Political space to breathe

Around 6:15 the other day as I was nudging my way out onto 40 on the way home, I weaseled my way to the left most lane, as I always do, as in the absence of some mishap on the left-hand shoulder of the road, it unclogs and moves most quickly as the 40/Durham Highway interchange processes all the rush-hour volume that gets dumped onto it by RTP feeders. Just soon as I made it into the lane, I saw a black pick-up truck with decorative rims and a pretty aggressive exhaust tuning trying to nudge its way in front of me.

Now, ethically I could have no problem with what the guy was trying to do. He was doing exactly, 100% the same thing I had just done. But culturally it was pretty clear that we were part of different tribes, me in my "ricer" Prius, he in his potential coal-roller truck. Initially, my vestigial northeastern "fuck that guy this is my lane" instinct kicked in, and I was going to adjust my speed to not let the guy in front of me while not making eye contact in classic New Jersey fashion.

Instead, I just let the guy in. And he gunned his engine (just to accelerate) and it gave a throaty growl as he pulled in in front of me, and he gave a friendly wave. Which surprised me.

Time was, this was how things worked across the cultural divide. People from town and country, or from different walks of life, could acknowledge our differences and operate civilly with one another. And by the time we have made eye contact with one another and started talking, should we choose to, it usually goes that way now. But we have to make the eye contact and begin talking.

But I must admit that this might be my white male gentile privilege talking. It is relatively easy for me to shift into this neutral discursive gear, because I'm not really threatened by anything the Right is doing. Far from it, in fact, they are defending my turf for me, though I know in the abstract I don't want them to and it is wrong. They aren't talking about taking away my ability to make birth control decisions. Even global warming: I live inland and have enough money to figure out how to take evasive action from the worst of the initial effects.

So maybe it is just easier for me to dial it back, play nice, and try to see their perspective and engage productively. Perhaps that's the definition of snowflake.