If there’s one place where we jump to conclusions about someone else’s personality, one place where we’re apparently preprogrammed to prejudge, it’s in the car.
Despite the fact you have no verbal interaction with the other drivers on the road, it’s not unusual to peg somebody as “the type of jackass that makes a lane change without using his singnal” or “the type of jerk that travels the speed limit in the left lane.” And don’t get me started on tailgaters and my desire to send them through their windshield by hitting my brakes. At the same time, you begin to feel a kinship with people who are making the same long drive as you, the people you keep passing and who keep passing you over a several hundred mile stretch. And you think highly of the big rigs that flash their lights to thank you for letting them in.
I don’t know about you, but I make enough judgements in my 15 minute drive to work in the morning to last me the rest of the day. If I made those type of snap judgements about people when I wasn’t in my car, I’d be the most miserable person in the world.
Posted in Miscellaneous