No good vibes from PriusOwners in SOCAL

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jesart @ Feb 3 2007, 11:28 PM) [snapback]385070[/snapback]</div>

Did you just move here?

 

Hey Jess - No, you're not a freak. Nowadays, I think people in general are less friendly, less polite and absolutely more selfish. It's sad that there is so much technology out there to bring us together, but most of us (meaning humans in general) would rather be on our cellphones.... wrapped up in our own conversations and own issues. I wish everybody could take a collective deep breath and just relax. So many people out there have these huge feelings of entitlement and no responsibility to each other and no accountability for themselves. It makes me sad. It's pathetic when people bitch about not getting their "so and so" at Costco because Costco ran out of "so and so"... good Lord! We live in a rich nation with abundant resources.... with everything that is so wrong out there, one still has the audacity to complain about such things. When there are so many with so little. Our hypercompetitive society has made it OK for people to trample on others. Parents push their kids to be on top at any cost. These costs include rudeness, the need for immediate gratification and generalized disregard for others. It makes me sad when other folks say "You're kids are so polite... they have such good manners!" When did good manners and good behavior become the exception and not the norm? Growing up military taught me the "Yes, sirs and No, ma'ams" but growing up with a sense of community taught me how to care for those around me.
So, I'm sorry that others can be such jackasses. I frequently give hello gestures to others in traffic when eye contact is made.... why not? If there's no reciprocation... oh well... So if you're ever in the Sacramento area and see a Seaside Pearl Prius with "DYLNDOG" plates... give me a wave, you'll be sure to get one back and with a smile :lol:

Take care!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dylandog @ Feb 4 2007, 12:25 AM) [snapback]385078[/snapback]</div>

I can't resist noting the irony in a post that wishes people would ``take a deep breath and just relax'' in the middle of a rant directed at bashing the majority of our society. I'll readily acknowledge the irony of my own post here bashing someone for bashing others...

My experience is that most people I personally interact with, whether strangers or not, seem friendly and polite. This is subjective, of course, for how does one weight the polite against the impolite, the friendly against the unfriendly, to arrive at an overall conclusion? The conclusion one reaches may say more about the one who reaches the conclusion than about society in general. I tend to think that the best way to increase politeness and thoughtfulness is to encourage people to notice the positive in others more. The source of most thoughtlessness and rudeness, in my opinion, is the belief that others are generally thoughtless and rude.

Please forgive my own rudeness in making this post. I like people in general and our society in general and it is a weakness of mine to say something when hearing them insulted.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jesart @ Feb 3 2007, 11:28 PM) [snapback]385070[/snapback]</div>

Personally, I would never assume ill will to explain what might be caused by differing cultural norms, confusion, or fear.

My observation is that people usually have unconscious rules about when opening an interaction with a stranger is appropriate and when it is not, and those rules differ from place to place. Walking down a street in a big city, people tend not to smile and make eye contact, and many people seem to take that as evidence that people in a big city are cold and rude. But often these same people will smile and be friendly in a slightly different circumstance, usually when there are fewer people around. Even if people are not conscious of the reasons for these rules, there may be good practical reasons for them, such as when walking on a busy street there isn't enough time to acknowledge all around, or that eye contact may encourage attention from someone trying to take advantage of those not familiar with the local region.

In the case of a Prius driver who lives in an area where it is very rare to be approached by a stranger at a gas station, the approachee might be taken aback and at a loss for how to react. The approachee might also wonder if there's some alterior motive. Unfortunately, there are those who strike up conversations with strangers for the sake of trying a hard sell of the person on a multi-level-marketing scheme, a religion, a political cause, an attempt to get a date, or even a simple pitch for money ``to buy gas to get home''.

As far as honking and waving goes, if the subject is used to honking and waving being used only to contact someone who is already known, the subject might very well assume that it was a case of mistaken identity, or be confused trying to figure out who was waving and why.

I personally wish it were more common for people to approach strangers, honk, and wave, but I don't fault those who don't or don't respond as we would prefer to such an approach. They may have any number of reasons for this that we don't know. I prefer not to let it get me down or be less friendly in return.

 

Sigh! Gone are those days when prius owners wave at each other, or at least smile at each other. Back when just seeing one was a rare sighting, and when two owners did pass each other, there was some sort of understanding between owners, a feeling of being part of a community. For a time there I did experience it. sigh!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eak354 @ Feb 4 2007, 01:48 AM) [snapback]385081[/snapback]</div>

Hmm, I don't live in So Cal (went to college down there between 92-97) but when I was down there w/my Prius last year, I didn't notice any special interaction between fellow Prius owners just like I seen none here.

With 350Z owners, we usually give each other a thumbs up or a wave.

 

Somewhere in this forum we talked about Prius drivers showing the peace sign to each other. I thought that would be fun until I attended a gang awareness seminar at work recently. In the city where I work, an innocent young man was gunned down because he waved a peace sign at a honking car. The occupants of that car mistakenly thought he was a member of the "Deuces" gang. It's so sad and depressing...

 

Maybe we need our own sign !!! :lol:

 

When I first moved to the Fargo-Moorhead area, from L.A., in 1970, I was amazed by how friendly people were: total strangers would smile and say hello on the street. Eventually I decided it was a small-town thing. Rural ND is more so.

I only ever saw one or two Prius in Fargo other than my own. But here in Spokane I see them occasionally, and although the other driver does not always see me, I've never failed to get a smile, or a smile and a wave, from any Prius driver with whom I've made eye contact. And I've had friendly conversations with the 2 or 3 Prius drivers I've accosted outside their car. Spokane is half a million people, but still has a little of the small-town feel.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cwerdna @ Feb 4 2007, 05:05 AM) [snapback]385082[/snapback]</div>

That's funny. I was about to say the same thing about our Z. Did you keep it?

 

Hey jesart... If I was at a gas station, I'd do the same thing you did, with probably the same result.

I think there are just so many people with Priuses these days that they're no longer special. I must see anywhere from 25 to 30 daily just on my commute to work. There are people who actually think of a Prius as just a car! Can you imagine that? :blink: When I pull up along side another Prius at a stop light, I always look over to see if there is some acknowledgement and there's yet to be any. I want to say, "Hey... "We're cool! We're our own community!" and even more so... "Don't you know about Priuschat?" Being in Southern California though, they'd just think I was really strange.

 

living in Wa state the people are simply different here. i wave to nearly every Prius owner and about half wave back. most of the other half, i think simply dont see me. granted the Prius owners around here are predominately older people and may pay more attention to the road than other drivers.

i also wave to many drivers who are in state owned Priuses (being in the state capital, they are about 75% of the Prius population here) and just about all of them ignore me. if i notice the state plate i dont wave at them other than a few people i know personally who work across the parking lot from my job.

the waving has dropped off a lot though. to be honest with ya, the Prius stopped being a novelty around here a few years ago. i used to only see a few dozen a day. now its a few dozen every hour or so. they are simply everywhere.

 

Hey Sunnyvale Prius - I don't think I was in a Rant - I truly was a little sad when I wrote that and I'll have you know my feelings were hurt by your post. I am a realist and I try to see good everyday, but it's hard to do when that being cut off and ignored is becoming a cultural norm. I work in large teaching hospital where we see just about every culture... talk about knowing the norms... We have to know, or our healthcare delivery would be inadequate or difficult at the least. Also, as a San Jose transplant... I have seen a lovely farm town with orchards and area to roam, grow into a sprawl full of lemmings. Every time I go back to visit family I am reminded of why I left. Anyways, take care.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA @ Feb 4 2007, 08:17 AM) [snapback]385117[/snapback]</div>

Dave last weekend there was a WA state Classic at the electronics store and when I left I stopped at the auto parts store and he was just getting in his car when I pulled in beside him and not even as thumbs up or a smile or any thing. Classic owner even! I couldn't believe it. Those day's are gone......it's just a car now.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA @ Feb 4 2007, 08:17 AM) [snapback]385117[/snapback]</div>

It's only been a tad over 3 years since the current model was introduced!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sunnyvale Prius @ Feb 4 2007, 01:01 AM) [snapback]385079[/snapback]</div>

Despite some of the truth to your post and the overanalytical rationalizations I would have to agree with Dylandogs post. Our super competitive culture and media teaches us that being polite and open with our feelings is bad and that we need to be bigger, meaner, and outcompete our rivals which translates into "screw everyone else in the world, I'm gonna get mines" If you don't believe it simply listen to the music and television that influences the younger generation today. It rarely promotes community unless community is the winning "team".

Some of this "rudeness" can be attributed to confusion or fear like you stated but I think a larger percentage stems from the fact so many people are too wrapped up in their own frantic life to notice or care about anyone else. Roadrage as you know is a classic example most psychologist and ethicists use. And we call people in tribal societies the savages.....

 

There's so many of them in my area we don't do the honk and wave as much but I remember back when I had my first Prius it was such an oddity. The other day at a superstore parking lot a lady with a new blue '07 came up to me and remembered talking to me a year ago at an ice cream store and voila..she has one now and loves it.
I used to live in CA and my memory is of self centered people intent on making others feel stupid. Glad I left.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(burritos @ Feb 4 2007, 08:01 AM) [snapback]385112[/snapback]</div>

I still have my Z and don't plan on getting rid of it as long as I'm still single.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(thpeaky @ Feb 4 2007, 03:37 PM) [snapback]385279[/snapback]</div>

So are we.