I had a full day today~~a rarity. Not an excuse but I turned down Broadway and within a block was in disbelief at what I saw. Broad daylight, rush hour, downtown urban setting and a guy is leisurely walking across the crosswalk against a full-on red light. No hurry, possibly even less self awareness. As traffic continued to roll on toward him–he continued to saunter across without hesitation.
Focusing solely on my driving should have been well, my focus. Yet I could not get my eyes off him. Traffic in both directions and he didn’t skip a beat. Nor did he skip. Simply walking. Embarrassingly instinctively I tossed out a couple words that grew into phrases. Before I could stop myself I’d threw out a string of unholy language that stunned even me. Some of it horribly judgmental and probably racist. But he simply gave no consideration for either his own safety or that of those around him. A complete middle finger toward societal norms. I can still taste my frustration, disbelief and even anger.
I’ve been a minority in multiple residential and workplace settings. Minority male, minority young, minority caucasian in brown and black majorities. Multiple times for multiple years. I really thought I had a unique perspective that provides a somewhat compassionate view. Disappointed is an understatement. As the day winds down I still find it difficult to believe how furious I was.
Setting a New Year’s resolution to forgo retail purchases now seems rather small-minded (at best) when it sounds as if addressing some personality flaws might have a more positive impact.