Some time ago my wife and I were involved in a bit of road rage: Late one afternoon she and I were on our way to a local grocery story. Traffic was heavy, and I unintentionally cut off the driver of a pickup truck–it was going much faster than I had realized.
The driver followed us into the parking lot of the store, parked behind us, got out of his vehicle and pounded on my window, yelling, “Open your window.”
(Yeah, like I was born yesterday instead of 85 years ago.)
My wife had the presence of mind to pick up our garage door opener and pretend to call the police.
By this time the event had attracted a few onlookers, so the truck sped away as fast as possible. I’m sure that if I had rolled down my window, he would have punched me out, and I believe that if he had had a gun, he would have used it.
I’ve seen a few angry people in my many years, but none in comparison to that.
Anyway I relate this event in view of what I heard that now road rage is classified as a disease. We live in a society that is unable to accept blame for wrongdoing. It’s all a result of some kind of syndrome, chemical imbalance, heredity, upbringing and on and on.
The driver with whom I had the encounter didn’t look very ill to me; but as I think about it, perhaps if this happens to me again, I should call an ambulance instead of the police, so the driver can get medical or psychological help.
