all about me." It got worse when I went to the Emergency loading zone to actually put Dad and Mom in the car. A bronze Ford Expedition pulled up ahead of me, into the pedestrian walkway. The driver anchored it, got out (no flashers), and walked off into the hospital, forcing all the partially ambulatory folks to go around the monster.
I know people with big cars who are very nice, very considerate, and have big cars because business or other necessity dictates. So I am not labelling people with giant cars as awful as a class. But I think, without doubt, there's a large class of monster car drivers who have them because they are an expression of 'power' and because they create a clear separation from everyone else, a separation that allows the owner to ignore 'the little guy'. I think it says something else about them- not something good either. We'd be better off without them. Much better off.
Next up, nasty little car drivers.....maybe.
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