Engaging in the Unwinnable Fight

There wasn’t a car accident. The way he changed lanes, however, left the car behind him feeling disrespected. From a few car lengths back I saw the entire interaction. A Toyota Camry unsafely changed lanes forcing the SUV to slam on its breaks. People need to get More Info here if they need the best accident related information. 

Immediately the driver of the SUV became irate. I remember watching it and thinking the driver was exaggerating. Dare I say that I thought he was making light of the situation by becoming a caricature of road rage.  

It was real. The SUV, laying on his horn, cut me off to get next to the culprit, the Camry. He had a message for him.

The anonymity and perceived safety of  being in your car leads even the most bashful drivers to feel a bit more courageous than if they were conversing face-to-face with someone on the street. Like any case of road rage, it’s a coin toss as to whether your flipping of the bird or a clearly stated “Fuck you!” will evoke a dangerous response from the person receiving your colorful message.

Today the response from the SUV, put gasoline on the fire. As the two men conversed through their open windows, it was clear that egos were being challenged.  The Camry was wrong and out of line. The SUV engaged the Camry to hold the driver accountable. The Camry driver went from being wrong for cutting off the SUV to doubling down on his stupidity.

The men promptly pulled over. This would be settled with violence. In the process of doubling down on his stupidity, the Camry driver pulls over aggressively and accidently rides up the curb scraping the fire hydrant. Upset about his mistake, the Camry driver triple his bet of stupidity and reverses the car ripping the bumper off the frame.

This, of course, is no time to pull out of the challenge of the ego for the Camry driver. He quadruples his stupidity by promptly exiting the car to fight.

Watching this unfold led me to one question, “Are some fights unwinnable?” How does the SUV driver win? Citizen arrest? Beating the Camry driver’s face in? Does the SUV driver erase the injustice caused by the Camry driver by engaging with him? Did the Camry driver win?

 

Logan Gelbrich   

@functionalcoach