Entitlement D-Bags and the flipper-offers in the wrong.

Long ago I lost count of how many interactions I've had on the road where people in the wrong have given me the finger for me doing absolutely nothing but reminding them with my horn and squealing tires that I came within mere inches and almost hit them for either their failure to pay attention or lack of patience.

Certainly most if not all of you on here who are drivers/drive daily can all relate to this. I guess you could make the argument that it is human nature and natural to be defensive when you are called out on a dumb mistake. But there are so many people who I talk to who will admit to being embarrassed when they have made past mistakes on the road and say they have never felt the need to flip someone off, let alone fathom the idea when they are the ones who are wrong.

It's starting to seem like an entitlement issue, because that is where everything has been heading in recent times. You can't walk into a fast food restaurant nowadays without hearing people complain when their food isn't ready in 3 minutes, you can't be in a check out line and take longer than a half a second to pull your stupid sim card chipped credit card out of the machine without people huffing and puffing behind you because they're thinking about how they're going to be 30 seconds late to the next traffic light they hit that could potentially be green for them.

You have people you may hold the door for and they don't even smile or say thank you, or you have people who will walk in front of you and let the door slam in your face. I find that even I move quickly, there is almost always someone behind me that just wants to move a little faster and does it without saying excuse me.

You have these people who have a mentality that everyone must yield for them and stand aside or else, while they slam their accelerator foot down on straight roads and blow stop signs on back roads so they don't have to suffer the indignity of moving 0 mph on their destination to nowhere-land.

I always wanted to post something along these lines on ATS to get a discussion going but never got around to it. What really pushed me to post was my encounter of two people in less than one week who cut me off and then flipped me off after I honked at them and looked towards them as I passed.

In both cases there were a driver and passenger who wasted no time pointing, shouting profanities with their windows up and flipping me off from the "safe" comfort of their car where the would presume I'm another schmuck who'll do absolutely nothing (and I am because I am not a maniac, but they do exist which these morons fail to remember).

Working near a seemingly lawless under-policed set of very, very busy roads connecting major pikes and highways nearby which are major lifeblood arteries between two populated cities and everything in-between, the frequency of encounters is fairly high and it's really dangerous 5 days out of the week for me on my way to work. I'd say the frequency of running into these situations, for me, is about once every month.

If it isn't the daily grind of work getting to me, it's keeping my cool calm head in these situations because it sure takes a lot of willpower to not get in front of these idiots and brake check them into oblivion, steer at them and run them off the road or follow them to their next stop, pull them out of their car and beat the ever loving fck out of them. I honestly wish more people would get a dose of reality when they put peoples lives and their hard worked for assets (assets=vehicles - mine is still relatively new and accident free and I'd love to keep it that way) at risk on the road with their awful driving habits, and maybe more people would fall in line and behave.

Unfortunately we live in a society where the good guy loses and bad guy wins..as it's wrong to point out other's critical mistakes and no longer hold people responsible for their poor decisions and actions in a way that will etch in their minds an actual valuable lesson. So with that taking advantage of an atmosphere with no repercussions you have fools who decide to behave poorly, be absolute arrogant oafs and treat their fellow human brethern with a lot less respect.

It's really not hard to obey the speed limit, stop tailgating people, stop where you're supposed to stop when you no longer have the right of way and actually turn your head and look before switching lanes, is that really asking too much, would it really kill people that much inside to be MORE aware of their surroundings?

I swear the biggest perpetrator of natural selection is driving. Darwin be with you. And don't even get me started on texting and driving, I have whole other wall of text for that stuff.

Nobody is going to read a wall, add paragraphs.

a reply to: soekvg

Why is it okay to for go paragraphs when writing a rant?

a reply to: Muninn

It's not that long, and according to your post timestamp, you read it in three minutes. I cannot assume you instantly posted in a thread without reading it first, right?

Oh, wait.....

originally posted by: soekvg
a reply to: Muninn

It's not that long, and according to your post timestamp, you read it in three minutes. I cannot assume you instantly posted in a thread without reading it first, right?

Oh, wait.....

No ... he didn't read it.

He said

Nobody is going to read a wall, add paragraphs.

Couldn't be bothered at first .. then spat back when you were called out.

Think of others please .... oh wait .... that is what your OP is about. Bless you.

Instead of looking for these people, the ones you refer to in your rant, spend the day seeing all of the wonderful people that do nice things.

As you seek, so shall you find.

Thank you for adding the paragraphs, it was most helpful.

P

a reply to: pheonix358

I broke it up into paragraphs. Sorry, haven't posted on the internet in a while so I kinda forgot the "etiquette" so to speak, plus I am tired and wrote it tired, should have waited to write it tomorrow or something when I will presumably be more awake and thinking clearer, I had a rough day.

As for "spating" back when called out, first of all its a rant forum, so from my POV the OP and replies are all going to be less than constructive and of lower quality, as I am not really writing something highly informative or doing any school work I will be graded on (though we can agree if this was graded, big F am i right?)

This might sound like profiling but statistically speaking I cannot be too hard pressed to think highly of anyone lurking or posting on ATS (hey I'll take shots at myself, I ain't gonna lie) let alone an area of the website where "rants" take place. So naturally I didn't put in the effort.

I appreciate your blessing btw, but I really don't need a blessing. Let my lord and savior do that. My life is just fine. What I do need is sleep. I believe "go to bed you mumbling fool" would have been better and I would have agreed and laughed, I'll toast to that.

As for looking for people who actually do nice things, I know they're out there. I see them everywhere, I interact with them as much as I can, I love striking up conversations and just getting to know everyone. Just being more awake I notice how miserable and shut out a lot of other people are, how materialistic and self absorbed so many are and how blinded they are by it but the mistakes they make it actually hurts my head. On the weekends I can take it all in more, when I am not grinding my way to work every week day and being stuck around miserable people and toiling for a paycheck that I feel like I signed my soul to the devil for.

Also seriously comparing interactions that could lead to injuries or death on the road and how twisted and wrong we treat other in real life to how I rant with some letters mixed together to form words that we understand as language on a rant forum part of a conspiracy website at 2:30 in the morning just doesn't seem fair, lol. But I salute you and respect you for calling me out, thank you, seriously. I am sorry for snapping back earlier.

I'm right there with ya.
People are just so self absorbed. Everything is, after all, all about them you know.
Common courtesy is dying, right alongside common sense. It's sad and infuriating to watch.

a reply to: soekvg

Went through a period of honking at all of the drivers making ridiculous mistakes.
One day the horn stopped working on the vehicule.
Took that as a lesson.

a reply to: Slinki

I am not even sure if they want you to know it's about them. A lot of people do try and pull your ear with their troubles or just talk a lot about the stuff they have or do without realizing it. Couldn't agree more about common sense and courtesy, though it's most likely never as bad as someone (like me) rants about.

Maybe if I paid more attention like I want others to do I'd realize the person who slammed a door in my face was the first person to do that in 3 months, but hundreds of other people I have encountered will hold it or say thank you when I hold the door.

It's just hard to have been brought up to make sure you put others first and be curious and watch some other people not really giving a damn. Hard to wrap your mind around it sometimes, that someone could be lacking it because they weren't even taught it. Almost makes you wonder, did their parents not love them enough or just not care? Then the thoughts point towards the future and your worry...will no one will be courteous or care about others some day? I really hope Gen Z and post Gen Z kids shape a better world for following generations than whatever the hell occurred during most Millennials' upbringing. (A group I am part of unfortunately).

a reply to: Nothin

I would say I go through phases of it myself. Sometimes I just don't feel like wasting energy being mad and other times I want to stand my ground and let em have it. When you're right and you feel right sometimes you cannot let it go. Character flaw I suppose, I know lots can relate.

a reply to: soekvg

Good thread man. I recently had a incident happen that deeply concerned me. My reaction was scowled by some members here but in reality was very much the right one.
I even made a thread about it ATS thread

It is a good read IMO but you are the only judge of that. People can be stupid and us smart ones have to compensate for others lack of reflex and thinking abilities. I myself have never received 1 traffic violation in my entire life. Just today I was leaving the 711 and some idiot cut me off as a city bus was coming by. If I had not been aware of the bus or what the D-bag was doing I was have gotten sideswiped. People just suck sometimes.

a reply to: soekvg
I must be lucky because I don't recognise that stress filled world you describe.
People are chilled out in my parts, most folk wave a 'sorry' if they make a driving mistake or whatever, usually reciprocated with a wave and a smile.
I don't live totally in 'the sticks' but my urban area in the winter is a case of nearly everyone knows each other. It's a much more relaxed way of life than say when I visit friends in cities.
Maybe cramming thousands of people into small concrete areas of land is the problem, I know I'd be stressed living in an environment like that.

For a while around here it was the older drivers that were the real problem driving 10-20 mph under the speed limit on wide open roads and then when you went to pass them they would speed up and try to race you (or almost). I had one ~50 yr old woman driving the local Lexus dealership's courtesy vehicle pull out right in front of me (in a 45mph), she waited for the 3 cars in front of my to pass and I was 3-4 car lengths behind the last one and no one behind me. She pulled out and drove 20mph while looking at her phone. I honked & flashed my lights as she pulled out and I don't think she even noticed. I waited until I got to a place where I could pass and she floored it as I was passing, but I got past her. She tailgated me (about 1-2ft from my bumper) while making gestures and yelling. While passing a house I thought a dog was running out and hit my brakes which really upset her and she pulled off into the opposite lane to pass (while still holding her phone) all with a blind hill and corner in a residential area. Some courtesy driver. This was the 2nd incident with that companies courtesy drivers.

I actually haven't had too many problems with younger drivers, I honestly can't recall any of the dip sheets being of the younger types. Now I do think there are some younger drivers who peel out at the corner near my house and rev their engines but that hasn't changed in 25+ years.

I had a near crash not to long ago, was driving through an intersection (lights), had the green, and a person traveling from my right blew through the light, which the stopping line was about 100-130ft back from the actual corner, so absolutely no turn on red, and had I not swerved into the oncoming lane I would have been T'ed in the A pillar. The guy didn't even stop and pulled out behind me and tailgated me (I was doing 25 in a 30, but it is 15 during school hours) before passing me in the middle of town! I would have NEVER considered doing that during peak traffic times (maybe at 12-4am) ~6:30pm. I followed him until he turned, he actually turned where I was going, but I drove by trying to cool down, then immediately turned around and found him in the parking lot. I confronted him and said something about how dangerous what he did was and he was lucky I was paying attention. The guy was mid 30's or so and he got extremely agitated and aggressive, acting like a real tough guy then threatening to call the police. I think he thought I had followed him there, so I parked the car, got out and said, "let's call. I'll go in and call them right now. Wait here. I already have your illegal turn and pass on video and your license plate number, so why don't you wait here for them." And I walked away into the store and the guy took off - I found him sitting in his car parked in a far corner of the lot after 30 mins of shopping. The guy was such a bully & seemed potentially violent when I confronted him and had I been younger I might have been scared off but standing your ground usually makes these people show their true cowardly colors, so that is always the best.

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

Residing in SW Texas, I'd have to agree with you. People here mostly wave and smile and exhibit quite a bit of patience with each others errors when they do happen. And I'd have to say I've learned that in addition to being more laid back, people are pretty slow to shoot the finger or otherwise demonstrate outrage because there's so few people out here, you don't want to unnecessarily alienate someone you later learn works at the local clinic, or restaurant, or who's brother is a cop. Or worse, the person you piss off is the local 6'5" 250 pound bully who wll pummel you into the ground and casually walk away 20 minutes before a Sherfiff's Deputy even shows up.

Discretion is definitely the better part of valor out here.

a reply to: TonyS
Haha, yes, it's the same here, heck only 20 minutes for a cop to arrive would be a shock to the system. Think an hour or so if no lives are immediately threatened. People phone mates for a faster response.
Folk are more chilled though, compared to what I see in cities...I've never beeped my car horn in anger lol

a reply to: soekvg

I think a huge part of the problem is that we have taken driver's ed and driver's training out of schools, so too many drivers never learn to drive correctly. I'm shocked at how many people don't know what lane markings signify -- or even that different lane markings mean different things! I'm shocked at how many people don't know hand signals, and therefore cannot and will not use them in the case of a vehicle's electrical failure. People have no idea how to gauge speed and distances, to know when it's safe to turn out or change lanes. So many skills necessary to safe driving aren't just ignored, they are unknown.

Matthew 7:1-3 King James Version (KJV) 7

Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Try just yelling F-U and shoot them doubles.

I do it.

They probably never hear me.

But, damn it feels good to party.