A few weeks back I was travelling in a auto lost in my thoughts. Suddenly, a bike rider grazed the auto from behind while manoeuvring his bike in the traffic. I could clearly see biker being at fault. However, he got into an heated argument with the auto driver (I'll refer him as Pehelwaan) abusing, cursing et al. Biker was all set to become Rocky Balboa, ignoring the fact, that his existence made earth heavier by only 50 Kgs.
I asked Pehelwaan, a well built, stout man and who by then was also red, to ignore biker's words. However Rocky boy was hell bent for a bout, chasing the auto and instigating Pehelwaan - " Why you running away? Come on face me ...". Somehow situation was doused but left a bigger question for me, for all of us. Why so much anger, so much intolerance, so much hate and most important not accepting our mistakes.
It is not unusual to read articles and hear about Road Rage (WWE on road). In fact, it happens all the time. With increasing purchase power, there are more vehicles and only so much infrastructure to accommodate. Most of use are in so much hurry that anyone impeding our takeoff raises our hackles.
All the more surprising is the way, well-educated professionals behave in such situations. While I strongly believe, level of education is not the criteria in determining who reacts how, still my hopes are more pinned on a educated person not to get physical and keep calm as much as possible. Respond and not react is the expectation. Easier said than done though !
What to do?
Keeping it simple is the way to go about it. I would not want anyone to be in such a situation. In case, if one does comes face to face, how to respond? Everything starts happening so fast around us, crowd starts gathering, someone starts shouting and invariably panic button is pressed. So is aggression best mode of defense? Not always. First and foremost accept this has happened to you. Ask yourself sincerely, was it your fault? If it was, then accept it and be apologetic in your tone and tenor. If you think you are not to be blamed, rather than shouting and cursing mindlessly, hear what other person has to say. At times, it is circumstances, which may have forced him/her to react that way.
Finally, always be conscious of the fact that your well being matters most to your loved ones, rest other facts matter least.
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