Random Rants Eighty-Four: Rants Gone Wild!!!!

[MaryKB]

But but but... I thought Canadians were supposed to be nice and polite!

Another illusion crumbled...

Maybe they were once, and got complacent because of reputation? My experience is limited to southern Ontario, but admittedly that's like 2/3rds of the total population or something.

Roads are the worst. DO NOT SIGNAL when trying to change lanes: instead of people letting you in, they will speed up to try and prevent you from moving over. I really don't get this, and am just like "Why???" People barely stop at stop signs, but rather do a "rolling stop" and then plan to just pull out into oncoming traffic.

Other than the grouchy old white men, what really gets me too is the snarling. People will literally snarl/growl at you if you try to be friendly to them, and this seems to be for all walks of life.

 

[Farm Boy]

The stop signs I give a pass to depending on cross traffic. People who don't signal should be hung by the toes. All this speeding up to cockblock lane changes though, just out of curiosity, it wouldn't be right at the last moment to merge after the signs have been up for half a mile or something, is it? I don't love love Chicago traffic, but it do give it this, it generally isn't petty unless there's a major faux pas. That and the whole school of fish mentality, I swear coming in from Wisconsin over the state line to IL for years the speed limit would drop 5mph and traffic would accelerate 10.

 

[cardgame]

Rolling or California stops are the right way to do stop signs, if you ask me... of course, it's still a rolling stop, it's not a yield. You must slow to 1-2mph first. Also, this is best applied in rural areas like most of my traffic/transit opinions. In a proper city if everyone was doing this it might cause issue.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

The stop signs I give a pass to depending on cross traffic.

I gotta say, we have these people who play the "I live in a rural area dadgummit" card when they get to the end of their possibly not even paved road, and just pull out onto the state highway that has a 65 MPH speed limit and substantial traffic after their "rolling stop." There was a time not all that long ago that said highway was a sleepy little two laner across the desert that saw very little use except for Vegas traffic on Friday and Sunday, but it has been a four lane highway major commuter route for at least a decade and I think those people need to get over it.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I gotta say, we have these people who play the "I live in a rural area dadgummit" card when they get to the end of their possibly not even paved road, and just pull out onto the state highway that has a 65 MPH speed limit and substantial traffic after their "rolling stop." There was a time not all that long ago that said highway was a sleepy little two laner across the desert that saw very little use except for Vegas traffic on Friday and Sunday, but it has been a four lane highway major commuter route for at least a decade and I think those people need to get over it.

Does this highway not have proper on-ramps? Or does it have that thing they do in Texas where they have a short parallel road that merges onto the main highway at the same level and without barriers?

 

[Birdjaguar]

@hobbsyoyo

I totally agree, even around here when I see someone yelling it's nearly always an older white man. I see that occasionally here, but in Ontario it seemed that everywhere I went there were guys yelling at someone, or pushing their way through. It's like they believe they should be immediately served to perfection ahead of everyone else. I just couldn't believe it.

It is because "WE ARE OPPRESSED! WE ARE ABUSED! GET OFF MY LAWN! WE ARE THE DEPLORABLES!"

Spoiler :

Yes old white guys can be nasty if they are angry and upset with life.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

It's a California State Highway, two lanes each way with a center median, but not controlled access. There's...three, maybe four...middle of nowhere traffic signals where it crosses other highways, and numerous little roads that just cross it at two way stop signs. Heck, there are bars out in the middle of the desert that have driveways opening off the side of it. But most people respect that the traffic blazing along is going seventy miles an hour and they are very careful about pulling out. Unfortunately there's this one long stretch where little roads wind down out of the canyons from "ranches," that have been there for decades crumbling away, and the old "ranchers" refuse to accept that civilization came and invaded their world, so they just Cali-roll onto the highway when they get to it and count on the traffic to just get around them.

They are dying out pretty fast though, so probably won't be a problem all that much longer.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Those little ranches you talk about are all over and I always want to go exploring some of the ones that are in ruins.

 

[Zkribbler]

Maybe they were once, and got complacent because of reputation? My experience is limited to southern Ontario, but admittedly that's like 2/3rds of the total population or something.

Mary, were you in urban or rural Canada? I have a theory that urban dwellers are descended from Morlocks while rural folks tend to be nice.

 

[Farm Boy]

It's a California State Highway, two lanes each way with a center median, but not controlled access. There's...three, maybe four...middle of nowhere traffic signals where it crosses other highways, and numerous little roads that just cross it at two way stop signs. Heck, there are bars out in the middle of the desert that have driveways opening off the side of it. But most people respect that the traffic blazing along is going seventy miles an hour and they are very careful about pulling out. Unfortunately there's this one long stretch where little roads wind down out of the canyons from "ranches," that have been there for decades crumbling away, and the old "ranchers" refuse to accept that civilization came and invaded their world, so they just Cali-roll onto the highway when they get to it and count on the traffic to just get around them.

They are dying out pretty fast though, so probably won't be a problem all that much longer.

Eh. I still go on walks with the dog on a road that was gravel when I grew up and is chip n' dipped now. No shoulder and man do some people get up to speed in a mile. The dog seems to find it a win, and I sincerely doubt whatever its-not-a-minivan-minivan SUV wahyah runs me over is going to be much the worse for wear compared to a deer.

Don't worry, we're all very much temporary inconveniences, right?

 

[H4run]

People will literally snarl/growl at you if you try to be friendly to them, and this seems to be for all walks of life.

I saw many elder are like that, it mostly derived from body pain or sickness, they just feeled awful most of the day hence the bad mood. Many sickness that is common at the old age are tied with depression, like Diabetes for instance, and cholesterol also can make you impatient and angry when the headache kicks in, not to mention all the muscle ache.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Mary, were you in urban or rural Canada? I have a theory that urban dwellers are descended from Morlocks while rural folks tend to be nice.

I don't think it is so simple. I'e attribute kindness to strangers, not to where they live, but to how they were brought up to treat people. I've known many not so nice people in both rural and urban settings and vice versa. Urban life is usually more fast paced and folks may be more reluctant to give you time or attention, but it is probably not meanness. I've never had a problem finding folks anywhere who were unwilling to help. Old white men have their own issues that are are separate from where they live.

 

[Farm Boy]

Unlike the young, they generally warm up after a while rather than increase in irritation with the continuing inconvenience. But there's always pieces of work that stand out as exceptions.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Eh. I still go on walks with the dog on a road that was gravel when I grew up and is chip n' dipped now. No shoulder and man do some people get up to speed in a mile. The dog seems to find it a win, and I sincerely doubt whatever its-not-a-minivan-minivan SUV wahyah runs me over is going to be much the worse for wear compared to a deer.

Don't worry, we're all very much temporary inconveniences, right?

Indeed we are. I think the transition from gravel to pavement is less of a call to adaptation than when the rural access two lane state highway transitions to four lane divided highway, but that's maybe just me.

 

[Farm Boy]

Not when you're on foot. People get all twitchy when you varmint next to the road. One of them is going to get me shot by a county trooper one of these years, my wife assures me.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Rant: My feet are size 12. All the stores in my area only have up to size 11. Men's shoes don't really fit properly.

My current pair of shoes is wearing out.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Not when you're on foot. People get all twitchy when you varmint next to the road. One of them is going to get me shot by a county trooper one of these years, my wife assures me.

Highway 138 wouldn't serve for dog walking. For one thing, those roads winding down out of the canyons would involve a good couple hours on foot before you even get to the highway. For another, this is the desert. You and the pooch could just trample along on the hard pack a hundred yards off to the side and be just as comfortable. Scrub brush might prevent a dead straight line of travel, but not by much. There's far more space between than there is brush in our scrub.

 

[Commodore]

. People will literally snarl/growl at you if you try to be friendly to them, and this seems to be for all walks of life.

We live in an age where people prefer to be left alone. So what you see as being friendly another person might see as you invading their personal space.

For me personally, I hate it when strangers try to have a personal conversation with me that is unrelated to whatever business we are conducting. I know they are just trying to be friendly, but at the same time they are also wasting my time and keeping me from moving on to my next task.

I hate it even more when the stranger tries to have a conversation with me when they have no business to conduct with me. Because then chances are they are interrupting me in whatever task, business or personal, that I am trying to focus on, which I find to be extremely rude.

 

[Synobun]

We live in an age where people prefer to be left alone. So what you see as being friendly another person might see as you invading their personal space.

For me personally, I hate it when strangers try to have a personal conversation with me that is unrelated to whatever business we are conducting. I know they are just trying to be friendly, but at the same time they are also wasting my time and keeping me from moving on to my next task.

I hate it even more when the stranger tries to have a conversation with me when they have no business to conduct with me. Because then chances are they are interrupting me in whatever task, business or personal, that I am trying to focus on, which I find to be extremely rude.

Everyone in the US wants to talk to you. It's hilarious when I see people complain about the "Seattle Freeze." Every time I'm out in public there's at least three people who try to strike up a conversation. A two-week trip in Seattle where I only left the house four times got me more attention from strangers than I get in three years here in Vancouver.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Everyone in the US wants to talk to you.

Sometimes it's overwhelming. People were trying to chat us up on our hike this weekend and I'm like Dude, I don't know you and I am focusing on not twisting my ankles right now so kthxbye

But of course I was actually polite and joked back so I am part of the problem.

Edit:
This also means though that it's really easy to get someone to take a picture for you - people'll even ask if you would like a photo without you making eye contact with them in the first place.