In LA people are pretty rude behind the wheel. Traffic is condensed, aggrevating, and there aren't really any consequences for being a total dick. You're insulated by the comfort of your air conditioned steel box of personal comfort. That's why people are so rude while driving as opposed to when they're in line at the bank. They're in the safety of their car and theres nothing you can do or say to them. So people don't care. Driving in LA is like being at a crowded concert full of inconsiderate assholes. They jab you with elbows, cut in line, and push you out of the way at the last minute when you patiently saved a seat for you and your friends close to the front.
So the other morning I was driving to work. If you've ever lived in central LA and tried to merge on to Fountain ave during the morning rush, than you know windows are short. A 2000 Mercedes C class was coming fast, but missing the window could mean being stuck for 10 more minutes so I went for it. The cars ahead on fairfax were stopped at the light so its not like I was slowing the white Mercedes down. Still, as soon as the cars start to go, the white mercedes revs his engine and passes me at full speed only to swerve in front of me and slam on his breaks, forcing me to slam mine to avoid collision. The force of the seat belt pressing against my chest as the momentum of my body refused to arrest its motion was a physical manifestation of the dude in the white mercedes' anger. It was as though he stepped in front of me in line at the bank and pushed me in the chest, suggesting I step back. I pulled up next to him at the next light, shaking my head, mouthing the words "What the fuck?!?!". He rolled down his window and through his fake dolce sun glasses said, "You cut me off, that's why I did that."
It was an odd justification. Pperhaps I'm oblivious to the fact that I'm a shitty driver, but regardless of whether I cut him off, I don't understand how any sort of road-enraging mistake warrants that kind of retaliation. I wanted to throw the yogurt I was eating out my window and into his car. Yet, I would have only perpetuated the societal flaw. Being displeased with other people isn't a good reason to be a dick. For that matter when is violence or malice ever justified? There is a difference between revenge and justice. One is finding personal satisfaction from paying back the infliction of pain or suffering by maliciously returning pain or suffering. The other is the assurance that societal stability is preserved by consequences. I'm not saying you should be a pacifist and I'm not saying our country's defense program isn't crucial. I'm just saying that in the case of personal conflict, lashing out with malicious intent only makes society worse. Road rage makes the world a worse place and so does being a dick because someone cut in your coffee line.
The world has limited resources and a limited amount of space, so arresting each other's motion is inevitable. The world is more tolerable if you just act consciously about the space you take up and who you're taking it from. I'm not saying turn the other cheek because that would only make your struggle worse, but I'm saying that throwing your yogurt into the road raging dick in the mercedes' car doesn't get you anything back. Justified revenge is not the same as justice. Keying someone's car in a parking lot because they stole your space is taking pleasure in getting someone back. It is pleasure in the suffering of others which makes it sadistic.
Honk,
-MM
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