What's with all the name calling?
September 2, 2010 3:03 PM Subscribe
What's up with all the name calling?
A few days ago I was making a left turn onto a busy street, I stopped at the crosswalk (like I do, this is my neighborhood after all - my cafe, my game store, etc...) no one was coming so I pulled into the crosswalk so I could see around the building on my right. A skateboarder (who did not slow down at all to cross the street) coming down the sidewalk called me a fucking idiot.
Today I was making another left turn, this time downtown in an area I know quite well, crosswalk was clear so I started turning. An older woman talking on her cell started walking without looking. I saw her, stopped driving and let her walk through. She turned to me and called me a fucking bitch.
So my question is - what's with the name calling? I can swear with the best of them, I'm not offended by the language. I'm offended by making it personal, the name calling.
Why do we do this?
I checked the mefi posting guidlines and I'm hoping this isn't too open ended. I'd really like to get some reasons from people about why we resort to name calling.
A few days ago I was making a left turn onto a busy street, I stopped at the crosswalk (like I do, this is my neighborhood after all - my cafe, my game store, etc...) no one was coming so I pulled into the crosswalk so I could see around the building on my right. A skateboarder (who did not slow down at all to cross the street) coming down the sidewalk called me a fucking idiot.
Today I was making another left turn, this time downtown in an area I know quite well, crosswalk was clear so I started turning. An older woman talking on her cell started walking without looking. I saw her, stopped driving and let her walk through. She turned to me and called me a fucking bitch.
So my question is - what's with the name calling? I can swear with the best of them, I'm not offended by the language. I'm offended by making it personal, the name calling.
Why do we do this?
I checked the mefi posting guidlines and I'm hoping this isn't too open ended. I'd really like to get some reasons from people about why we resort to name calling.
This post was deleted for the following reason: No harm done and I appreciate you trying to do your homework first, but this does read as kind of overly broad and chatty—"why do people curse at each other" is kind of a huge subject and I think would need to framed pretty specifically and less personally to have a chance of working here. -- cortex
Response by poster: No signal at either crosswalk. I did stop and wait for both crosswalks to clear. Both of these people came into the crosswalk without looking. Big city, lots of people. I do understand how to wait.
posted by saffronwoman at 3:07 PM on September 2, 2010
posted by saffronwoman at 3:07 PM on September 2, 2010
As I read the question, the asker DID yield to the woman on the phone.
posted by mkb at 3:08 PM on September 2, 2010
posted by mkb at 3:08 PM on September 2, 2010
If you're not cutting them off, then they're just jerks (and I called them a name). Mostly, I don't think people understand that you just can't see around the fucking building and would rather not just make the turn and hope nobody is there.
posted by theichibun at 3:08 PM on September 2, 2010
posted by theichibun at 3:08 PM on September 2, 2010
You don't mention whether or not the lights were green for you to move into these pedestrian zones, only that they were clear. If the walk signal was up, you were moving into pedestrian territory at a time when pedestrians had a right to it. You say the walks were clear, but clearly they weren't - in each case, someone was about to walk/roll onto it.
I'd be pretty irked if I found a car in my way when I was trying to cross on a walk signal.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 3:08 PM on September 2, 2010
I'd be pretty irked if I found a car in my way when I was trying to cross on a walk signal.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 3:08 PM on September 2, 2010
Either way, it's your job to yield to them, not vice versa, so technically (regardless of how it seemed), you were cutting them off (especially the "older woman" walking -- it's not like she came upon you quickly)
When you scare someone with a giant thing that can easily kill them (that is, your car)... sometimes people react harshly.
posted by brainmouse at 3:09 PM on September 2, 2010
When you scare someone with a giant thing that can easily kill them (that is, your car)... sometimes people react harshly.
posted by brainmouse at 3:09 PM on September 2, 2010
Some people are morons who can never accept that they might be in the wrong. A not insignificant portion of those people use crude language.
posted by IanMorr at 3:10 PM on September 2, 2010
posted by IanMorr at 3:10 PM on September 2, 2010
We resort to name-calling because we are agitated in some manner. The self-transporters think the motorists are unaware (are you?); the motorists thinks the self-transporters are reckless (are they?). The earth groans. Clouds shift overhead. Somewhere in the Amazon, a little-known endangered toad has become extinct.
Stay alert, be careful, enjoy your day.
posted by thejoshu at 3:12 PM on September 2, 2010
Stay alert, be careful, enjoy your day.
posted by thejoshu at 3:12 PM on September 2, 2010
People get angry, and sometimes they say mean things to blow off steam. It makes them feel better to think they've made you feel bad for inconveniencing them. It might not even be about you. They might just be having a bad day, and you were a convenient venting point.
posted by katillathehun at 3:14 PM on September 2, 2010
posted by katillathehun at 3:14 PM on September 2, 2010
People in cities where there is a lot of traffic can be tense, and most pedestrians have had near-death experiences when trying to cross the street. And according to a recent study, pedestrians would be well advised to favor sidewalks to the right of moving traffic — left-hand turns were three times as likely to cause a deadly crash as right-hand turns — and to stay particularly alert at intersections, where three-quarters of the crashes occurred.
posted by rtha at 3:17 PM on September 2, 2010
posted by rtha at 3:17 PM on September 2, 2010
Response by poster: Just for clarification - no lights at either crosswalk. I did wait till they were clear. The skateboarder was behind the building that I couldn't see behind and was NOT in the crosswalk when I pulled into it - which I and everyone else who stops her must do to make either left or right turns.
The woman walking across the street was also NOT in the crosswalk when I started turning. She stepped off the sidewalk (while talking on her cell) when I was half way through my turn.
I'm really only asking about the name calling. I didn't even come close to hitting anyone.
posted by saffronwoman at 3:17 PM on September 2, 2010
The woman walking across the street was also NOT in the crosswalk when I started turning. She stepped off the sidewalk (while talking on her cell) when I was half way through my turn.
I'm really only asking about the name calling. I didn't even come close to hitting anyone.
posted by saffronwoman at 3:17 PM on September 2, 2010
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posted by enn at 3:05 PM on September 2, 2010