Comment 52914

By arienc (registered) | Posted December 09, 2010 at 20:04:55

Following on our discussion, I had to do some driving. In his car. Specifically, from one end of the city to the other. And I was a little...well, 'struck' by how quicksilver-like the change in mindset was, from arch pedestrian to driver: it's as if something descends, a kind of sanctification, one that has a (figurative) little voice whispering 'All that matters is you getting from Point A to Point B in as expedient a fashion possible'. This means that any impediment at all...lights changing, another vehicle making an inconvenient-for-me turn, or a pedestrian...seem like an insult.

Mystoneycreek...great post. Your experience is very much the same as mine.

My theory is that it is the physical separation of the driver from those around him or her, that breeds this feeling that others are "insults" or rather, impediments to my progress. Drivers certainly don't seek to be unfriendly or anti-social every time they step behind the wheel of a car. However when so insulated from those around them, it's like being in one's living room, where there is no expectation of social niceties, no need to be polite to others who are outsiders, infringing on my personal space. This is especially true when one is alone (as the majority of drivers tend to be in their cars).

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