1st Gen. Lunch Table - General Discussion

I read that. Interesting to say the least.

 

I don't know if you guys are noticing this, but it seems there are way more angry people out there than usual right now. My dad had a young guy get road rage on him last month. He followed him for miles and then tried to get my dad out to fight. Yesterday, I had someone get angry at me in my own neighborhood. They were harassing me to the point that I actually drew my Kahr CW9 while I waited to see if they were going to get out of their car as I was trying to get away from them. Seems there is still much pent up rage from last year. Too many assholes out there.

 

Sorry man that sucks. That is not a good way to break in a new house. People are way more grumpy. The media, social media and our own government have been pushing for conflict between us. That is now what we have. Change through conflict, it doesn't matter what the outcome is if you control both sides.

I also think population density has a roll to play. Our country is big and awesome though. There is plenty of conflict free space out there.

 

I dont miss city life one bit. People arent really mad at traffic. People are traffic. People are mad at their own life decisions, but its easier to take out your frustrations at generic silver pickup or generic beige car. Just let it go, let them be mad.

 

Yup. Just look at those terrible areas. It's a shame. Nobody should move there. Ever.

 

Just be careful drawing without intent. I had a buddy spend a night with Blue when he decided to wave his pistol at a road rager to get them off his ass. Brandishing a fire arm is what they call it. If you're licensed to conceal then I assume you know. But a reminder never hurts, especially when things are a bit tense.

 

bring it.

 

That looks like the Flatline Barrel for a Tippman A5.

 

Oh I was sneaky Pete and made sure they didn't see it. I just didn't want to be fumbling for my waistband if they jumped out of their car. This is another reason I'll always have illegal tint on my vehicles. Makes it harder to for people to see what I'm doing.

 

Where do you live? I thought SATX was San Antonio for some reason.

 

50 miles outside san antonio. The city is coming, but its not here yet.

but i lived in houston for 25 years.

 

Everyone is an asshole if you push them far enough. Worth considering before we paint with broad brushes.

That guy behind you who just wants by? You don't know why he's in a hurry, nor is it any of your business. Just let him by. 99% of the road rage I've seen (which is a fucking lot) is because someone felt compelled to not let someone in a bigger hurry go by.
I hate the freeways when there's traffic. It's why I leave for road trips ~0400. I'm clear of the city before traffic starts to pick up. I can haul ass, or cruise at my leisure, and no one is in the way.

 

Good point. I have family members that get offended when they get passed. I also have family members that blindly tailgate. They have no idea they are doing it.

 

Chris, we were in a residential neighborhood. Speed limit, 20..? He had honked at me for stopping......at a stop sign. After I took off again he pulled up beside me and I stopped to let him pass(illegally). He then stopped beside me. I didn't react, didn't wave my hands, didn't honk. Basically did everything I could to de-escalate. I came to a complete stop and let him continue and I stayed back 50 yards so as to not provoke him. I stopped driving aggressively in my 20's. If people like him want to pass me I let them.

Nor is it my problem. If they are running late, that's their fault. I don't intentionally hold anyone back and to be honest, if he had just illegally passed me I wouldn't care. But when you lay on the horn and then stop beside me to try an escalate the situation, that's a problem.

Who is painting with broad brushes? Maybe you are just speaking in general but you are making a lot of assumptions about what happened here. I am confused by your post as it makes it seem like aggressive drivers are the victims that were just provoked by someone else.

 

Dare I make a "White Lightning" joke?

 

I think the best driving practice I ever adopted was holding to the right lane @65mph on the interstate (when I drive it). Far less stressful, and I usually hit my exits at the same time as the BMW pushing +100 in the left lane, since they eventually get held up by left lane campers anyway.

... Just me and the ol hummmm of the mudders, not a flipping care in the world

 

Ford Lighting or act of God Lighting? Zues?

People on the road are super angry and impatient all over. I kind of blame new cars for being as quick and agile as they are compared to 30 years ago. You know a current Honda Accord can go toe to toe with an 80s Ferrari Testarossa? This has got people in a hurry like never before and they are so used to driving quickly that they can't stand getting behind a slower car. Losing control of how fast they can move is apparently hard to put up with.

I listened to a podcast once, freakonomics I believe, where thy talked about the relationship in NFL between safety equipment improving vs serious injuries becoming more common. In summary, long ago when professionals football players wore a leather skin as a helmet and very little pads, brain injuries weren't very common. You had to protect yourself and be cautious of how you tackle people. In recent years with the modern helmets you'll see guys put their head down and charge. No fear of consequences.

They related it to driving, how in the 60s you had to be careful because in a car crash you'll be likely injured or even killed. Cars didn't have crumple zones, some didn't have seat belts, some had solid steering columns. Now we have airbags as a sort of parachute for when we crash, so there is less fear of injury and people drive more carelessly. People feel invincible in their cars (true if you drive a first gen) and don't like it if they don't get their way while in "invincible mode".

I talk about VWs a lot, but something that stuck with me since my first one was a line written by John Muir. He wrote the book "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Step By Step Procedure Guide For The Complete Idiot". In it he wrote something like "drive a Volkswagen as if you were tied to the front bumper." He had a pretty good point there.

 

My use of the word 'you' was in the infinitive sense, not specifically You.
Not everyone who drives fast are late. Some people just want to get away from something or closer to something. Some people just like to drive fast.
I have yet to see an unprovoked act of aggression on the road. Not one single time in all my years of driving, and riding in, cars. Every single instance of aggressive driving I've seen could easily be traced back to an act of negligence or recklessness on the part of a different driver.

 

Stir crazy


People still can’t get out and do shit like before and were all going nuts

 

In short: People suck. People are crazy. You'll live longer if you treat everyone as if they were armed and just waiting for somebody to give them an excuse.

 

I mean.... everyone in Wyo IS armed

 

True. More guns per capita than any other state, and one of the lowest violent crime rates.

 

BuT gUnS aRe BaD!!



I don’t leave the house without my 911 or XDS.
An armed society is a polite society

 

TotALLy uNrElAtEd. :/

 

Hmmmn....@Tundra2 maybe you should consider a career change with future employment in a job where you can work remotely. These areas are definitely affordable and have high speed internet.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/15-affordable-small-towns-in-the-us-with-fast-internet-for-remote-workers

 

This is exactly what I do most of the time. Especially in my truck.

I'm fine with that, until they put others in danger. I do have a problem with people speeding where kids play.

I saw it yesterday. In my dad's case last month, the guy got angry because my dad passed him. So this is exactly what you were referring to. But at that point my dad did what he could to de-escalate.

@Darkness that's how you multi-quote!

 

Let's not ignore the fact that there's like 5 people in the entire state. Makes for peace when your neighbor is 100 miles away.