Getting flipped off in the Pilgrim state
Okay, in the post before this, I mentioned quite heavily the bird, the middle finger, getting flipped off, whatever you want to call it. And I mentioned it specifically in relation to driving and the general attitude of Massachusetts drivers.
What I suppose I should mention is that "the bird" doesn't quite mean the same to a driver in Massachusetts. Case in point, I was driving near the Holyoke mall several months ago attempting to park, when an Oldsmobile of boat-like proportions sped in front of me coming from the opposite direction and on the wrong side of the street to take the parking space. Now, as this rude mother fucker was taking MY parking space he was also flipping me off. When he got out of the car, it turned out that he and his wife were probably in their mid to late 60's.
I use this example to illustrate a point. Would this have happened in California? No. Flipping someone off in California is a lot like saying, "fuck you," and if you say that to someone in California, you can expect a reaction. That's why you flip people off ONLY when you are fairly sure you will never see them again. The point is that they are strangers and who knows what a stranger's going to do when they get pissed off. Maybe they'll fume, maybe they'll swear, and maybe they'll pull a gun on you and shoot your stupid ass. The possibility existed, given this situation, that I could have jumped out of the car and beat the living shit out of that old fucker and pretty much felt justified in doing so. Or I could have keyed his car or poured sugar in the fuckers gas tank or taken a tire iron to his windows. I mean, he flipped me off and then walked away from his vehicle leaving it unguarded while he walked through a rather lonely and dark parking garage. In any other state, this would be referred to as "asking for it," but in Massachusetts you never hear of old people getting beat to a pulp because of road rage. Point of fact, you really never hear much of anyone getting attacked because of road rage. Maybe it's because workcrews have police escorts, but then they really only protect the work crews; you never see the police anywhere else.
My only solution is to say that flipping someone off in Massachusetts is not the same as saying, "fuck you, asshole" or anything like that. It must be like, "pardon me," or something. Or maybe its just that the average Massachusetts driver is getting flipped off twenty or thirty times a day and they've just become desensitized to the gesture, in the same way that New Yorkers and Connecticuters no longer flinch at the cries for the mercy of death coming from their wheel well from pedestrians they've run over.
What I suppose I should mention is that "the bird" doesn't quite mean the same to a driver in Massachusetts. Case in point, I was driving near the Holyoke mall several months ago attempting to park, when an Oldsmobile of boat-like proportions sped in front of me coming from the opposite direction and on the wrong side of the street to take the parking space. Now, as this rude mother fucker was taking MY parking space he was also flipping me off. When he got out of the car, it turned out that he and his wife were probably in their mid to late 60's.
I use this example to illustrate a point. Would this have happened in California? No. Flipping someone off in California is a lot like saying, "fuck you," and if you say that to someone in California, you can expect a reaction. That's why you flip people off ONLY when you are fairly sure you will never see them again. The point is that they are strangers and who knows what a stranger's going to do when they get pissed off. Maybe they'll fume, maybe they'll swear, and maybe they'll pull a gun on you and shoot your stupid ass. The possibility existed, given this situation, that I could have jumped out of the car and beat the living shit out of that old fucker and pretty much felt justified in doing so. Or I could have keyed his car or poured sugar in the fuckers gas tank or taken a tire iron to his windows. I mean, he flipped me off and then walked away from his vehicle leaving it unguarded while he walked through a rather lonely and dark parking garage. In any other state, this would be referred to as "asking for it," but in Massachusetts you never hear of old people getting beat to a pulp because of road rage. Point of fact, you really never hear much of anyone getting attacked because of road rage. Maybe it's because workcrews have police escorts, but then they really only protect the work crews; you never see the police anywhere else.
My only solution is to say that flipping someone off in Massachusetts is not the same as saying, "fuck you, asshole" or anything like that. It must be like, "pardon me," or something. Or maybe its just that the average Massachusetts driver is getting flipped off twenty or thirty times a day and they've just become desensitized to the gesture, in the same way that New Yorkers and Connecticuters no longer flinch at the cries for the mercy of death coming from their wheel well from pedestrians they've run over.
posted by Monstro D. Whale at
1:55 PM
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