Self Righteous Epidemic

Remember people holding doors open for one another. Maybe you remember saying excuse me to get around someone, or if you accidently bumped them, doing something crazy like saying you were sorry. Not to sound like an old f@rt, but the days of social graces and politeness are long gone.

Along with that, in my opinion, has come a very dangerous type of behavior. One that originates from a bigger broader place of how we conduct ourselves publicly. Lately, I see a distinct sense of a self-righteousness* coming through in people's behavior and expressions. These things are often driven by perspectives from one self's eyes and ears and do not define right or wrong. I personally live in a world that's very grey, or at least variably cloudy, not that black and white.

Black and white are not the same as like or dislike, nor agree or disagree. These are opinions. We must remember that actual facts are not opinions. Most laws are not up for personal interpretation and therefore enforcement, or lack thereof. Facts are defined as: truths known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true.

Actually in my heart I believe the problem is much bigger. It's the total loss of empathy from a large part of the population. The following is a quote I came across recently and have to say it's certainly food for thought. It's a quote that's been credited to Plato and others as we have gone through history. Not important who said it more important who lives by it.

“Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge… is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world. It requires profound purpose larger than the self kind of understanding.” - Plato

*Definition of self-righteous (Merriam-Webster definition)

: convinced of one's own righteousness especially in contrast with the actions and beliefs of others : narrow-mindedly moralistic

*Wikipedia Description

Self-righteousness, also called sanctimoniousness, sententiousness and holier-than-thou attitudes[1][2] is a feeling or display of (usually smug) moral superiority[3] derived from a sense that one's beliefs, actions, or affiliations are of greater virtue than those of the average person. Self-righteous individuals are often intolerant of the opinions and behaviors of others.[4] A self-righteous person might also be described as expressing disinterest in seeking an unselfish or objective standard of right and wrong, independently of how they interact with other people.

With all of this as pretext, I want to vent a bit about behavior I am noticing amongst the humanoids that is getting far too common, IMO. I share the following.

Something in NYC that continues to bloom into a more complex issue in getting around the city is the use of Citi-Bikes. We hear about people on bikes being struck by speeding drivers and the city responds by reducing speed limits and increasing the number of cameras around town to issue tickets automatically. While there is no question safety should come first for all. Anyone driving recklessly in the city, or anywhere for that matter, should be punished.

However, more often than not, in my observations, I see people on Citi-Bikes, scooters and motorized bicycles etc. often riding the wrong way on streets, going against traffic. Passing through red lights and stop signs. Many times barely missing pedestrians who are looking at cars from the proper direction to step off the curb and being blindsided by a cyclist. I can honestly say 90% of the time or more as stand on a corner of a major street or avenue in Manhattan, I will see some type of two wheel vehicle behaving this way.

Yet I hear no cry or threat from the mayor or city councils to do anything about the very dangerous and somewhat self-righteous behavior of these law breaking citizens on the streets. This is not a one-way problem, but yet continues to get treated that way. All I hear is "drivers are the problem". In my opinion, much of the city in its 5 boroughs, are not ideally suited for thousands of bikes to be a significant mode of transportation on the already crowded streets. Nice idea, but this city is too congested already between commuters, taxis, Ubers & Lyfts, limos and electric scooters let alone pedicabs.

Yet we make separate lanes for bikers with separate traffic lights for them and many continue to travel about as if they were 8 years old, back in the day, riding their bike on the sidewalks of Brooklyn or Queens, aimlessly and irresponsibly dangerous. Only problem, it's not in some quiet bucolic neighborhood, it's in the heart of one of the busiest cities in the world. This headline below puts it in perspective about how both sides of an accident were wrong.

Case in point, I was pulling out from my parking space on 48th street between 6th & 5th avenue recently. That street faces east and I was parked on the left side(north side) of the street. There is a designated bike lane right next to me on the side I'm pulling out from. While I slowly do this, I need to look in my side and rear view mirrors to make sure I'm clear to pull out. In addition, as is typical, trucks and cars ahead of me are double parked making deliveries etc. As I pull out looking behind me to insure I'm safe to get into the street and flow of traffic, a bicyclist comes flying at me from the wrong way and I slam on my brakes to avoid a collision. This is then followed by another 4-5 Citi-bikers doing the same thing.

In frustration I roll down my window and yelled "you're all going the wrong way"! No inappropriate adjectives or adverbs were used, although plenty were swirling in my head. What was the response I received? Well, typical of this self-righteous world we live in today, I got a resounding "F@ck you as$hole"! Isn't that special? Of course if I were to have struck them accidentally, I would likely be sued and in court.

There is a problem here. Not just bike riders, but drivers and pedestrians all going about doing as they please and owning it as if it's their right to go against any existing traffic law because they think, "well they'll stop for me".

"Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule." — Friedrich Nietzsche

To anyone who has lost someone to a tragic accident I feel nothing but sorrow for the pain you feel from your loss. None of these things should happen. What I am trying to point out however, is that perhaps we could minimize these things. If everyone just takes a breath and realizes we are in this together. When a large population of people begin to take on anarchistic behavior, the society begins to implode.

So in wrapping this up as quickly as I can, I will only say, it's just sad and frustrating to watch social graces just deteriorating before our eyes. The world is constantly changing and evolving both physically and socially, but honestly, if society in this country were a sports team, we are on a long losing streak at the moment. Personally, I try to be optimistic about things, but right now I'm not holding onto too much hope of snapping out of it anytime soon. When fear of some harm coming your way stops you from pointing out a wrong......well.... we have lost our way.

I would love to hear some of your thoughts as well. Despite the negative tone here........ I'll end with Sunshine Always. We can fix this!

Does this really look safe or sadly more of an accident waiting to happen?