On an airplane, a woman with two children wants to get off the plane first. Unfortunately, she's sitting at the back of the plane, and there's an aisle full of people in front of her in gridlock, waiting to get off. Her solution: push people out of the way, repeating "exCUUSE me" in an annoyed tone. When a gentleman politely protested that he couldn't step out of her way, she simply repeated "EXCUSE ME!" and shoved him out of the way with a forearm. She did this all the way to the front, and she did get off the plane before everyone else.
A fat man on a bicycle was riding along Crenshaw Boulevard's sidewalk wneh he encountered a red light, then a green arrow sending traffic on a left-turn into his path. But he wanted to go first, whether the light was against him or not. His solution: just ride right across traffic, and let the cars swerve and screech to avoid hitting him. He never turned his head to look at the near-accidents he caused; he just kept riding.
A kid snaps rude comments back at his mother in public. A hotel manager says that, yes, the ad material and guest services book both state unequivocally that something is offered in every room, but it's not true and there's nothing he can or will do about it, too bad. A guy sees a long line of people waiting for drinks at a wedding reception and slips into the front of the queue, assuming nobody will want to make a fuss at a wedding.
They all got their way. They all do these things because they can. That's where society has gone.
Everyone says character does matter, but it doesn't. It can't. People are getting away with murder- most likely literally- because nobody challenges them, nobody says they can't, everything is acceptable. Laws are optional. Disappointment is simply not going to happen. If I want something, I don't have to wait like other people. If I want to do something, it's everyone else's problem if my actions conflict with order. Nothing matters, law doesn't matter, promises don't matter, contracts don't matter, civility isn't necessary, F you. It's nihilism in action. And I'm seeing it everywhere.
You could say that it's the end result of decades of spoiled celebrity and sports star behavior- you see Terrell Owens ignore his contract or Paris Hilton acting like she owns everything on Earth and you learn that behavior for yourself- but I don't think that's it. I think it's our refusal to say no, to say enough is enough, to discipline people for their behavior. The lady on the plane did what she did because she knows there's no copnsequence- she'll just ignore everything anyone says, and if you hit her, she'll sue for her injuries and get you charged with battery. The bicyclist is banking on your instincts, knowing that it's more likely you'll veer into another car than hit someone on a bike. The kid gets no negative feedback from mama, the hotel figures you won't want to move to another hotel after you've already checked in, the wedding crasher knows you'd rather let him cut the line than ruin the big day with a scuffle.
Here's how to fix it: let the victims fight back. That lady on the plane wouldn't be shoving people out of the way if people could shove back. I could have put an end to it before she ever shoved that guy, with one shot to the jaw. She'd have never known what hit her, and she'd never "excuse me!" her way through a crowd again. The bicyclist should have been open season material- they should award an insurance reduction for hitting that geek. The kid deserves a slap in the face, the hotel deserves not to be paid for the room, the line-cutter deserves a bottle of Merlot poured on his head. We need to believe in deterrence. If the people who take advantage of everyone's natural tendency to want to avoid conflict suddenly find that people aren't avoiding conflict anymore, they'll get in line. (My dad had a better idea- he always wanted a machine attached to his car that would fling feces into the cars of drivers who tailgated or cut other drivers off. The flaw in that plan: where are you gonna store the ammunition?)
You can call this vigilantism, you can decry it as Charles Bronson material, but the day is coming when we have to address the fact that people just aren't doing the right thing, and the only way to get them to straighten out is to make them aware that there ARE consequences to their actions. Otherwise, we might as well give up, and the world will forever belong to the fat man on the bicycle.
Share