Turn Off The Rage Machine

 

About six weeks ago, the same week a road rage incident on our interstate ended with lethal consequences (the victim shot and killed the aggressor), I was also a victim of road rage during busy rush hour evening traffic.  A woman (yes a woman) behind me was literally losing her $h!t, blasting her horn at me and acting as though she was going to ram the back of my car with hers because I wouldn’t go.  We had a red light and from where she sat she couldn’t see the flow of oncoming traffic I was required to yield to, but she was relentless.  Had I pulled out, as she would’ve liked, I definitely would have caused an accident, undoubtedly.

 

Fortunately, once I was able to go, I was able to weave my way through a few lanes of traffic and get away from her.  I pulled into a busy supermarket parking lot with a lot of people in it and gratefully she did not follow me and I watched her continue on.  I believe she got caught up in traffic allowing me to get away.  I chose a different route home and on my way as I thought about what had just happened I was truly amazed by her behavior.  I also said a little prayer for me, for her and then I forgave her.

 

What causes someone to go off the rails and behave like that, I do not know, but I also realized I don’t know her story.  Maybe this was a one off, maybe she had an emergency and needed to get somewhere, or maybe she acts like this all the time, it’s hard to say.  What I do know is while she was out of control I was in control.  I was in control.  I chose not to react to her rage or engage.  Instead I adhered to traffic laws and then safely drove away as soon as I was able.  Luckily it ended well for me because I know all too well it doesn’t always end well for everyone.

 

We need to turn off the rage machine that seems to be the norm rather than the exception lately.  Anger and rage is steeped in fear and I know that, but most people don’t.  When you get down to the base of why someone is angry it is usually because they are fearful about something.  With that in mind I do whatever I can to keep a cool head and not get dragged into whatever drama happens to be going on.  As always, cooler heads prevail.

 

Had I reacted to the woman raging in her car behind me, like flipped her off or something stupid like that, things could’ve escalated and gone seriously wrong.  She might have actually rammed my car sending me forward into oncoming traffic.  She could’ve followed me into the parking lot and thankfully she didn’t, but she could’ve and who only knows how that might have played out.  I would’ve had to call 911, but what might have happened before they had a chance to arrive?  As it happened there was actually a deputy sheriff standing in the parking lot at the time.  That never happens!

 

So my friends, should you find yourself in a similar situation, I implore you to stay calm and do your best to diffuse the situation as much as possible.  Get away, call 911 if you need to and thank God for His protection and wisdom.  Then once you’ve thought it all over forgive that person.  We need to turn off this rage machine that seems to be consuming so many these day.  Violent and aggressive behavior is never a viable option.  We need to be better humans.