Originally Posted by Treespeed
So a beautiful day here in Los Angeles, I'm on my mellow commuting bike and don't have to rush home to pick up my daughter from daycare as my wife is already home. I'm cruising in the door zone (I know) of a three lane road with parking when an SUV makes a sudden lane change from the far left lane to make it over to the far right that turns into a right turn only lane. This woman sees me at the last minute, stops, and I end up ahead of her, proceeding straight into the right-hand turn lane, that has just begun. Traffic in the other two lanes is stopped and backed up. I merely look back at this woman, kind of saying, "what the hell?" and she is giving me the full finger! To this I come to a complete stop in the lane and she is just cursing inside her big Lexus SUV, so I walk up to her window and ask her why she's flipping me off after she almost clocked me, to which she just starts cursing and telling me I'm holding her up. I was so angry, I don't know what came over me, but I just didn't feel like yelling anymore, so I spit on her. It definitely shut her up, but I haven't done something like this since I was a messenger. She was so in the wrong, but I should have just ignored her.
Originally Posted by Treespeed
... and she is giving me the full finger! To this I come to a complete stop in the lane and she is just cursing inside her big Lexus SUV, so I walk up to her window....
One productive or constructive possibility when looking back on these sorts of happenings and mistakes is to see the right way that could have been, and then next time (and thereafter) do it the right way.
I think you are right in saying that you behaved badly when you spat on her.
One right way to proceed in this case and in future cases is to learn to turn the other cheek, and not be set off by people. Even if they are cursing and losing it, it doesn't mean that you need to catch their spirit or their disease, or respond or participate in kind.
By opting out of participation in that sort of thing, it seems to me one can be a force for sanity and change. We vote with our actions. You bought into a certain aggro mindset; next time you can opt out.
Vote the ugliness out of office by non-participation....
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People tend to understand beautification of a physical environment -- picking up litter, keeping homes, yards and other things clean and groomed, etc. The same principal and spirit can be applied to human mindsets, emotions, thoughts and actions.
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When you say, 'I was so angry, I don't know what came over me,' next time you might be able to test it out: you may have the power to stay non-angry. I think it is within our power to stay cool in the vast majority of cases. Losing it and behaving regrettably are not things we have to accept as if we cannot get past them, drop them, or grow out of them.