I AM THOUGHTLESS AND UNGRACIOUS
This was a note I found on my truck’s windshield last night on Capitol Hill in Seattle.
It was placed on my truck NOT because I had encroached upon a private driveway, but because I would have come CLOSE to encroaching on a private driveway had I moved my truck another foot in the direction of said driveway.
This was left by a person who clearly feels that all of the street, on both sides of his driveway and for as far as the eye can see, is there for his sole use and enjoyment.
Seattle is a wonderful town which would be made all the more wonderful if we could rid ourselves of the pestilence caused by our current infestation of passive-aggressive, self-absorbed, entitled twits.
Unfortunately {or fortunately, depending upon your point of view} should that occur the town would be effectively emptied of its human cargo.
July 18th, 2012 at 7:54 am
Are you sure they’re talking about your truck?!!
July 18th, 2012 at 9:49 am
Sometimes it’s better to hear it from a total stranger. Lol. What a weirdo.
July 18th, 2012 at 10:48 am
Scott – it was the case a long time ago when I lived there, and it is good to know things have not changed.
it is probably someone who relocated from California, as all the locals assume, even though a local is one who has lived there over 5 years.
July 18th, 2012 at 11:32 am
I find it ironic that a person who left an anonymous note that called you names IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS LIKE HE WAS SHOUTING would think you were the ungracious, thoughtless one. But maybe that’s just my Virginia upbringing coloring my thinking.
July 18th, 2012 at 12:00 pm
they’ve definitely got issues …
July 18th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
These weirdo-types keep the rest of us “not as” passive-aggressive folks in Seattle in line. If there is any chance of getting entangled with one of these folks, in any way, we avoid it. So we pull farther ahead in parking spaces, or make sure there is at least five feet between a bumper and the curb of a driveway (not just five feet from the wheel and the drive’s curb). And we pick up the dog poop of negligent others, just so our dog is not blamed. The home owner, lurking behind the curtain across the block, might just be a freaky weirdo, parading around in real life, clothed like a normal citizen. This also prevents one from getting as many parking tickets from the maids in blue. So there is that. There are many other examples of how we North Westerners follow the rules, simply because of the seemingly pervasive, passive-aggressive weirdo community control mechanism.
I dunno if this is a Scandinavian trait we have inherited from the original fishing community here, a trait from small NW towns adjusting to becoming a bigger and more anonymous neighborhoods, or what, but it happens here in Seattle quite a bit. It is a way of drawing a line in the sand, and saying: this far but no farther, I have put up with so much torture from these yaay-whhoooz, I have to say something. As tenant in Seattle, this type of note is even more common than in the world of parking. Such notes usually come taped to your door under the cover of darknes, in the wee hours of the morning. Also: Just try to work as a male temp in a female dominated Seattle office, where everyone is bored with the work, stakes are high for very little gain, and everyone is totally stressed out.
Whether the feeling that the behavior is so much more common here than elsewhere, if it is real, or just imagined to be the case, it is certainly a part of the psychological landscape here in our lovely and misty Puget-opolis. (Cuz we all must be more sensitive here::> Shouldn’t those people even realize what they are doing, after all ? ! ? ! If they were good citizens like me. I certainly would!)
And I must admit, that when it comes to wind chimes, I have written such a note, taped it to their door in the middle of the night. The air is moving all the fucking time here, and when asked the owners of the 30 different wind chimes on the block all say, “Oh, that, we don’t even hear ‘em anymore.” Take note: People who have wind chimes in an urban environment are totally inconsiderate ass hatz!
That is all.
July 18th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Same story in Portberg — although they would probably THINK of the note, but not write it, or make it polite. NO capacity for flexible thinking, but “such nice people”.
July 18th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
just for fun,
the lexicon and handwriting indicates:
Male
age 32-45
possibly gay
white
right handed
works in a physically demanding creative field
has some form of vision correction
July 18th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
He/She didn’t say ‘fuck you’, draw a picture of a penis or question your parents’ marital status.
You’re dealing with an amateur here. Please be kind.
July 18th, 2012 at 3:11 pm
Be careful; you might want to import Grimm from Portland, OR., this writer may be a hexaduffis, or a Stand-Your-Ground-er: Yesterday there was had a fender-bender in Nevada; the “victim” chased the teenage offender and when both stopped at a 7-11, “victim shoots teen in head twice, because “victim” felt “in danger of my life!”
July 18th, 2012 at 4:05 pm
On the other hand, the street in front of my house is clearly MY parking spot, and the douche across the street has NO BUSINESS parking there. Especially since he has enough room in his driveway for 6 vehicles, as evidenced by the 6 junkers parked there (he seems to be running an illegal mechanic’s shop out of his garage).
Mostly I just curse at him as I drive by.
July 18th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
After more thoughts I believe the Northwest pressure to be nice gets to some people and they bottle up their anger. Sort of the opposite of new york , where they are either nice or rude, as they feel in the moment .
July 18th, 2012 at 7:08 pm
I have to agree with “Just Stopping By”. I own my home and am lucky enough that it came with a driveway so I don’t have to drive around the block for hours. (Ah, olde Capitol Hill memories..) But it is simply impossible to make a 90 degree turn into my drive when both sides are boxed in by cars parked to the very edge. Stimulus Package is right – Sea Regs say 5 feet from bumper to driveway apron. After multiple conversations with my tard neighbor, I finally had her car towed. Worked beautifully. She now parks in front of her own damn house.
July 18th, 2012 at 8:30 pm
Anyone, what exactly is “Passive-Aggresive”? It would seem to me that this note is not exactly passive. He’s letting his opinion be known (right or wrong), and rather than just keying your car, he’s leaving a note. And yes, the note is “shouting” but still, rather better than getting a sledge hammer through the windshield.
Is it “be aggressive but not in the face of the assumed assailant?” I dunno, just asking. It seems to me that blogs in general excel at that mode.
One thing I’ve noted in my Kirkland neighborhood is the willingness to call the cops when a simple walk across the street or note on the windshield would suffice.
July 19th, 2012 at 2:09 am
I would be so tempted to find some white dry marker or soap or whatever is scratchless and easy to wipe off and make some masterpiece of fake scratches on douchebag’s car as if I’d hit it ROFL
…if I didn’t have a blog read by thousands nationally and internationally and humiliate him electronically forever heh
July 19th, 2012 at 4:34 am
This would never happen in New Zealand. We are much too polite for such nonsense. You do have to worry when you are actually driving though, as these people have never heard of defensive driving and they have no idea what that little white line in the middle of the road means. I’ve driven a car in many different countries and this one has some of the worst drivers I’ve ever seen in my life. The lesson? Make sure when you rent a car that you are covered by either your personal insurance or that provided via your credit card, because given the chance, they will run you down, smash into you, total your car, and thing nothing of it!
July 19th, 2012 at 7:47 am
OK, Marais, now I feel bad. I just read the parking regs myself and you’re right. I was parked near a commercial driveway at the time and thought the regulations were different but for both residential and commercial it’s five feet from the apron.
So it seems I am both ungracious and thoughtless!
July 19th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
I don’t know about the shouting (as indicated by all caps in the note). Just about every engineer I know prints in all caps by default, as a result of an aspect of their training. Except for the women ones. They write like normal people.
As for passive-aggressiveness, I’m Canadian. That’s kind of our default mode.
We have a huge issue at work with people parking in staff’s reserved spots, in spite of large, red, clearly visible signs indicating where not to park. My stall is next to the parking pass dispenser, and somebody parks in it at least twice per month. I’ve taken to keeping a stash of pre-printed notes in my glovebox that explain the reserved parking sign, and telling them to please park elsewhere. (And then, if they’re not gone by my morning break, I call security to come ticket them.)
I like to think that’s clear but polite, and a big step up from my fantasy of sticking signs on their doors (made with very delicate paper and very strong glue–technically no permanent damage, but would entail HOURS of tweezing off bits of glue and tissue).