For too many months now, I have been only addressing people whose behavior is contrary to us living peacefully in community here in eretz Israel. It has been a daily chore and the results are simply that you have managed to get your point across to someone who really doesn't want to listen. As a matter of fact, not listening is going to be one of the harder features of the culture to overcome.
Nevertheless, a fight a day is about average. Fights about driving top the list. Israeli drivers are notorious for cutting people off in traffic, driving on the side of the road during traffic james and a variety of assorted felonies and misdeamenors against their brothers and sisters. The crimes are equal opportunity offenses affecting both men and woman, young and old, but the culprits like other crimes, tend to be young men. I have committed myself to addressing these individuals as clearly and as often as I can. In one particularly interesting confrontation, I drove from Beit Shemesh to Jerusalem with my bumper locked on another car's bumper just to make sure the other driver participated fully in the traffic jam like the rest of his brothers and sisters.
It was a typical night and I was driving from the Center (ha mercaz) to Jerusalem to go home. I was by myself andf studying my Hebrew lessons on CD's as I am apt to do on the ride between the Center and Jerusalem. Like many evenings on this road, traffic was very congested and when we got to the Beir shemesh exit, it came to complete stop. We drove for several kilometers all up hill in the start and stop fashion. I was looking in my rearview mirror, when several cars back, the driver put his emergency blinkers on and pulled into the shoulder and began to drive past all of us not having an emergency. Then a second driver did the same? I thought, "So many women suddenly going into labor that they have an emergent need to get to the hospital?" No, this is one of those culture issues that need to be addressed. Time for a a lesson.
I was fortunate, because the third driver who put his emergency blinkers on was the gentleman behind me. When he pulled into the shoulder lane, so did I. I was met by the inevitable and ever-present horn blowing followed by lights flashing and more horn blowing. After it was clear that I was not going to move out of the shoulder, he pulled up next to me. I rolled my window down for the verbal part of the lesson, but it was a hot night, he had his air conditioner on and if you understand the game we are about to play, eye contact is a no-no. So we drove like this for a kilometer or so with his suddenly stepping on the gas and gaining a few inches on me. We had a bus in front of us so we were not going around or through him. We reached a point where he suddenly turned the wheel in my direction and hit me. From my vantage, there was no damage so I continued to drive on the shoulder. A few minutes later, he hit me again, this time locking our side mirrors and then for a final time, he hit me and this time or bumpers locked. I saw this as an opportunity to allow nature to hold us captive together and this is how we drove to Jerusalem, another 20 kilometers. When we entered the city, traffic lessened and lightened and I stepped on the gas to dislodge our bumpers. From there, we actually drop together a distance as apparently he lived near me (another sign of us as almost kin).
As I drove that last leg, three different drivers pulled up next to me to give me the "thmbs up". There is a real desire here to address the small minority of those who behave poorly and non-communally. Unfortunately, there is not the strength to address the behavior. People would rather turn away and pretend it didn't happen.
Lately, I've heard lots and lots of excuses why others do not get ivolved and frankly, they are all weak reasons. It takes some forethought and a little bit of passion, but I believe this is 30% of community building. The other 70% is about stroking and fanning the flames of positive beahvior as you will see in later stories.
I arrived home with a few scratches but none the worse for wear. My hope is that a point was made and perhaps he will understand the value of participating as a group when a problem confronts us
אין תגובות:
הוסף רשומת תגובה