Being pushed into the fiery pit of a stranger's bottled-up anger. Fun times!

Have you ever unwittingly triggered someone’s pent-up righteous indignation? You know, you’re happily going along and cross paths with someone who suddenly loses their shit? I have.

One time I was trying to make it to the gas station on fumes. I saw the light ahead of me was green and from there I would be able to coast into the gas station. Yay!

But then a young man started to step out into the street to assist a delivery truck backing out into traffic. I couldn’t stop for him or I’d never get my car started again, so as I went by I yelled “I’m sorry, I’m running out of gas!”

click

I had the top down (on the car you perv) so I heard him yell “Oh nice, bitch!” and a string of other similar words that faded away as I pulled into the gas station. Wondering what was his damage, I looked back and saw that he was actually helping an ambulance into traffic.

But from the road the ambulance wasn’t visible, and there were no sirens blaring or police cars on the street. No first-responder firetrucks hanging around. Nothing to indicate from the street that there was anything to be careful around.

So I can only assume that it wasn’t particularly an emergency, and also that this guy was a dick.

one of the most stressful jobs

I get it, you have an important job. And I am totally on board with people in the helping-industries. Hell, whenever my kids see a fire engine they yell “Good luck fire truck” just as I’ve taught them.

However, I am not a superhero who can see through buildings, and this guy was just venting his road-rage at me. Have you ever stumbled onto a land-mine of someone else’s rage?

Posted

May 3, 2007

From PlainJaneMom.com

Erika Jurney

Tags:

road-rage, rudeness

Comments

14 responses to “Being pushed into the fiery pit of a stranger's bottled-up anger. Fun times!”

Jennifer

May 3, 2007

Sadly, many people have stumbled into my rage! I am much calmer these days.

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CharmingDriver

May 3, 2007

I have been on the receiving end of the righteous indignation of others on occasion (Hi Deels Mom! By which I mean to say, Eat a dick!) but I have to admit I have sucker punched more than a few with my pop-up rage in the last year. I’m working on it, slowly but surely. Why, I had no idea the entire world wasn’t aware of or responsible for my own bad day, err year. Who knew?!!

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hello insomnia

May 3, 2007

I’ve been much more zen-like, but there were times when people stumbled onto my rage. Like the women who had to look at every single paint brush at Michael’s. I huffed at her, like expelling breath loudly would show her!

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fidget

May 3, 2007

more times then i care to recount. heck today at the kindergarten play some parents I know were behind me in line. The woman stepped forward to peer into my baby stroller and the man who was in beween me and then huffed and puffed and bellowed I’m next in line… yeah dude, we know. She just wanted to catch a glimpse of my baby sheesh!

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Damselfly

May 3, 2007

Some people are just angry people. One time while driving, I got the same comment you did, only with a f**cking in front of it. And I didn’t even do anything wrong! Gaaah!

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Ivy

May 3, 2007

Just yesterday, actually, I was in line behind a woman that was actually checking out with her daughter, I had assumed she was checking out separately. When the cashier waved me to the front of the line, I asked the woman did she want to check out and she WENT OFF ON ME! It took me from calm to Very. Angry. in about 2 seconds. I had to walk away from the woman before I hit her, I was so mad.

So, not just her rage, but mine too, after she flipped out on me. Oy.

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Michelle

May 3, 2007

Oh man, I have one for you. About 7 years ago I was driving on a road that I wasn’t familiar with. Apparently the two lanes merged suddenly, but I didn’t know. I was busy watching the heavy traffic in front of me that was breaking, and the guy who wanted to merge next to me… pretty much lost his marbles because I almost pushed him off the road. It was completely unintentional. I didn’t know it was a merge. However, he did – and he could have slowed down and not tried to play chicken. Of course I tried to apologize with hand signals for about a 1/4 mile… while he was giving me signals of his own. When the road opened to 2 lanes again, he pulled up next to me and literally… I am not kidding… rolled down his window, reached out of it, and tried to WRIP OFF THE SIDE-VIEW-WINDOW OF MY CAR! He was about 55-60 years old, which was even more shocking. In a BMW or Mercedes. In any case, the guy freaked me out so bad that I called the police for fear of him ramming me on purpose. Holy God! What would make a 60 yr old man climb out his car window to wrip off a 27 yr old girls Pontaic Sunbird window. For goodness sake – pull it together.

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mamatulip

May 3, 2007

Most of the times that I’ve gotten an earful from someone, now that I think about it, have been when I’ve been driving. I was driving behind a car once that came to a stop very suddenly in the middle of a one-way, one-lane road and sat there. I got a bit impatient and tapped lightly on my horn, and the guy got out of his car and started toward me, screaming.

I just pulled away from him, and luckily I could, because I think if I’d been unable to pull around his car he would have attacked me.

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Maria P.

May 3, 2007

First, I’m glad I’m not the only one who waits until the last possible second to get gas. LOL

Also who hasn’t ended up in that kind of position? I do every so often at work because our company gives very special treatment to our executives and everyone moves like the building is on fire to get things done for them. So when something ends in my lap through no fault of my own, I get an earful for something that I didn’t do. Thats life I guess.

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Melanie

May 3, 2007

I used to work in the middle of a massive cube farm, and I befriended a new employee. We worked together and took walks at lunch together, and she would vent about various things in her life while I walked, more or less silently, at her side. (It is important to add the ‘silently’ at this time. I never offered advice or much of any commentary besides “Oh,” “Wow,” “Goodness,” and the like.)

Anyway. Middle of a massive cube farm. One day she told me that she and her husband were going to start trying to have a family, and I responded warmly, “Oh, wow. That’s great! I’ve never regretted a minute of being a mom.”

And. She. ExPLODED on me. In the middle of the huge cube farm. With many many heads popping over the tops of the cube walls.

She told me she was sick of all of us superior condescending bitches implying that we were ahead of her in the parenting race, and so on.

Meanwhile, I’m standing there with my jaw on my chest, completely taken aback by this unexpected attack. I finally just said, “I’m sorry you feel this way,” and walked away. To my cube, one over. Where I could hear her muttering for like ten minutes afterward. And so I sent her an apology by e-mail; she bounced it back to me liberally laced with more insults.

Finally, I went to my supervisor and “confessed” what had happened; I told her exactly what I had said, but omitted a lot of what the other person had said – I wasn’t tattling, I was trying to avoid being sabotaged. The supe was as confused by it as I was, but agreed to let it ride.

Three days later? The new girl no-call, no-showed.

I am still at a complete loss as to what it was I said that was so awful.

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Dandra

May 4, 2007

Well, let me start by saying, I’m from the South.. So if you know Southern People, you can totally sympathize with this story.

My married friends, Gene and Joy, took their 3 kids out for a ride one Saturday afternoon. Gene and another driver exhcanged some works (and gestures) in regards to Gene’s mad driving skills. So Gene pulled over so that he could, “Talk to man to man.”

The guy proceeds to pull Gene through the car window as Gene screams, “Joy, get the crowbar!!”

The guy then proceeds to “mop the floor” with Gene right beside his carload of children as Joy continues to hunt for the crowbar under her carseat.

Once Gene has been beaten to within an inch of his life, the guy returns to his car and drives off as Gene gets back into the car, holding a handful of his teeth.

Joy immediately (and excitedly) screams, “Looky Honey, I found the crowbar”!!

Yea, thy’re divorced now….

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jj

May 4, 2007

re: the car incident, life is poetic that way. your post, as presented, left so many varying “perspectives” in my mind. one moment, i was in the car with you, the next on the street with the car handler. we dance that street ballet everyday. interesting post.

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Heather

May 4, 2007

I’ve been both on the giving and receiving ends of it. Not really fun on either side.

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Bill Fix

June 6, 2007

I believe that rage is a landmine we sometimes step into as we travel through life. The proper response is probably not to drop a few bombs of our own to get even. I believe we also place these landmines when we are really upset about something and our spouses and people we live the most, sorta walk into them. So what is the solution? Being aware of them. Identifying them immediateely as a landmine when we set one off. I think we can buffer the explosion by trying to identify with the person. I am not talking about someone who is ripping off our mirror in traffic but the normal landmines we step into. Sometimes we need to just call the police when the situation seems dangerous. Most of the time a sincere apology for tripping their trigger, works. Usually losing our cool escalates the situation.

One more thing, I try to see the bit of truth in all the irritated complaints that I get and there usually is some truth.

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