Originally Posted by h_curtis
Not all places are like that in the US. It is a big country. It is by far the most aggressive country I have been in however. Just look at what comes out of Hollywood and that says a lot. Read the magazines when you are at a checkout line in a grocery store and that also say quite a bit about the culture here. Pick up trucks, drunk college students, women on cell phones driving Excursions (huge SUVs) and the list goes on. I would love to ride around Europe on a bike and blend in better.
I will say, I do not take any crap from people. I ride by a very urban high school close by quite often and have had some students want to try and scare me while riding. They soon back down as I pick up speed and look them in the eye and ride towards them with meaning. I will indeed hit them if they don't move, because I really don't give a **** what happens. Maybe they know it when I look at them?
Better to keep your cool though. I wish I could, but I don't. Only back down once when a guy told me he was going to run me over with his car. I was run up on by some guy once at a stop sign. He hit my rear tire while I was waiting to cross the street at a stop sign. This was in a black neighborhood and all the people on the side of the street told the driver not to do that. I just calmly turned around and looked at him in the eye and then turned back around. Once again, I was in no mood and really didn't care what happened. Probably not a good idea. Some days if you are in a bad enough mood, it is hard to just back down, but it would be the smart thing to do.
I have not been to America but from what you are talking about it dose not sound that different from the uk. There are a lot of pricks everywhere. It's similar to the fact that it is not difficult to be above average fitness or intelligence as the average is really low. Same with social behavior, the average is very low and money and education has little bearing on it, dipsite what many people say.
Back to the op, if you had done anything you would be mader as a fight would have ensued. I had drunken prick try and put me off the other day. I was riding towards a crossing (I had green) and three guys ranout with out looking, two ran out of the way and one tried to play chicken and was waving his can around. I was very calm (which is not me usually!) and just kept on rinding then for some reason as I passed him ans he jumped out of the way I ninja like grabed his can of beer and through it on the floor, I didn't look back but I could hear his mates laughing at him.
It was split second thing that I did not even think about, most unlike my normal self.