Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Five Stages of Being Tailgated

In keeping with yesterday's psychological theme, I present the Five Stages of Being Tailgated:

Denial - I can't believe that car is so close. Maybe if I don't look, it won't really be there.

Anger - That jerk! That idiot! I'll show him. I'll just go slower and really piss him off.

Bargaining - OK. Maybe if I go a little faster, he'll back off. 32 or 33 isn't so bad in a 30 zone. You think he'll be happier then?

Depression - What can I do? If I go slowly, the cars get angry with me and do unsafe things to try to get around me. If I go faster, I'm not driving safely. I should just stay home and cry and never leave my house again.

Acceptance - They can do what they want. I'm just going to keep driving at a safe speed. If they take my example, good. If they don't, that's fine, too. I can't help that they are angry. I can't make them angry. They make themselves angry.

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