To the wannabe tough guy on Argyle Street on Thursday night, I’m the guy in the blue car. I may or may not have been improperly blocking the crosswalk. These are the split second choices a driver needs to make in downtown rush hour traffic when it looks like a car is about to cut in front of you from a side street. But I do know you better watch your mouth. The next guy you shout at and call a “cunt” may not bother looking for a parking spot, he may be out of the car and smashing your teeth out right in the middle of the intersection. If there had been a spot anywhere nearby on Prince Street, I guarantee I would have followed you to finish our conversation. —Working guy just trying to get home
This article appears in Oct 15-21, 2015.
I thought the contentious monosyllable was at the top of the Coast’s Index of banned words?
And guess who would be charged with assault, relax OB, water off a ducks back an all that..
Wanna be tough guy of Argyle street, meet wanna be tough guy of the internet.
Exactly what is road rage supposed to fix? People have a sense of entitlement that is off the charts, especially when they are behind the wheel. Violence only begets violence and no one wins.
I’m the OB, and I have no problem putting my name & picture to this. It’s got nothing to do with road rage. If you walk up to someone on the street and shout in their face calling them a c__t, you don’t think you’re going to get punched out? But for some reason it’s perfectly acceptable to act that way towards drivers inside cars when they make you wait 2 seconds to cross the street? As mentioned in my comment on a pedestrian’s bitch, the sense of entitlement is very much weighted on the pedestrians’ side, not the drivers’. At least that’s been my experience working downtown for the past 2 years. By the way, I also walk the downtown streets every day from parking spot to my office, and off and on for the past 15 years. I stop and look both ways before crossing the street like we’re taught as children. I’ve NEVER had a problem with a driver almost running me over. NOT ONCE. Go figure.
I love it when the OB’s join the discussion.
People are definitely getting shittier in this city, motorists and pedestrians alike. However, in this case, you were both douche bags. Improperly blocking the cross walk is a douche move. I mean, all it really means is a person has to walk around your car, so on the scale of douche it’s pretty low. Yelling c*nt at someone is definitely higher on the scale.
Reminds me of the other day when I was outside of my office having a smoke and some dude backed his truck up until it bumped another guy who was a few feet from me also smoking. The smoker could have easily stepped back a bit, the driver could have easily not parked his car all the way back — or even gave a friendly beep on the horn. But no. Instead, these two grown men got into a pissing match, calling each other names and almost coming to blows.
People just get too worked up over stupid shit.
OB. Be the bigger man and let it go. I know you can’t predict where you are going to stop on the street during traffic congestion. The guy was being a seewentee.
Actually, he does sound like the tough guy. Maybe not in the grand scheme of things but you were the one that sat in your car then quietly wrote a Bitch about it.
Hopefully next time you’ll be able find an adequate parking spot to finish the conversation, lol.
Remember that movie, Falling Down? When Michael Douglas loses his shit?