dear woman who flipped me off this morning

clearly you haven't noticed, but all around Hoboken there are these white lines painted on the streets that stretch from corner to corner. they look sort of like ladders on their sides. those are called CROSSWALKS. cross-walks. they are for PEDESTRIANS. pe-des-tri-ans. otherwise known as people who are walking.

i’m assuming you don’t know this—because you really didn’t strike me as overly intelligent as you were screaming and giving me the finger from your giant white SUV—but pedestrians have the right of way in New Jersey. it’s a state law. and even if you occasionally forget that little bit of information, those big white crosswalks are there to jog your memory.

i saw you coming down Hudson Street this morning as i stepped into the crosswalk,  headed toward the PATH station. even though i know i have the right of way and am far from the only pedestrian (a.k.a. person walking) in that area every morning—it is, in fact, streaming with pedestrian commuters all the time—i always look before i step into the street because, sadly, you are not the only asshole i’ve encountered in Hoboken.

you are, however, the first to flip me the bird.

but why? because after you barreled through the far crosswalk, i raised my hand as you nearly barreled through the second (which is the one i was standing in as you approached)? the nerve of me, eh? what right do i have to be troubled by a driver speeding through a busy intersection? as a mom who’s often out pushing her one-year-old in the stroller, i should just shrug off reckless idiots like you who think because you happen to be in a rush or have a Very Important Job or are late for a tanning session that traffic rules don’t apply to you. right? i imagine you must feel that way since you were so incensed by me suggesting you slow down a little.

when your mouth was flapping and your middle fingers was pointed upward at me, i could have responded in kind. instead, i smiled at you and said, “have a nice day.” 

i found myself thinking of you as i waited on the platform for the PATH train, wondering if you would feel ashamed later of your ignominious behavior. perhaps this is sexist of me, but i would have expected that kind of response from a man, not a woman. but, ironically, all the men who’ve almost run me over—and there have been quite a few—have expressed remorse (or something closer to it than the middle finger) at their carelessness.

but perhaps you’re just One of Those People. angry, immature, mean. a.k.a. the kind who shouldn’t have a driver’s license in the first place.

sincerely,

mbm