this morning i spent a couple of hours on the corner. nobody crashed into anybody else, although a disturbing percentage of drivers were on the phone wile crossing the intersection. one driver did fail to see a cyclist and fail to yield right of way, but the cyclist (who had come to a full stop, signaled clearly, and waited his turn in traffic like everybody else) had a handle on it and tore off a little trackstand so he didn't even have to foot down when he got cut off.
tan car man was out there today. i am always happy to see tan car man, who always rolls down his window and always says good morning.
an old guy in a blue car turned left, making that "crazy" sign. see, now that's really the root of the problem. when you tell what happened, or you demand better behavior, you get called crazy or dangerous or both.
it's a well-known phenomenon of perception of any kind of resistance. there are some very good articles and studies about the medicalizing of the civil rights movement and the classification of both resistance to gender and race inequality as pathology.
go look it up for yourself.
a lady from the church drove by and very discreetly flipped me off in a dainty ladylike fashion.
way to stay classy, church ladies.
there were more waves and thumbs up than i was able to keep track of, and a couple of honk and waves.
the one that really caught my attention was the two women, probably a mother and daughter by the look of them. they read both signs and they waved. they also thumbs-upped, nodding vigorously.
sometimes a wave is just a wave.
sometimes it looks like a promise, like a resolution.
yes, they say. we will demand better.
we will demand it for those who came before you, for you, and all who come after us.
see you on the streetcorner.
No comments:
Post a Comment