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Well, lechecal, I am the same. Being a natural hothead, I had some kind of lovely interaction once with a trucker on 80 of all places in KC. I flipped him the bird (hey, what ELSE do you do??). It was getting dark, he was behind me, put on his brights so I couldn’t see, then at 70+ miles an hours, tailgated me by 2 inches – I was pinned into traffic, not able to move. He literally (not metaphorically) wanted to kill me. I recounted this story to my father, who at my grown up age, proceeded to put on his most serious face and give me a lecture about NEVER flipping anyone the bird, ever, since if they are nuts enough to X, then why inflame them further. It is a hard lesson to learn.
I totally don’t agree with the use of power racism definition. I used to get in really testy arguments with college professors who tried to tell me that only white people can be racist (they were of course all white liberal effluent from the 1960s). Anyway “racist” just isn’t used by people to have some kind of complicated exercise of power definition. That’s a college professor invention. People use racist the way snappy and montrose defined prejudiced.
Kind of all depends on whether you think definitions should be descriptive or prescriptive. If the definition is supposed to match the way it’s actually used, then the use of power definition is wrong because that just isn’t how people use it.
I’m with you, at least partly, Lechacal. I try hard to not let the idiot drivers push their way in. But I try not to get into verbal confrontations with them…Once I see they are looking for that I turn on ignore button.
Donatella, Pete’s anti-edging technique is totally spot on. On this topic, I think it REALLY funny when folks in really fancy Mercedes and Cadillacs and so on try to ‘intimidate’ me in my 12 year old Plymouth. The ol’ girl is in amazingly good shape, but who is *actually* going to care about a slightly bent fender/bumper… me or the fancy pants Mercedes driver?
P.S. I ALWAYS win the “I’ll slowly ram my way in” chicken contest. 🙂
P.P.S. Don’t get me wrong — I’m always at the receiving end of the chicken contest. With the exception of a little dash of road rage every six months or so (like yesterday), I tend to be a very ‘active’ driver, but tend toward old fashioned driving etiquette. I always yield to folks that signal and drive properly.
Yes, Slopey, that is a major part of my point. I’ve had someone say something to me recently that many of you, by your definition, would render the person a racist asshole. I do believe that person is an asshole, but not a racist.
“oh God, lechecal, it is the police who should be teaching driving/traffic lessons through ticketing. The minute we start thinking we have to discipline all the crazies on the road is the day we join them.”
Yeah well…. maybe aggressive drivers are just my lost dog posters.
And there are lots of times I have just backed down (how about the other day at Loki with those two dickheads at the bar?). I’m just saying I don’t fault people who refuse to back down. I don’t think there is any obligation to back down.
OK, I suppose except when not backing down makes things more dangerous for everyone, like in traffic, when not backing down can get a third party killed.
Fine. My defense of tyburg seems to be collapsing under its own weight. I hate it when that happens.
MM, point taken. I do believe power comes in many forms. And your examples are illustrative of that. And yes, sometimes using the word ‘prejudice’ seems to be insufficient.
Well, lechecal, I am the same. Being a natural hothead, I had some kind of lovely interaction once with a trucker on 80 of all places in KC. I flipped him the bird (hey, what ELSE do you do??). It was getting dark, he was behind me, put on his brights so I couldn’t see, then at 70+ miles an hours, tailgated me by 2 inches – I was pinned into traffic, not able to move. He literally (not metaphorically) wanted to kill me. I recounted this story to my father, who at my grown up age, proceeded to put on his most serious face and give me a lecture about NEVER flipping anyone the bird, ever, since if they are nuts enough to X, then why inflame them further. It is a hard lesson to learn.
I totally don’t agree with the use of power racism definition. I used to get in really testy arguments with college professors who tried to tell me that only white people can be racist (they were of course all white liberal effluent from the 1960s). Anyway “racist” just isn’t used by people to have some kind of complicated exercise of power definition. That’s a college professor invention. People use racist the way snappy and montrose defined prejudiced.
Kind of all depends on whether you think definitions should be descriptive or prescriptive. If the definition is supposed to match the way it’s actually used, then the use of power definition is wrong because that just isn’t how people use it.
I’m with you, at least partly, Lechacal. I try hard to not let the idiot drivers push their way in. But I try not to get into verbal confrontations with them…Once I see they are looking for that I turn on ignore button.
Donatella, Pete’s anti-edging technique is totally spot on. On this topic, I think it REALLY funny when folks in really fancy Mercedes and Cadillacs and so on try to ‘intimidate’ me in my 12 year old Plymouth. The ol’ girl is in amazingly good shape, but who is *actually* going to care about a slightly bent fender/bumper… me or the fancy pants Mercedes driver?
P.S. I ALWAYS win the “I’ll slowly ram my way in” chicken contest. 🙂
P.P.S. Don’t get me wrong — I’m always at the receiving end of the chicken contest. With the exception of a little dash of road rage every six months or so (like yesterday), I tend to be a very ‘active’ driver, but tend toward old fashioned driving etiquette. I always yield to folks that signal and drive properly.
Yes, Slopey, that is a major part of my point. I’ve had someone say something to me recently that many of you, by your definition, would render the person a racist asshole. I do believe that person is an asshole, but not a racist.
ROFL Bxgirl…what this tells us is that it’s yet another odd day in the OT Lounge 🙂
“oh God, lechecal, it is the police who should be teaching driving/traffic lessons through ticketing. The minute we start thinking we have to discipline all the crazies on the road is the day we join them.”
Yeah well…. maybe aggressive drivers are just my lost dog posters.
And there are lots of times I have just backed down (how about the other day at Loki with those two dickheads at the bar?). I’m just saying I don’t fault people who refuse to back down. I don’t think there is any obligation to back down.
OK, I suppose except when not backing down makes things more dangerous for everyone, like in traffic, when not backing down can get a third party killed.
Fine. My defense of tyburg seems to be collapsing under its own weight. I hate it when that happens.
MM, point taken. I do believe power comes in many forms. And your examples are illustrative of that. And yes, sometimes using the word ‘prejudice’ seems to be insufficient.
try using Head and Shoulders, lechacal.