One of the fine points of NY etiquette

My feeling is that the most well thought-out etiquette book can still only cover so many contingencies; always, one must learn on the fly, frequently using the conduct of others as a guide.

It is for this reason I am so very, very grateful to the douchebag I nearly met tonight. Were it not for him, I might very well have thought it was customary to, say, get out of the car and check on the pedestrian one just backed into with one's Jeep. Instead, I now know that a quick glance at the recovered figure on the sidewalk and a wave are sufficient.

Let me just break out of my pseudo-calm voice here:

1. No, I am not injured.
2. No fucking thanks to him.
3. I was in a goddamn crosswalk and he was reversing, meaning he was going the wrong goddamn way. Good thing he had no speed. That was all kinds of not good.
4. A WAVE? A FUCKING WAVE?? YOU HIT ME WITH A JEEP. I think the very least you can do is exit the goddamn vehicle, check if anything is wrong, and apologize.

There were two girls coming out of a store behind me. "Holy shit! Did you see what he did to her??" And, my favorite, "Kick his car!!!" If I had been less occupied with shock, and less alert to the possibility that the fucking asshole who backs into pedestrians could easily be the fucking asshole who kills pedestrians for kicking his Jeep, I might have. As it was I settled for gaping and cursing. And gratitude that this was ultimately as innocuous as it was.

Anyway, to recap:

Always wave! One wave--no problems!

Posted by Adair at February 1, 2007 10:32 PM

Posted to Brooklyn