Heinlein was right

I have had the misfortune of needing to drive to work this week.
I take a fairly zen attitude to driving, put an audiobook on and go with the flow.
Why does all civility go out of people when they get behind the wheel of a car?
At one point I need to turn right in a right turn only lane and there is a queue, sometimes it can take as much a 2 minutes to get through the junction. This is clearly not acceptable to some motorists because they are 'Too Important' so they must use the ahead only lane and push is at the front.
Heinlein said the sign of a sick culture was the lack of common courtesy and even worse when those displaying the bad manners regard it as a sign of personal strength.

On Thu, 22 Nov 2018 18:12:31 GMT, Simon Jester
wrote:


I have had the misfortune of needing to drive to work this week.
I take a fairly zen attitude to driving, put an audiobook on and go
with the flow. Why does all civility go out of people when they get
behind the wheel of a car? At one point I need to turn right in a
right turn only lane and there is a queue, sometimes it can take as
much a 2 minutes to get through the junction. This is clearly not
acceptable to some motorists because they are 'Too Important' so they
must use the ahead only lane and push is at the front. Heinlein said
the sign of a sick culture was the lack of common courtesy and even
worse when those displaying the bad manners regard it as a sign of
personal strength.


I think this is why some people get over-exercised (not physically!)
about the cyclist who "holds them up". They are quite blinkered about all
the cars on the road.

--
Bah, and indeed, Humbug.

On 22/11/2018 18:12, Simon Jester wrote:

I have had the misfortune of needing to drive to work this week.
I take a fairly zen attitude to driving, put an audiobook on and go with the flow.
Why does all civility go out of people when they get behind the wheel of a car?
At one point I need to turn right in a right turn only lane and there is a queue, sometimes it can take as much a 2 minutes to get through the junction. This is clearly not acceptable to some motorists because they are 'Too Important' so they must use the ahead only lane and push is at the front.
Heinlein said the sign of a sick culture was the lack of common courtesy and even worse when those displaying the bad manners regard it as a sign of personal strength.


I think there is a danger of being overly pompous about this. People
push in because they can and because they gain advantage from doing so.
In a car they also feel protected from negative comments and thus are
less inhibited by the danger of social exclusion.

I think one of the reasons many motorists are uncomfortable with
cyclists is because cyclists are much more likely (than other motorists)
to talk to them and criticise them for their anti-social behaviour.

On 11/22/18 7:12 PM, Simon Jester wrote:

I have had the misfortune of needing to drive to work this week. I
take a fairly zen attitude to driving, put an audiobook on and go
with the flow. Why does all civility go out of people when they get
behind the wheel of a car? At one point I need to turn right in a
right turn only lane and there is a queue, sometimes it can take as
much a 2 minutes to get through the junction. This is clearly not
acceptable to some motorists because they are 'Too Important' so they
must use the ahead only lane and push is at the front. Heinlein said
the sign of a sick culture was the lack of common courtesy and even
worse when those displaying the bad manners regard it as a sign of
personal strength.

An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have
to back up his acts with his life.

Why UK citizens aren't allow concealed carry is a mystery to me.

On Friday, November 23, 2018 at 7:53:09 PM UTC, Tosspot wrote:
On 11/22/18 7:12 PM, Simon Jester wrote:

I have had the misfortune of needing to drive to work this week. I
take a fairly zen attitude to driving, put an audiobook on and go
with the flow. Why does all civility go out of people when they get
behind the wheel of a car? At one point I need to turn right in a
right turn only lane and there is a queue, sometimes it can take as
much a 2 minutes to get through the junction. This is clearly not
acceptable to some motorists because they are 'Too Important' so they
must use the ahead only lane and push is at the front. Heinlein said
the sign of a sick culture was the lack of common courtesy and even
worse when those displaying the bad manners regard it as a sign of
personal strength.

An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have
to back up his acts with his life.


No it is not. In Beyond This Horizon unarmed citizens were killed for failing to let an armed citizen push in.
IOW my car is bigger than your bicycle.

In Leftpondia you are 30 times more likely to be killed by your own gun than you are to use it against an assailant.

Why UK citizens aren't allow concealed carry is a mystery to me.

Why not open carry? Why not allow civilian ownership of nuclear weapons?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dad%27s_Nuke

Children should be made to watch Reservoir Dogs so they can see what a single shot from a handgun can do to a person.