New York drivers have no humanity
I am constantly baffled by the aggressive behavior of 99% of drivers on NYC streets. I was just strolling down Schermerhorn Street, through beautiful Brooklyn Heights, when a guy started to parallel park his car. The three cars that were coming his way all honked at him, for several seconds each. I looked at one driver and shook my head, and he rolled down his window and gritted at me. I asked him if he has ever had to park his car, and he just screamed at me in some unidentifiable African language. I reminded him that people live here but the point was lost on him and we went our separate ways.
Of course I don't give a shit about people parking--I'd rather they just all park in the river and drown--but it's indicative of how driving removes a layer of humanity from people. You would never yell at someone on the sidewalk if they stopped to tie their shoe, or cross the street, or find their keys to open their front door, because those are all things that you do yourself. And yet New York drivers will honk at anything that makes them stop flooring it for even a split second, at the expense of everyone else's eardrums and peace of mind. They're willing to upset everyone within earshot, which could be a thousand people, just to make their childish point that it's unfair that they had to slow down. It is pathetic and depressing.