Originally Posted by Prosody
Sub-Magnon ticked me off, though, because he appeared to be watching me in his rear-view mirror, which I interpreted as his way of taking pleasure in trying to shake me up. He really did not shake me up, but I have an impish side to my personality that compelled me to shake him up some in return.
In other words, even though he didn't shake you up, you decided to make him think that he had acheived his objective. As I said, I deal with this on an average of once a day. I've seen many of them stare in their mirror waiting for a reaction from me (or stare out the back window in some cases). I've seen many of them suddenly develop
very pissed off expressions when they realise they didn't get the reaction they wanted. It's amazing just how much arrogance unbalances people more than aggression does.
Originally Posted by Prosody
On the other hand, reporting Sub-Magnon to the police would have been a waste of my time, and I'm sure the police officer would have considered it an even greater waste of his time.
Have you actually tried reporting these things to the police? You might be surprised. Even if they don't issue a ticket, there's every chance they'll at least phone the guy and give him a lecture. That may well be all that's needed to stop him doing it again.
Originally Posted by Prosody
Had Sub-Magnon not been the first (as as it turned out, only) jerk I encountered during an otherwise perfect ride, I might have shrugged him off more easily, but he had to mess with my bliss...
That's the wonderful thing about showing a bit of arrogance. When this happens to me, it
doesn't mess with my bliss. In fact, I generally forget about it totally within five minutes of the incident. If not, well, the nearest police station won't be far away.