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I’m not sure what to say about this video other than it perfectly illustrates the problem with modern American discourse. The woman in the Prius has a point: it’s probably not necessary to run a diesel pickup while it’s stationary, even if there are children sleeping inside. Unfortunately for everyone involved, she never bothers to ask that they shut the pickup off. Instead, she immediately starts exhibiting every loathsome characteristic of stereotypical hybrid owners — except personal fitness. We’ve become a country of screamers, I suppose.
193 Comments on “If You Already Thought Prius Owners Were Annoying, This Video Won’t Change Your Mind (Warning: NSFW language)...”
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You know what would have been perfect here? If he dumped a huge cloud of diesel soot on this woman and her Prius.
+1
Lets first recognize that we are not seeing everything.
Second – lets discuss what we are seeing as if we are.
This isn’t about cars. It is about perceptions of superiority. This lady feels so morally superior to these people that she feels it completely appropriate to abuse them. Perhaps it is her natural personality. Perhaps it is because she is not at her best physically or mentally. Her behavior is not normal.
What sets her off is the smell and noise of the diesel truck. She so hates it’s noise and smell coming from this truck she leaves the safety and comfort of her quiet little car to harange strangers in the truck. Diesels are offensive. They are like cigarette smokers in a church. They have become accustomed to it. The rest of us wonder how they do that. Diesel owners know this. They need to be more self aware sometimes. The gentleman justifies why his diesel is running. He is doing that because he recognizes how offensive it is. He uses his daughter’s comfort to do so.
His justification turns it into a paternal fight. Parents protect at all costs. Turning any argument into a paternal fight is a dangerous thing to do. It adds emotional fuel to any argument. The child’s mother becomes a mama bear protecting her young.
The Prius driver doesn’t recognize this. She is too focused on herself. While the truck driver and his wife are arguing over their right to protect and comfort their child, the Prius driver blindingly throws herself into the argument further.
The Prius driver tries to trump their parental argument by claiming moral superiority over them. Since the truck driver has tossed out the universally powerful parental protection argument, she has nothing else to match it. So, she tries to make her moral case stronger with insults.
With her insults, we see that she has a long list of reasons she feels morally superior. She gets very ugly and her behavior is shameful.
Her choice of car does not fix her lack of courtesy, her lack of intelligence, her lack of cognition, her contempt for others different from herself, her dislike of children, her dislike of married couples raising children, her dislike of other’s right of choice or to think differently from herself, and driving a Prius does not give her any moral superiority over anyone else for technical reasons, moral reasons, intelligent reasons or based on the fact that we, as Americans, have the freedom to choose what is best for us while spending our own money.
The Prius driver is suffering from the “green halo” effect as noted by social scientists who have been studying environmentalism. The green halo gives some folks a feeling that they have a right to be undiplomatic, rude and inconsiderate because they believe they have earned that right based on the good they do for the environment. The green halo effect is one of the reasons for this Prius driver’s horrible behavior.
Normal people don’t behave like this. There is a reason she is behaving this way. That is why this video is being discussed.
So – bottom line – these people are having an argument and fighting it in a way each party does not respect or even recognize. The Prius driver is trying to argue using her moral authority derived by her car choice and the truck driver is trying to argue using his moral authority derived by his role as a protective parent.
Since it took the Prius driver to start the confrontation, her refusal to recognize a parent’s right to comfort and protect their children means she is the bigger idiot. Parental protection trumps a lot. The Prius driver would not be fighting with them if it was a diesel powered ambulance. Her failure to recognize a universally recognized human moral stand and it’s importance shows her to be a moron, regardless of her car.
+1+1+1+1
Even better, shift into 4-wheel drive and “customize” the Pious. Then run over the car….
The diesel soot cloud happens with regularity in the four corners of New Mexico. Mainly high school boys who drive diesel pickups with lift kits and off road tires. They deliberately floor it and smoke somebody just to be smart asses. Wonderful.
@dastanley, I know one or two old fellas in the area (Gallup, NM) who do that too, but only if they’re pissed off about something. Like you tailgating them or if somebody doesn’t know to stay out of the left lane except to pass. When I see that happen I get a good laugh out of it.
yea I would have totally floored it
“WHAT??? I’M SORRY I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”
In case anyone missed it. google the South Park SMUG Alert episode.
A small part of my mind wonders what is going so wrong with her life she feels the need to howl at a random family – but the main part realizes it just doesn’t matter. Going from zero to a total wobbler in seconds flat frightens me.
Yow, it’s gone viral: 180,000 views yesterday after an indicated 5 month old upload and that figure has doubled in the past 24 hours.
Let’s call it a chronic sexual underutilization. For the most part of her useless and self-righteous existence.
> Let’s call it a chronic sexual underutilization.
To paraphrase the late, great George Carlin:
“People like (that Prius driver) are people you wouldn’t want to f@#& in the first place…”
There’s nothing but dust up there!
It really takes a lot to piss me off this much…but my stomach is churning. Somebody please tell me that was staged, otherwise that fat cow is desperately in need of being euthanized. This video shows why there needs to be handgun laws, because if someone tried that in front of my kids I think if I had a gun I would feel compelled to put a slug between her eyes. Argggg!
Really? You consider it a perfectly reasonable response to being yelled at to shoot someone in the head? You honestly think that the best response to a loud obnoxious person is to, in front of your own children, pull out a gun and end their life?
Wow.
I fear for the mental & physical health of your children, because you are clearly insane.
Nice to know that there are people willing to put everyone else’s gun rights at risk over their desire to act as judge, jury and executioner for people they don’t like.
“Patriotic” wish’s response is a clear example of the response of an angered redneck with a truck.
she never bothers to ask that they shut the pickup off.
I wouldn’t assume that we’re seeing the entire incident.
Look man, I know you’re pretty ‘left’, but come on. This lady obviously had nothing better to do, and decided to pick on a young family who was parked, WHEN SHE WASN’T, who drove a vehicle she didn’t happen to ‘like’. Why don’t we all just start driving Trabants? Would that make her happy? What a commie…
I didn’t hear any direct political propaganda in that woman’s tirade.
Most liberals aren’t self-important commune dwelling loud mouthed eco-nazis just like most conservatives aren’t gun-toting Christian fundamentalist anti-art climate-change deniers.
There are nutjobs aplenty with views that can be attributed to both major political parties but when you get to the heart of the matter their core identity isn’t liberal or conservative – it’s nutjob.
“Why don’t we all just start driving Trabants? Would that make her happy? What a commie…”
Did it occur to you at any time while typing that out that perhaps you are acting more like her than you will care to admit?
This lady obviously had nothing better to do, and decided to pick on a young family who was parked
The lack of critical analysis skills displayed in the comments section around here sometimes stuns even me.
Put aside your paleolithic politics for a second, and look at the video again. That guy was getting his phone ready to film her before she had even shown up. He was doing that for a reason.
My guess — this wasn’t their first encounter. Chances are good that she had previously asked him (perhaps politely, perhaps not) to shut off the vehicle. They didn’t.
What we’re probably seeing is their second exchange. I would presume that the first one consisted of the truck owner either blowing her off or telling her to pound sand. So the second exchange is more heated, since there is some history there and Ms. Prius has had a bit of time to get upset about it.
And she’s probably pissed off because this is probably otherwise a pretty tranquil place, which would make his racket stand out like a sore thumb. It could be the equivalent of someone talking on the phone in a library, which provokes a much different response that it would at a party.
As usual, you don’t have enough facts, yet like a moth drawn toward a flame, you feel absolutely compelled to take a side and turn it into a political debate.
I don’t know who’s right. What I do know is that neither woman in the video is exactly a catch, and the guy doesn’t exactly sound like a winner himself. It’s quite possible that all of them are jerks; nobody involved in this exchange is going to be nominated for a Nobel peace prize.
A Trabant is about the worst polluter that you can buy (2-stroke)
Pch101, I’m with you on this one–we’re not seeing the full story. I think too often people assume there’s a right and wrong side to disagreements. I think differently–I believe the worst disagreements are between people who are both wrong, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case here.
@ Pch
“The lack of critical analysis skills displayed in the comments section around here sometimes stuns even me.
Put aside your paleolithic politics for a second, and look at the video again. That guy was getting his phone ready to film her before she had even shown up. He was doing that for a reason.”
I often don’t agree with you but your comments above and the rest of that comment are 100%. I couldn’t state it better myself.
The internet is rife with people getting all up-in-arms about things that they are only getting part of the story. Then it goes “viral” and people start arguing about the arguments and it all devolves into chaos.
Truly, people really need to take a look at themselves.
OH, and setting aside any issues with the woman in the video, I hate it when people leave noisy, smoky diesel engines idling anywhere near me. It is selfish behavior however you justify it.
If you need to keep warm or whatever at least have the courtesy to park where you don’t negatively affect others.
@simonalberta
Well I give him credit he wasn’t parked on the grass in a park he was parked in the parking lot. I’m sure that woman comes there for a quiet time in the park.
I suspect that the truck is probably more than 100 feet from whatever it was she was doing.
Both are entitled to be there. In fact both are entitled to what they think is right. I know I’ve sat in parks with my engine idling for periods of time just resting and looking around. I’ve also gotten out and walked as far away from the parking lot for the peace and quiet I want.
I agree that we don’t know the whole story, but what I do see here is that the driver of the truck wasn’t doing something illegal. Nor does it appear he was deliberately making noise ie. revving his engine constantly. The truck was just idling, the normal sane response is to ask them to turn it off. If they don’t, you move. They have as much right to be there as you do.
The woman was trying to control someone who she didn’t have the right to control, that makes her more wrong. However the driver of the truck may purposely be going there to annoy prius owners, I did see a 2nd one there in the parking lot. But if he does nothing more than idle his truck, he’s allowed to do that.
It’s funny, if this woman has that much energy to start a fight about it, wouldn’t she be better off talking to her local town/county government to get an ordinance that says “no excessive idling” and then have the police enforce it?
I don’t care for that answer and I’d fight it, because I think we have enough of a nanny state, but still, there are much more productive and sane ways to deal with this issue.
I find that the addition of bumper stickers advertising my membership in the NRA, my support of right- wing political candidates, and approval of God keep the crazies away from my truck. Kind of like a treehugger forcefield.
I found that a Bush ’04 bumper sticker got my taillight busted out right after the election. Best way to keep the crazies away – of any stripe – is to not turn valuable property into a personal statement. I don’t even display college stuff on my car anymore.
I guess it depends on where you’re at. In a deep red state like Kentucky we keep our population of leftwing whackos who are actually willing to commit vandalism pretty well culled.
Ditto for any political sticker. A very unfit man dressed as James Madison felt it his business last October to berate me on being a Socialist and anti-American because I chose to vote for someone he didn’t agree with along with driving a small GM car. Crazies come in all shapes and sizes.
@dolorean:
My old neighbor, who was somewhere to the right of Benito Mussolini, used to sport an “Obama is a communist” sticker on his car. I once asked him in a very friendly way to explain why he thought Obama was a communist. Turns out he didn’t even know what communism was – he defined it as high taxes. When I pointed out that under communism, taxes actually wouldn’t exist, he called me a dumb liberal and stormed off.
This is the same guy who tried to invoke a gun rights argument when his eight year old granddaughter threatened to take one of his 18 million handguns to school.
The ultimate irony: he’s a federal employee and has three Jeeps. I don’t suppose I should tell him about the bailout…
@FromaBuick6
BINGO. The last time I put a sticker on my car, non-political (whom I vote for is nobody’s business), it was a sticker with a made-up equation for the windspeed velocity of an unladen swallow. It was a hoot. :)
One of these years I think it would be funny to completely confuse everybody and put campaign signs for every major contender out on the lawn, but it’s probably been done before and wouldn’t be original so I refrain.
God and guns! You do realise that Jesus was some kind of radical left wing hippy. Jesus (and God) would probably drive prius’ and be in favour of universal health care.
How is deep red Kentucky doing with their newly re-elected Democratic Governor?
Well, because he’s not a Republican that must mean he doesn’t go to church, and is satan reincarnate. That can’t sit well. ;)
We’ll be just fine, Beshear ain’t like Patton was, Patton was a travesty.
I found that whenever I put a lawn sign out for a Democratic candidate, it got stolen – happened in 2000, 2004 and in 2008. So, after my Obama lawn sign got ripped off, I put another one in my front window and the window got egged. Did I mention that my county is about 90% Republican?
There are jerkweeds in EVERY political camp.
Mine says, “This SUV can carry twice as many guns as your Prius”. And boy, in the hoity-toity parts of town you should see the stink-eye you get from these fools. Gotta love it.
If a car makes a statement about it’s owner, then a Prius cries out “Self-righteous empty headed socialist lemming who thinks an empty gesture is just as good as doing something real.”
@noxioux:
Well, it’s like my dad used to say…when you have a lousy product, you have to sell it twice as hard.
My wife’s Prius says “I drive 95 miles a day and save a ton on gas.”
I have a “biker cross” overlaid with Satan smoking a cigar on the back of my truck. Why? Cause I’m a cigar smoker, have a motorcycle license, and this town is so small there’s a small percentage who hate on me cause of my divorce (small town scandal, meh) oh and it ticks off the religiously self-righteous. It’s a nice edition to the sticker I have for my Master’s Degree Alma Mater, the WNMU Mustangs “TAKE A RIDE ON OUR MUSTANG PRIDE” :P
@ noxioux: How is that constructive behavior? If anything, you’re strengthening the resolve of people who disagree with your lifestyle choices.
Thanks for making it that much harder for those of us with nominally right-of-center viewpoints to be taken seriously.
@dukeboy01 unfortunately those might also make your vehicle the target of some rather nasty vandalism.
Yikes, what a nasty piece of work. I’m sure she’s the chair for the local branch of Lesbians for Lenin. I used to have a diesel pickup and it did seem to upset this sort of person from time to time.
It was one of the things I liked best about it.
The woman in the Prius is a pig. She may have had a point , but her mouth is way ahead of her brain. I don’t think this is a case of Prius ownership being the culprit here. She’s a lo class mouthy pig , she could be driving a Hummer,a Fiesta,a Cruze or a Volt.Wouldn’t matter , and ass is an ass no matter what they drive.People like her are a problem. Diesel owners DO indeed seem to relish letting their stink run on and on without consideration of others , but this porker in the Prius should be more concerned about her weight affecting her health. That’s something she controls and she obviously isn’t any good at that.
“Diesel owners DO indeed seem to relish letting their stink run on and on without consideration of others ,”
So true. And the noise.
Unfortunately, I probably would too… Even though I know it’s totally annoying and disrespectful to most other people. Just a part of the human condition I suppose.
“So true. And the noise.”
The noisy ones are usually the ones that have the mufflers and/or cat removed. I hate them and the people who own them, just like motorcycles with straight pipes.
When I was in the USMC, one of my housemates (off base) drove a diesel VW Jetta from the late 80s. It was funny because he used to leave the engine running in the driveway for no other apparent reason than to impress the neighbors. He thought he was cool and wanted to imitate the truckers at truck stops in his Jetta in suburbia while wearing his cammies. He made sure everyone could hear the clatter and smell the exhaust. He justified this by arguing that it does more harm to a diesel to start it than to leave it on always. Maybe for a big rig diesel from the 50s that might have been true. But for a used VW Jetta? C’mon. And no, he never got laid in his “cool” Jetta.
Oh good grief! Where press the recirc button again…
I never cared much about noisy motorcycles, thumper stereos and noisy pickups until I lived near a busy intersection. People who don’t care who they bother… About like the couple of teens in our neighborhood who use our roads for a racetrack without a care about who might be out for a walk or who’s kids might be on the street.
I honestly don’t think I could have controlled myself if that had been me, and yes, that smug moral superiority is awfully prevalent among Prius owners.
This video does make me wish I had bought that V10 diesel Touareg I never did.
Some enviro nazi group called it the worst polluter in the auto world.
I think this person may be in need of some counseling or something.
In Michigan, if you start releasing a stream of profanity in front of small children (edit: in public, no matter the age), you can be brought up on charges. We don’t know what (if anything) the pickup family did to infuriate this woman (other than existing), but clearly she needs some anger management sessions. Kids will learn that language soon enough, they don’t need lessons from complete strangers.
She may believe she’s right, but the next time this happens, the recipient of her tirade may be well armed and not afraid to demonstrate their marksmanship.
Where do you live where you can shoot someone for yelling?
Who’s crazier, the person who yells at a stranger for little to no reason at all, or the stranger who kills her for yelling? How do you even stay out of trouble long enough to get a LTC if you’ll shoot some woman for confronting you?
This woman is insane, but come on. You’re not the first to suggest just gunning her down either and while it sounds satisfying, it’s odd hearing it presented as a likely outcome.
I already noted where I live in my OP. Nor did I suggest shooting her. Also, I’m not saying that my scenario will be the likely outcome, it’s one of a myriad of possibilities.
As an example, when I lived in Atlanta in the 90’s, folks would occasionally shoot each other over bad traffic manners. I recall one incident where two folks were jockeying for the same piece of an on-ramp, when they collided, the first guy got out and shot the second one.
After my experiences living in ATL, I try not to p!ss off the other guy on the road. Just as irrational as the woman in the video seemed to be, she could encounter someone else even more irrational than her. That is where my OP is/was leading.
First, does everyone in that town except Diesel Danny drive a Prius?
With that out of the way, can anyone relate to having a bad day, needing some quiet time and having your space invaded by some inconsiderate jerk? When the “injured” party is also a jerk then you have a YouTube video.
Also, I was raised in a house with asbestos siding, lead-based paint and fiberglass insulation with a father who sucked down Kent 100’s as fast as he could light them and I’ve never felt better in my life. I think everyone my age was raised the same way. By parents who, by today’s standards, tried everyday of our childhoods’ to kill us. Yet, while growing up, I never knew one person with asthma and/or allergies. Today, absentee parents are raising their children in a healthy environment. Then you look at them and ask why their 8y/o weighs 250lbs and is in a plastic bubble dragging an oxygen tank. This leads me to ask; given his familiarity with environmental impacts on health, from his experience with his own child, wouldn’t Diesel Danny have more consideration for other people regarding diesel fumes?
I didn’t like Polly Prius, but Diesel Danny didn’t win my sympathy. Fail to both parties.
they should grind her down for biodiesel
Smart Drivers Choose Soylent Green Brand Biodiesel.
I’m not positive where it comes from, but I genuinely enjoy the smell of diesel exhaust. I’m not a fan of thick clouds of black smoke, but on a crisp autumn day the warm brush of hot air from the tailpipe of bus or truck as I walk past makes me smile as I take a deep breath of the byproducts of combusted hydrocarbons.
I’m not a fan of diesel odors. I lumped trucks when I was in college. It was tough work (however, a great workout), but decent money. But the smell of diesel exhaust in the terminals could make you barf.
Amusingly enough, both my wife and older daughter work for transportation companies, anytime I see them at work, I get a snootful of diesel.
Having worked on a farm for several years I have to agree that there is a certain smell about a warm diesel engine (not the tailpipe) that is almost heartwarming. Call me weird because I am.
There is. But the diesel engine needs to be in a certain state of health, and the concentration of the exhaust to the ambient air needs to be in the right proportion. Then it is a perfume.
After being in the Army for 19 years, the smell of diesel exhaust on a cold, winter morning while running is nostalgic and sublime.
For me it’s hot two-stroke oil preferably from an outboard motor.
My preferred car-based smell is pretty much any exhaust from most old “muscle-cars”. I’m not sure what it is, but I can always tell when one is around as it brings back memories of my not-so-distant younger years.
That being said, I saw a guy in a modified Stingray the other day with obscenely wide tires who thought it was fun to wind up the engine at every stop light (I was wondering where the cops were). His car smelled like absolute crap. Something not quite burning right or something.
For me it’s high octane with lead in it. /shrug I think we all have some good memories from childhood that the smell reminds us of and may not even realize it.
Lesson: Most of the population is completely insufferable for one reason or another. Documentation is readily available via YouTube and in the comments section of any Yahoo! article. Thanks be to the interweb for showing us once again how angry and/or tedious our culture can be.
This is true.
You are never more than 50 yards from this person. They’re usually not yelling at you when you see them, but they are there, and they are many.
Nice to see that a video of an undesirable element in society can so quickly bring out the equal and opposite undesirable element.
+1 DING! DING DING! We have a winner! Give this man a cigar. Unfortunately, this is a NO SMOKING room, so you’ll have to take it out to the parking lot.
… Where Ms. Prius will then proceed lecture/scold and then insult you for smoking that cigar. You can not escape these people.
It’s worth mentioning that the guy who drives around my town in a lifted Ram 4×4, with black soot pouring out of the exhaust every time he gooses the throttle and OneBigAssMistakeAmerica scrawled across the back, is about as offensive as this woman’s behavior.
Political labels and stereotypes often obscure a more important point: Some people just suck.
+1 love it.
All he needs is the hairy balls hanging off the trailer hitch, and a “Calvin peeing on the Ford / Chevy logo” sticker, and he’s a perfect stereotype.
FreedMike,
Just wondering, is it cool to stereotype if it’s a Latino’s lowrider or a black person’s donk?
Ronnie,
Stereotyping someone for their choices (observed *behavior*) is different than stereotyping based on race. Using race as the sole criteria for stereotyping is always wrong.
You choose to be a redneck or a tree hugger. I have no problem laughing at someones choices. Just as they probably laugh at mine.
@ FreedMike: “LOL, stereotypical redneck” wasn’t my point. Obnoxious people come in all shapes, sizes and political affiliations. I know “liberal” rednecks and “conservative” hybrid owners.
@ Ronnie: That’s not the same at all. Thanks for turning this into an ethnic issue and missing the point even more than FreedMike did.
This woman (ordinarily I’d say “lady”, but I’m not sure it would be truthful here) annoys me on a personal level… for partial disclosure, my paychecks come from designing the diesel engine exhaust after-treatment systems that go on a certain line of medium/heavy construction equipment made by a certain major manufacturer. If the OEM systems are left alone, modern diesels are CLEAN, whether we’re talking about on-highway 2007 or 2010, or one of the stages of off-highway Tier 4 (and it looks like the videographer’s truck is fairly new.) They’re also quiet thanks to the way that the newer common-rail piezo injection systems can manage multiple injections per power stroke, and then there’s the added catalysts and/or particulate filters in the exhaust tract.
Maybe she’d have a point if the truck guy were one of those folks who needed his truck to emit an obnoxious (or perhaps ob-NOx-ious?), opaque cloud of cancerous particles… maybe.
Oh, so you’re the guy to blame for all of those clogged DPF’s, EGR valves, and that wonderful DEF stuff that I’ve caught rumors of prematurely killing engines (seriously, is this true?)
Actually I partially kid, so don’t take that too seriously, as I know everybody is trying to catch up with the insane ideas being passed down from a “higher” power. I do work for a major trucking fleet though, and I will say that my own personal diesel vehicle is pre 07′ EPA.
I’m afraid I can’t take any credit for DPF / EGR systems, we don’t have those on ‘my’ machines which meet Tier 4 interim with just SCR and DEF. The only way I can think of to kill an engine with DEF is to put the DEF in the fuel tank… it’s denser than diesel and will settle to the bottom of the tank, and wreck the engine the same way that water in the fuel would.
Derpity derp derp God damnit derpity derp derp truck derpity derpity derpity derp derp derp kids derpity derp derp derp God damnit!
God that video was just awesome, and what a derp.
QUEEN OF THE HARPIES!!!!!
I embroidered one of my bike jerseys with:
“MY BIKE IS MORALLY SUPERIOR TO YOUR PRIUS”
The only people who I give a hard time about leaving their vehicles idling are public employees.
Let people idle all they want. It’s good for the economy (or not). As for public employees, the sooner governments go bankrupt the better. lolz
Oh, please don’t get me started on bike riders…
Great shirt, I love sticking it to the “seen to be green” crowd.
That’s as bad as the “My SUV can hold more guns than your Prius” bumper sticker somebody else was bragging about.
You’re entitled to your opinion. I don’t even disagree with the basic sentiment. But advertising it in such a belligerent fashion is a big reason why political discourse has sunk to such a childish, destructive level.
You’re not helping.
Why?
Why not just see this as an oppurtinity to engage in thoughtful debate?
Why is it that no one can talk politics anymore. Why must everyone either ignore those with other ideas or worse put on some false facade and tell them how much you like them even though you despise their ideas and what they stand for.
What happened to good honest opinions where people could respect one another? The bike comment doesn’t upset me, nor do any others, I laugh at them as provocation to people who cannot hold a conversation.
Enjoy the debate, learn something new, and learn to respect people WHILE communicating with them, even if it is only to disagree.
daveainchina, I believe if you reread buick6’s response you’ll find you’re saying the same thing he is; albeit in a different way of speaking.
“Why is it that no one can talk politics anymore?”
Historically the only major political figure no one argued over or slandered about was George Washington, but even he had his share of detractors at the end of it. The debate during and after George’s presidency was Republican (not the same as today’s) versus Federalists. The burning questions of the time were almost exactly the same as today. How much control did/should the Federal government have over the people. Was a national bank unconstitutional. Should the economy be regulated to end the up and down economic cycles brought on by land speculation. The debate hasn’t changed and neither has the vitriol over it. It, like everything else, just seems that way because our media influences so much more now.
I don’t believe we’ve ever had a reasonable political discourse. Yet, we still have one of, if not the only, oldest functioning governments in the world (although sometimes it doesn’t seem that way).
I know 3 Prius owners, and they’re all great.
Her problem is not the Prius, it’s her sense of entitlement, or victimhood, or both. Her citation of the truck was an excuse, just as her mockery of the man’s vocation also was an excuse to continue hollering.
She might do the same thing at the Target return desk, where I recently saw a woman put on the same show for the clerk.
I was gonna say something similar. I’ve met plenty of Prius drivers, and I never get the vibe that they have a superiority complex. The only thing I ever notice about them is that they’ve made a choice that fits their needs, whatever those needs may be and they’re happy with that choice.
I haven’t watched this video, since it’s blocked at my work, so I can’t comment directly on this particular owner’s behaviour, but I can guess that she’s very much the exception that proves the rule (based on the comments given above). Most Prius owners, I would assume, just want something to go from A to B and they don’t want to spend a ton of money on gas to do it. Whether that justifies the added expense of the car is neither her nor there, because low fuel costs were high on their priority list and they were willing to pay for it.
I’ve decided that adopting a live and let live attitude is much better for my health. You, generally speaking – not you specifically gslippy, do what you’re going to do, and I’ll do what I’m going to do. There’s not enough time in the world to get into a tizzy because somebody makes a choice that another wouldn’t have made.
A good friend a couple hours drive north of me purchased a Prius years ago not for the fuel savings, but just because he loved all the gee-whiz tech used in the vehicle, such as the coolant storage unit designed to shorten warm up times during the home-commute-work-commute-home intervals. His other car is a 1st gen RX-7, which he enjoys keeping in top condition for his weekend drives when he’s not flying a light aircraft to the hot springs an hour north of him.
This is not a Prius problem. This is an ego problem. Is it a public parking lot? Then he can park wherever he wants. Don’t like it? Then EV-mode your Prius to a different spot.
We don’t know the whole story.
How long had he just been parked there with his noisy diesel truck just running for no reason, other than he likes the sounds it makes, and how it vibrates through the seat and massages his inner thighs.
Maybe she was trying to have a conversation with someone, and this dude rolls up and disturbs the peace.
This is not about some loud POS soot emitting diesel truck.
Personally, I’d probably feel the same way, although I doubt I would have confronted him.
This is no different than some dumba$$ who spends six months worth of his minimum wage paycheck to put some bass in his car and roll through quiet residential neighborhoods making everybody’s windows in their homes rattle.
Now imagine if this dude with the stereo just pulled up outside your house in front of the curb. It’s public ROW, there is no law saying they can’t be parked there and blast their stereo.
Then what if the guy with the car videotaped the confrontation with the homeowner and made a parody out it and posted it on youtube because the homeowner likes to listen classical music…..
I can’t believe people have a counter point to back up the woman in this video…..
I love the soot clouds emitted by my Jeep. I’ve never been confronted about the exhaust smell though. Now, I’ve been yelled at about nice classic car I have, which happens to run a V8 with a nice lumpy cam. Back when I lived in the city I’d have the occasional older yuppie start screaming about loud car, no mufflers(which the car had, and we’re not talking glass packs either). One person actually did complain about the fumes, as the wind blew them into the place I worked, then confronted my boss about the incident. He did admit it was a nice car in his complaint though; lol. Crappy high school job, so it never really mattered.
Still have the car, but I escaped that city and moved into the country-side. Never had a single complaint out here.
“I love the soot clouds emitted by my jeep”
That only reinforces the counterpoint.
It doesn’t matter what you love. Personal preference is not at issue here. Smoke is a generally recognized irritant, as is decibel level, and producing either without regard to others places you in the defendant’s position.
Would have been better to roll up the windows, lock the doors, turn up Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck, and see how long she rants before she pops a blood vessel…Film at eleven.
USA = modern day Atlantis.
And we all how that’ll turn out. lolz Rejoice!!!
nice troll attempt.
You must be new here. And truth hurts, doesn’t it? lolz
I don’t understand Americans. Why are lots of you describing the Prius-woman as a “Liberal?” She’s clearly an authoritarian. Why are so many claiming that the pick-up guy is a “conservative?” He’s clearly just as much a self-righteous imbecile as his opponent.
Also, could either party just have moved to a different area of the car-park? It would have saved a lot of hassle for all concerned. I don’t personally buy the daughter’s allergies as an excuse for not switching off the engine and/or opening the windows as at least one of the front doors of the vehicle was wide open.
Furthermore, does the Prius-woman know that if someone is pointing a camera at you, that it’s a good idea to be on your best behaviour and not throw a hissy-fit (or a cat into a wheelie-bin) as it probably will end up on Youtube. The man who put this on Youtube should also realise that it is highly insensitive to put images of a woman who is clearly in some distress on the internet for all to see.
+100
One of the best posts of reason that I’ve heard so far!
Nicely stated. I haven’t lived in other countries, so I have no point of comparison. But this is how all public discussions that even smack slightly of politics end up in America now. All of them.
It would have been enough to condemn this woman’s behavior as shrill, obnoxious, and unhinged. But no, someone had to first assign liberal stereotypes to her and then make THAT the issue rather than her behavior. Hell, we didn’t even need commenters to get that ball rolling; Jack did it himself in the title and text.
If it can’t be turned into a left vs. right boxing match, it seems we’re just not interested. Everything’s gotta fit into one of those two categories.
She’s a liberal alright. An eco-Nazi and elitist trying to force her change on everyone. And you say the guy is self-righteous? Where do you get off with that? He doesn’t have to justify his actions to her or to you. I’m sure your comments are just in defense of your own liberal ways. You are just as big of a problem as this nut woman who is spreading her hate and rage.
And I think I’ll drive my 12 mpg lifted Jeep to work today just in thought of all of you eco-Nazis. :)
AJ…. Are you serious? Good God. You will reap what you sow, my friend.
“She’s a liberal alright. An eco-Nazi and elitist”
Man, you belong in the same camp with this woman. Overreacting, stereotypical, self-righteous, self-absorbed political extremism. You are two different flavors but you belong on the same shelf.
Whatever her political stripe, she needs to learn to mind her own business. If she doesn’t like his idling truck, she can move. Otherwise, tough.
I disagree with the terms that you are using. A liberal, to me is someone who believes in an individual’s freedom to behave in any manner that they see fit so long as it doesn’t negatively affect them and crucially, affords others the same liberty.
The converse of this point of view is an authoritarian who believes that personal conduct should be governed by a set of rules which are handed down from an authority figure and who believes that the conduct of others should be governed by the same authority.
Where on this spectrum would you say the Prius-woman would sit on?
It is also my understanding that the opposite of “conservative” is not “liberal”, it is “radical”
The man in the pick-up clearly is self-righteous, he knows that he has upset someone else with his behaviour and is amused by this. Read the captions at the bottom of the video for evidence of this. If the publication of a video such as this which vilifies (and let’s face it, humiliates) his opponent is not an attempt at self-righteous justification, then I don’t know what is.
Both parties should have realised that they are in a public place and that in a public place, allowances have to be made for other people in that public place by doing things like not making too much noise or using filthy swear-words. They also need to realise that occasionally, in public places, there might be someone making too much noise or using bad language; in these cases, allowances occasionally need to made for other peoples’ misconduct.
I find it amusing that you describe me as a liberal as if that is such a bad thing. The fact is that I voted for the Conservative Party candidate at the last election.
Finally, I couldn’t give a ha’penny jizz what sort of car you or anyone else drives.
Pleb,
You can can “converse” all you want but in my travels I found that most modern political liberals (as opposed to classical liberals) are in fact authoritarian while most modern political conservatives just want to be left alone. Modern liberals are drawn to politics to inflict their views on others, of course for their own good since they know better. Modern conservatives are drawn to politics to defend what they have that is being threatened by the “do-gooders” on the other side. It’s classic action-reaction kind of thing. Unfortunately the only thing liberal that I have found in a modern political liberal is that you can engage in any kind of sex you want (and with whoever you want) and use any kind of drugs you want. Anything outside of those two things and they want total control of you.
windswords, I know that I may be invoking the “No true Scotsman” fallacy here but those people whom you describe as liberals are not liberal because they display illiberal tendancies. My definition of a liberal included the caveat that a liberal should afford others the same liberties that they themselves enjoy.
Liberal or not, the woman should have not reacted the way she did, but the man should have not videoed it. I’m not saying that they should have any sanctions levied against them for what they did but that they should realise that they both behaved improperly.
Because we don’t see the full context of the event such as what (if anything) was done to provoke the woman or the aftermath, it is impossible to speculate any further on the video.
My main beef is not with the actions of some people that I will never meet in a video I’ll probably never see again after today. It is with the rather confused and confusing labels that crop up in American political discourse.
I cite your example of “conservatives” entering politics to combat “do-gooders”. If the so-called “do-gooders” have actually done bad then surely the conservatives have paradoxically become “do-gooders” themselves albeit with a different definition of good?
@another_pleb
I think you’re missing what windswords means here. He’s using the term liberal to mean what it does in modern politics in the USA. In that sense he is mostly using it right. However you are also correct in that the meaning of the word is very different from how it is used.
Liberal in the classic sense means leave me alone, liberal in modern America means supporters of agendas that usually involve large government programs.
While the divisions aren’t really that clear-cut but politics in America isn’t about nuances it’s about simple messages and in that sense I’d call the woman a liberal.
Or better yet as someone here said earlier she’s neither she is a nut-job and both sides of politics have them.
@daveainchina
As I explained above. The people described in america as “liberal” are not liberal because they do not behave in a liberal manner. I can buy a pair of shoes that say “Nike” on them but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I have a pair of “Nike” shoes. Or, as my old History teacher used to say, “The Holy Roman Empire was neither ‘Holy’, ‘Roman’ nor an ‘Empire’.”
I believe in calling a spade a spade and not a shovel, a trowel or a spoon.
(American) politics is often too caught up with labels for peoples’ actions and beliefs. Instead their should be more examinination of the causes for, and consequences of, their actions and beliefs. You need nuances otherwise politics just ends up reductio ad absurdum with different sides conforming to their stereotype. E.g. “liberals” driving Priuses and “conservatives” driving pick-up trucks.
@another_pleb
absurdum huh? Have you seen modern American politics? You’ve neatly summed it up right there.
As I said, going by the usage in modern American parlance, she’s a liberal.
But as you say, in the true meaning of the word she’s authoritarian.
I have no problems with your definition and wholeheartedly agree with it.
But that doesn’t fit American politics. So.. true story, neighbor of mine, a black woman, nice lady. Went to church always friendly etc.. we were talking about who to vote for for president. When Hilary was running against Obama in the primary. She said she didn’t know if she should vote for Hilary because she’s a woman, or Obama because he’s black.
And this people is how the vast majority of people decide who leads our country and who makes our laws..
/sigh
Well it’s the first time they had the opportunity to pick a black or female prez. Both were excellent choices at the time. Or would you rather have Palin won? The world would have laughed at America even more.
+1 Another Pleb is another WINNER! DING-DING-DING! Give this man a cigar!
I almost never comment here (but read daily!), but this is quite literally one of the best reader comments I’ve ever seen on a blog such as TTAC.
It has nothing to do with “liberal” vs. “conservative”, but rather basic human decency, which unfortunately is rapidly evaporating from our discourse, regardless of political stripe. You are absolutely correct to call out “authoritarianism” as the true enemy of individuals who value “freedom”; as far as I’m concerned BOTH “liberals” and “conservatives” are equally guilty in this regard (they’re also equally guilty in terms of dividing us and causing discourse to devolve to the point that overt hostility is the rule of the day).
The woman was clearly half-cocked and unhinged, with an obvious axe to grind, but the “victim” in the truck was also culpable. Rather than closing the doors and windows and simply driving off (which would be MY first instinct when confronted by agitated, psychotic behavior), he chose not only to engage her (never productive with someone in this state of mind), but also to use the incident as a means of gaining a little interweb fame. He didn’t want profanity used within earshot of his child, but did nothing to cut off the interaction. The reality is, they both probably deserve each other!
The sad fact is, humans are devolving rather than evolving, and we really are just monkeys with technology. The thin veneer of humanity has irretrievably worn in some areas, and this is but one small symptom.
There are authoritarians among liberals and conservatives. In this case, as she rants over the exhaust of his pick-up, she’s using the environmental card, which is usually pulled by liberals (although not always).
And I’m not seeing where he did anything to make him “self-righteous.” That would better describe HER behavior.
He caught her rant on video, and then posted it on youtube. Apparently, she is unaware that people do this in 2011 America. So not only is she obnoxious and foul-mouthed, she is apparently really, really stupid, too.
I would play Cee Lo Green biggest hit on the stereo.
I wonder if we, as a society, will ever get to the point that we accept some of the blame for ourselves and do it by “saving” resources, rather than further “spending” resources.
This woman is a classic example. She had to spend resources to drive a Prius. In reality, she could have done the obvious (and here’s where it gets REAL touchy.)
If you’ve spent anytime looking at how much energy it takes to grow and distribute food, you’d seriously make personal choices to eat less. If you thought about how much extra energy it requires to make a size 14 black outfit then say a size 8, then you’d seriously think about how much you eat. If you looked at what obesity costs the health care system, then you’d seriously reconsider your eating habits.
These are all personal choices. Yeah, I get that. But if you REALLY believed in your causes and yourself, you’d make these sorts of choices.
DING DING DING we have a winner!!!!
Spending resources – a key point that is easily and conveniently missed. High efficiency does not always equal less usage. Given a large enough difference in driving habits, it’s entirely possible she is taking a larger dump on the environment than the truck driver.
I’ve only read halfway through the comments on here and that was enough for me and stopped. I have the same reaction when reading the comments on youtube. We have reached a new low here on TTAC.
I have to agree with you on this one. Nothing demonstrates the Abraham Lincoln parable that says, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” better than internet news discussions.
Nothing, but nothing, is as depressing as reading comments on YouTube.
I mean, yes, you could sit around, drink absinthe and listen to Depeche Mode** if you want to poetically despair about humanity, but that’s a choice. YouTube comments are in another league.
TTAC on it’s worst day doesn’t compare.
** disclosure: this describes me about twenty years ago.
Hey, I like Depeche Mode. :) But I can only take it for about 10 minutes.
Mode? No. The Smiths.
Ok, Depeche Mode, The Smiths and Joy Division.
Also would have described me back then (but you forgot the Djarum blacks).
Now that I’m (mostly) well-adjusted I find I’m no longer interested in basking in the warm glow of existential despair, and the green fairy stomps on people my age with jackboots, but damned if I’ll ever get tired of celebrating the fact that I’ve seen the back of yet another black day!
I’m actually quite proud of the diversity of opinions voiced here. I get it that nearly everyone is reading something they don’t like or agree with, but that’s how discourse works, no? It’s messy, but the alternative is an echo chamber… and there are plenty of other places where you can get that experience. If variety is the spice of life, welcome to Flavor Country.
Besides, this piece might be provocative, but we run tons of non-provocative posts that really try to deepen the readers’ understanding of the state of the automobile. And guess what? The provocative posts always get infinitely more comment action… including the predictable contingent of “this thread is a fail, lol” types. And yet, despite the readers’ demonstrated preference for provocation we continue to balance our mix between provocative and informational pieces. Opportunities for calm, constructive, meaningful discussions are plentiful here at TTAC, but it’s up to you to take advantage of them.
All I have to say is this: do hybrid owners understand how much pollution is created just tom make the battery in the car they are already paying a premium for over the average car. The problem with a hybrid is that somehow along the way, they became this way of marketing yourself as a “green” or “eco-friendly” instead of a novel way of getting better gas mileage out of cars. So now even if you aren’t a self righteous idiot, you get associated with those who are, because of the image a stereotypical group of owners decided to perpetuate.
It just sucks that the woman had to stoop so low and refused to put thought into potential circumstances that could have explained them idling their own vehicle, in which they have the right to idle anywhere they want, just as she has the right to drive through a residential neighborhood with her Prius in EV mode. I don’t know why it has become a part of this new American way that when we don’t like something, we sue, or we react in a negative fashion that pretty much doesn’t solve a thing.
In fact, why is it so hard to mind your business in general? She could have just drove on past to another area, and he could have not shoved a camera phone in her face when she approached him. Either side, either way, it was just another screwed-up day in middle America.
The key missing piece of info here is whether the video is, in fact, the whole story . . . or whether, as one commenter suggests, this is the second conversation between this agitated woman and the “redneck and proud of it!” pickup owner.
If it was the first conversation, then the scorn heaped on the woman seems justified. But, if it was the second — and if the first was a polite request that he shut his motor off — then what we see here is a rather unsophisticated response to what can only be a deliberate provocation.
As for the fact that she’s fat and ugly, what’s the relevance of that? If she were one of the blond Fox News babes would that give her a pass for exhibiting the same behavior?
If she were one of the blond Fox News babes would that give her a pass for exhibiting the same behavior?
If you watch how people actually work, the answer to that is yes. There’s an unconscious tendency to cut beautiful people more slack.
We also tend to give men more leeway to be 4ssholes than women.
Sadly, you’re right. But that doesn’t mean it’s right. ;-)
Just glad I don’t live in USA anymore after reading some of these comments.
And for whatever reason, Prius doesn’t do nearly as well here in Canada as it does in US. Even though we are supposed to be more liberal here. I wonder why.
And for whatever reason, Prius doesn’t do nearly as well here in Canada as it does in US. Even though we are supposed to be more liberal here. I wonder why.
Two reasons:
One, it’s more expensive in Canada, MSRP to MSRP
Two, middle-class Canadians (used to) have less credit and disposable income
You could add
Three, we already drive more fuel-efficient cars (Corollas, Civics, Caravans) than Americans (Camry, Accord, F-150) and don’t need the help as much
Four, Until very recently, there were no Green plates that allowed you access to HOV lanes, nor were there many HOV lanes
Five, we have better public transport outside (New York excepted) in most major cities as compared to American equivalents.
Add one more, they completely suck in the snow. Any ordinary 4 cyl car with a manual would be significantly better.
Any ordinary 4 cyl car with a manual would be significantly better.
Yeah, but considering the typical Canadian car is an automatic-equipped Corolla or Civic, there’s not much difference
My understanding is that hybrids aren’t as efficient in cold climates.
so basically the price, which would also explain why Subaru doesn’t do as well here as it does in US, I think. Make sense.
Glad?
Please.
well, ok, I do miss the California weather and the surfing, and the beach and the cheap cars….
@orick
Because the cars are too small to carry around 4 people and all the gear you need to go out and enjoy the campgrounds etc. And they are too small for your average sized family to be comfortable in on long trips. Of which there are many in Canada?
Or maybe the car just isn’t all that good and Canadians are already morally greener just by being Canadians?
In some parts of the country she’d be knocked out cold for using that language towards another person.
Just saying…..
She’s just upset that the pick up has lower emissions than she does.
ah i love this one. finally we get to see JB’s mommy screaming and yelling. priceless.
I just got to see your mommy yelling and screaming last night.
+1 wow
I’m sure this is related to automobilia, but does TTAC really need to troll the commentariat? Really?
My biggest complaint is that the woman is a rude busybody minding other people’s business. Forget the right-wing, left-wing thing, whether or not someone else idles their truck in a public parking lot is none of your freaking business. I saw a full sized fire engine and rescue wagon idling for a long time at Lowes last weekend. All so a fireman could get a quart of paint (saw him finally come out). That fuel is paid for by the taxpayer…in that I have an interest. But this? He can sit there an idle all day long if he wants.
I’ve never seen an abusive, smug or offensive Prius owner. But I’ve seen plenty of people rage against those supposed owners. Usually in an abusive, smug and offensive manner.
As a current SUV and future Prius (or v) owner, I might have to get stickers for each car to curb the venom that will be spit my direction. For the 4Runner: “my other car is a 45mpg hybrid.” For the Prius: “my other car is an SUV.” Do you think that would get the point across that I simply bought the cars I did because they fit my “needs” and have no political agenda?
Have some fun with it. How about a “Mondale-Ferraro ’84” sticker for the 4Runner and “Nixon Now” for the Prius?
I’ll suggest “Real Americans Buy Whatever They Want” for the bumper sticker legend.
“I’ve never seen an abusive, smug or offensive Prius owner. But I’ve seen plenty of people rage against those supposed owners. Usually in an abusive, smug and offensive manner.”
Here on TTAC? I’m shocked.;)
Well, if profiling is allowed, i.e. Prius drivers etc, then I will share my 2 cents.
No, Prius drivers aren’t really the annoying type. The annoying types are:
1) In terms of car type: pickups. There are poor drivers in both cars and trucks. But the bad truck drivers stand out due to the size of the vehicle. There is a big difference between a Corolla and F150 when the vehicle cuts into the inner lane during a turn.
2) In terms of brands: Nissan and BMW drivers are very rude. GM/Toyota/Honda/Ford all mixed with no clear pattern. MB is the best.
3) In terms of gender: female. I can guess the drivers gender with 95% accuracy by the way he/she drivers.
4) In terms of age: old. Young people may drive fast, but they are out of your way fast too. Older drivers, on average, are worse.
5) In terms of race: the darker the complexion the worse.
6) In terms of height: the shorter the worse. This is actaully a very accurate predictor.
The behavior of the Prius driver in the video has more to do with her being a female than driving a Prius.
I mostly agree, except MB drivers. From my observation, they frequently seem to follow the large SUV pattern of blocking the left lane when not passing.
The behavior of the Prius driver in the video has more to do with her being a female than driving a Prius.
Did you actually listen to what she said? If you did, you must have forgotten. This has nothing to do with her being female. She literally ignored the reasoning why the truck was running – for a small child’s safety and comfort. Women are not wired to ignore such a basic maternal need, even if they are not mothers.
She got into another woman’s face and actually saw an adorable little girl face looking back at her. Still she ignored what by any adult instinct, would have been to pull back from the basis of her attack.
Her moral stand was based on what she drove and her victimhood over the smell and noise intruding into her space. Being female really has nothing to do with her attack as she attacked a man, a woman and a child with equal moral indignation and selfishness.
Your assumption that a female would have a motherly emotion towards an unknown child is mis-informed. In the wild, many birds and small mammals exhibit a high level of female aggression or even cannibalism toward unknown youngs. The explanation is that a female is more sure that this child is not her offspring than a male, and that she needed a lot of nutrition to give birth. A female would treat a child like a mother only if she lives in a small matriarchal community and thus had the assumption that the child is somewhat related to her.
My assumption was based on human females, not birds. And thank god because it sounds like you are saying that she would have eaten that little girl.
Wow…I’m not sure how I would’ve handeled a situation like that…I’d be at a loss for words. This is probably a situation where you think of the perfect response hours later because you’re caught so off guard at the time.
Maybe something like this…
“You know lady…if you’re trying to convince someone to do you a favor, you’re going about it the wrong way. If you had asked nicely I would’ve turned it off, but now I can’t because it would validate your bad behavior (revv engine a little). Or, as they say in your native tongue, ‘Moooooooooooooo’.”
Post your here’s-what-I-would’ve-said below.
This is how the confrontation should have gone.
“Can you please turn off your engine? Your truck exhaust and noise is a problem for me.”
“I’m sorry. I have the engine going so my family can stay warm.”
“Oh, ok – I understand.”
“I’m sorry it bothered you.”
First of all, this video is hilarious. Second, I don’t see anywhere in the video where the angry man in the red glasses says anything about a previous interaction between himself and the guy driving the truck. Yes, this video may not have captured the beginning of this situation but in 2 minutes of gum flapping does she ever accuse anyone of setting her off. Her gripe in the beginning of the video is because he ruined her peace and quiet with his gas guzzling piece of sh!t.
The wife tells her not to swear in front of her kids (a reasonable request) and she uses more filthy language and then smirks at the camera.
The only accusations she makes are about noise, and pollution coming from the truck. It looks like that woman is having a bad day and is taking it out on the guy in the truck.
After working in retail for 6 years (high school and part of college) you do meet people like this. They are having a bad day, week (or life) and flip out.
I understand she was angry at the truck driver, but there is no reason to use that language in front of the kids.
I’ve only met one Prius owner who didn’t buy it out of some self-righteous environmental crusade they were marching on; she bought it because her daily commute to work is about an hour each way, and for everything else she drove an Acura. Completely reasonable.
Apparently, the female lead in Mike & Molly has a loud, foul-mouthed, less attractive sister. Who knew?
Going on what was presented in the video:
1. Is the yelling lady holding a cigarette?
2. Is it your right to make all this pollution? YES!
3. It looks like there are a lot of other empty parking spots… couldn’t she move her car instead?
4. What happened to “mind your own business”?
Ok everyone, let’s stop with the whole “We don’t know the whole story” line.
It doesn’t matter what the whole story is.
It doesn’t matter if he cut her off in the parking lot. It doesn’t matter if he left his noisy+dirty truck idle next to her.
What does matter is that this is an example of how impossible it is to have any rational discourse in America these days, and how our country goes from zero to batsh!t insane in under five seconds.
I’ve worked in technical services for ten years and in that period we have found that peoples’ tolerance for inconvenience has dropped to an all time low. Any inconvenience, of the slightest, most insignificant thing, is treated as if it were the end of the world and my staff get ripped new gaping rear ends for the most minor incident. To say that this attitude has become a drain on our emotional and physical well beings is an understatement.
We have found that many of our clients have lost the ability to discuss things rationally and civilly – they immediately jump to conclusions and start laying blame in aggressive tones that make the whole conversation very confrontational and uncomfortable. It’s like an epidemic.
Here’s an example of what I mean: Instead of calling up and saying “our systems were working fine until yesterday…what did YOU break?”, why not say, “hey, we noticed a problem with our system and was wondering if you could look into it to see what the problem might be.”
Notice the difference in tone and approach? I hope you do, because I have come to believe that most in this country don’t. There’s no need to start a conversation with accusations and loaded words. This woman may have been legitimately slighted by the driver – and if so, I’d be pissed. But my gut tells me that she’s just upset about life in general and taking it out on the closest target.
We need to collectively take a deep breath and repeat to ourselves: “it isn’t cancer.” Relax, be civil, talk out your differences and if you still disagree at the end of the conversation, just walk away.
THANK YOU.
Remember the book “Bowling Alone”? Here’s why. Nobody can have a conversation longer than 60 seconds without going full boil in the US these days.
We’re the richest nation on earth, but somewhere around 22nd in self-reported happiness. Nigeria does better.
Ha – Bowling Alone has a good central argument and I think it’s becoming more valid as the days pass. My personal take is that the stakes for everyone have become so high and society as a whole so complex that there is little margin for error (see the book “Ingenuity Gap” for a great treatise on this phenomenon).
The result is that fuses have shortened tremendously. I work in the high tech world but increasingly find myself attracted to the analog world of hammers, rakes, plaster & lathe, right angle drills and sawz-alls. Organic farming is looking more attractive by the day.
Everyone just needs to take a deep breath and relax. Not everything in life is worth going to Defcon 1 over.
Nigeria ranks higher than the US in self-reported happiness. Self-reported happiness? Do you have the phone number where I can report my happiness? Perhaps that explains our lower ranking.
Or are you basing that information on some of those Nigerian junk emails?
Greetings, friend. Do you wish to look as happy as me? Well, you’ve got the power inside you right now. So use it. And send one dollar to Happy Dude, 742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield. Don’t delay! Eternal happiness is just a dollar away.
@fromabuick
Fail.. you forgot the broken English. You’re too polished
Still thank you both for the laugh.
Great post. This is very true, and it’s definitely getting worse. There are days that I truly believe people are going to start attacking each other with machetes because of perceived slights. Those are usually the days that I wish I could stay home.
http://www.jdsurvey.net/jds/jdsurveyMaps.jsp?Idioma=I&SeccionTexto=0404&NOID=103
Country ranking at the bottom. My data was old; turns out Nigeria is lower after several “waves” of the same study equalized other social factors. Still, the US is about 15th under Tanzania and Malaysia.
VanillaDude is using either 17 or 24.
http://www.searchlores.org/schopeng.htm
Didn’t California have some problems with drivers shooting each other on freeways just from bad driving?
Of course I think that was a while ago.
Well, it’s going to get worse.
We are teaching our children that their self-esteem is the most important thing in all the world; so naturally, should anyone tell them that they are being rude little @ssholes, they *WILL* flip their lids.
For that damages their self-esteem.
@Fromabuick6, +1!
A recent study showed that American students have the highest esteem when asked about how they feel about themselves and their academic abilities. Unfortunately, testing shows it’s completely unfounded, and we stink at education. Result: we’re ignorant, but feel great about it. Ignorance really is bliss!
My Ford (Navistar) 7.3L diesel burns 1/3 of a gallon of fuel an hour at idle. For that, I’ll let it idle as long as I want, thank you very much.
Ok, ok. I’ve had a little time to digest this. Sorry guys for going off before onto the whole anti-collectivist rant, my point was:
More often than not, Priuii are driven as a political statement, and not for actual efficiency (see Jeremy Clarkson’s rant about what it ACTUALLY takes to build a Prius). I ‘went off’ because this woman’s actions seem to be a prime example of such. She would be the same type to call the city if the grass on your lawn is 1/8″ too high.
I think the guy recording held significant restraint, MUCH more than I or I think many of you would have given the situation.
As for my Trabant comment, I’m aware of how polluting Trabants are, and it was mentioned for effect. Again, how ‘polluting’ is a Prius if you really think about it?
Drive on, friends. Hopefully not in a Prius.
I agree that the guy had restraint, but, as a Prius driver, and a friend of three other Prius drivers, I disagree that we drive Prii as a political statement. A Prius is a moderately priced car which will carry 5 people, and with hatchback utility, is very good for carrying “stuff,” while getting exceptional fuel economy. Those who say a Prius takes as much energy to build as a Hummmer H2 uses in its lifetime are full of it. If that were the case, a very well equipped base Prius would cost about $50K, not the $24K it sells for.
“More often than not, Priuii are driven as a political statement, and not for actual efficiency (see Jeremy Clarkson’s rant about what it ACTUALLY takes to build a Prius). . .”
See, this is where you’ve injected your own political statement into the mix to create something that fits what you want to hear/read/watch. I know folks who own a Prius simply because they drive a lot and want to save money on gas.
And the Jeremy Clarkson rant is laugh out loud funny. Nickel is mined and shipped everywhere for use in alloys such as stainless steel, as well as in the manufacturing of hard drives and other things. Perhaps Jeremy thought it was mined only for Prius batteries, lol.
The Prius is a regular car with the addition of an electric motor and a recyclable NiMH battery, which Toyota pays $200 to recycle. There’s nothing complicated and hard to understand about that.
As for the ‘political statement’ I ‘inserted’ into this thread, all I can say is, i’m just calling it how I see it. Let’s just say I don’t see many NRA or Cain 2012 stickers on the back of a Prius.
With that said, Clarkson’s rant IS hilarious, and you are absolutely correct about nickel being mined for much more than Priuii. My point was i’d rather drive a diesel if forced to (again) than an iPad with a steering wheel.
The last Toyota tech I talked to about hybrid batteries said customer pay they were about $5k for a second-gen Prius (common knowledge: they usually last about 4-5 years after manufacture and the builder pays for the first set). So the batteries are $4,800 (after the aforementioned recycle fee Toyota pays)? That would buy someone a lot of petrol…just sayin’…
“The last Toyota tech I talked to about hybrid batteries said customer pay they were about $5k for a second-gen Prius (common knowledge: they usually last about 4-5 years after manufacture and the builder pays for the first set). So the batteries are $4,800 (after the aforementioned recycle fee Toyota pays)? That would buy someone a lot of petrol…just sayin’…”
Well, that’s interesting. I found a 2008 article by Jon F. Thompson, editor of Toyota’s Open Road blog, who said: “…the battery packs are available from any Toyota dealer. The MSRP for a battery pack for a first-generation Prius is $2,299, while the MSRP for the battery pack for the second-generation cars, those from the 2004-2008 model-years, is $2,588. This reflects three price reductions for the first-generation battery since it was introduced and two price reductions for the second-generation battery. . .”
Thompson added, “It is a fact that some of our first-generation Priuses are still going strong with more than 200,000 miles on their original batteries. A couple of cars doing taxi service in Victoria, British Columbia reportedly have seen 300,000 miles and in one case, 400,000 miles on the original batteries with what’s described as very few maintenance issues.
This is not to suggest, mind you, that anyone else will see these kinds of miles on their Prius batteries. It is only to suggest that fears of premature battery failure probably are unwarranted.”
http://www.automoblog.net/2008/12/31/dont-worry-about-your-prius-batteries/
So, I’m guessing the Priuii that travel so many hundreds of thousands of miles without battery failure eliminated the need for someone to buy a lot of petrol. . .just sayin.’ :)
Honestly, I don’t worry about what other people drive and I think all of the individuals in the video displayed a stunning lack of maturity.
I just don’t care for the convoluted FUD I often see in regard to hybrid cars, which can be recycled just like any other vehicle.
Both parties are pinheads. No winners. (though I agree the restraint shown was a good thing)
I remember when Ed was handed control of TTAC and announced his new tone for the site. Part of that was to ratchet down political discussion. My comment to that was deleted, and boy did things get boring around here. Thanks Jack for reinvigorating TTAC.
The guy in the truck is a liar. The women in the Prius is out of control.
That being said…..
To the people in this thread who say that the car you drive says nothing about who you are I ask…”Are you serious ?” That exactly how they markets cars.
I drive about 25,000 mis a year all over the country for my work.
I have never looked in my rear view mirror on the interstate and seen a Prius trying to bully me out of my lane. Its always a Pick Up or SUV.
The majority of people I see driving pickups never work the vehicle. They drive them for the cowboy image and to bully other drivers on the road. Their behavior is wasteful, obtuse, and stupid.
To those of you in this thread who are proud of that sort of behavior I feel sorry for you. You’re evolutionary dead ends.
As obnoxious as the women is she’s just saying what a lot of people already think and this guy, and some of you, need to hear it.
Evolutionary dead ends?
What kind of evolution are you talking about?
I am just as disgusted by the behavior you write about, but thinking that testosterone is going to weaken the species is spectacularly unscientific.
Evolution favors testosterone. Testicular behavior is a sign of male health. It is a signal that the hairy big male leaping off his garage into his swimming pool is made of the right stuff. You may not like testicular behavior, and that behavior may be offensive to many people, but deep down inside, this behavior is a call of nature and females know it deep down inside too.
Females claim to want gentlemen, and being a beta male is an important evolutionary trait. But the best evolutionary trait is the Beta male who scratches his balls, drinks whiskey with his friends, reads pornos, and drives monster trucks. Evolution favors a James Bond, not a gelding with a liberal arts degree.
Your assumption is based on a belief that is not scientific.
Men are dogs, and thank god for that. Being a dog is what it is all about. The sooner you embrace your inner alpha male, the sooner you will be able to keep the human species’ evolutionary survival on track.
And the more you drive a Prius, the sooner your lady is going to cheat on you with a truck driver. She knows what she really needs, and it isn’t another Aunt Nancy, even though she may claim otherwise.
Good grief! There is more to being a man than letting your inner ape out…
Dude has horses. Diesel is more eco-friendly than petrol to serve his needs. How is the electricity to run that prius generated? Methane out of a cow?
Now, now. We are unaware of what smell comes out of her butt. And not the one on her face…hahaha
I truly hope that the next group this broad verbally assaults is a truck/SUV/related full of gang members or syndicate types armed with bats and chains. Then she will truly receive the response that she richly deserves.
The woman obviously doesn’t act that way out in public on a regualar basis. If she did then she would have gotten jacked up long ago.
“The last Toyota tech I talked to about hybrid batteries said customer pay they were about $5k for a second-gen Prius (common knowledge: they usually last about 4-5 years after manufacture and the builder pays for the first set). So the batteries are $4,800 (after the aforementioned recycle fee Toyota pays)? That would buy someone a lot of petrol…just sayin’…”
Well, that’s interesting. I found a 2008 article by Jon F. Thompson, editor of Toyota’s Open Road blog, who said: “…the battery packs are available from any Toyota dealer. The MSRP for a battery pack for a first-generation Prius is $2,299, while the MSRP for the battery pack for the second-generation cars, those from the 2004-2008 model-years, is $2,588. This reflects three price reductions for the first-generation battery since it was introduced and two price reductions for the second-generation battery. . .”
Thompson added, “It is a fact that some of our first-generation Priuses are still going strong with more than 200,000 miles on their original batteries. A couple of cars doing taxi service in Victoria, British Columbia reportedly have seen 300,000 miles and in one case, 400,000 miles on the original batteries with what’s described as very few maintenance issues.
This is not to suggest, mind you, that anyone else will see these kinds of miles on their Prius batteries. It is only to suggest that fears of premature battery failure probably are unwarranted.”
So, I’m guessing the Priuii that travel so many hundreds of thousands of miles without battery failure eliminated the need for someone to buy a lot of petrol. . .just sayin.’ :)
Honestly, I don’t worry about what other people drive and I think all of the individuals in the video displayed a stunning lack of maturity.
I just don’t care for the convoluted FUD I often see in regard to hybrid cars, which can be recycled just like any other vehicle.
First all she should ring jenny. But why is that public service employees driving departmental Prius(pri-eye?) are obviously obese women with something to say (I only have something to ask). I am sure this is the same woman who was featured in a 1973 issue of car and Driver magazine berating the journalists for driving a Saab or Volvo rallye car and was demanding to know why did they think it was OK to drive in Forests etc.