Just like last year at this time, I took Maddie downtown to watch the Dragon*Con parade Saturday morning. And, as my Twitter followers know, somebody severely pissed me off, so I’m going to ask you, dear reader, if I’m overreacting or in the wrong here.
After driving around downtown for 30 minutes, I found a place close to the parade route, pulled just ahead of it, and starting backing into the spot. I was just about to cut the steering wheel to the right when this asshole drove in behind me:
I slammed my car into “park” and got out.
Me: Excuse, me. I think I was fairly clearly backing into this spot.
Dickwad: You didn’t signal.
Me: Signaling isn’t required to parallel park. I was backing into the spot. You saw my little white reverse lights.
Dickwad: Hee hee…you should’ve signaled!
Me: Are you kidding? I’ve been driving around half an hour with my 3-year-old, so she can see Jedi Knights and Storm Troopers, and you’re really going to take my spot?
Dickwad: Sorry buddy…I don’t guess you can’t do anything about it now!
Me: You are a FUCKING ASSHOLE, you know that?
Dickwad: Fuck you, buddy! Try to make me move and see what happens!
Me (approaching the back of his car): Okay…APY 4452.
Dickwad: What’re you doing?
Me: Calling the cops.
Dickwad: Who? The Ghostbusters? They’re not gonna do anything. Sucker!
I drove off and found an overpriced garage before I did something stupid and got arrested. By the time I left, a small crowd was pressing their faces against the Landmark Diner’s large storefront windows.
I did call the cops but ended up hanging up before I got through the dispatchers to a real person, as I was too angry to coherently talk about what had happened, and the parade was a few minutes from starting. Here are a few of the nerds sci-fi enthusiasts we saw:
Maddie enjoyed it quite a bit. She even got a Starburst candy and a necklace from a couple creatures who walked by us. On our way back, I couldn’t resist stopping and taking this picture, however:
I’ve so far resisted the urge to ask any of my friends at the DA’s office or local police department to give me this guy’s name, but that may change shortly. Somehow, the thought of his googling himself in a week or so and seeing “this guy is an asshole” come up really appeals to me.
So, any thoughts? My fault for not signaling? Should I have called the cops after he threatened me (sort of)? Somewhere in between?
Regardless, the rest of the weekend was great: the parade was fun, the Tide beat VA Tech, I got to catch up with a bunch of friends from undergrad, and I saw a girl who grew up down the street from me (and lives in L.A., so I haven’t seen her in 8 years) at the Decatur Book Festival.
But still. What a dick.
Personally, I would have enjoyed letting all the air out of his tires myself…
.-= Kevin´s last blog ..San Francisco 2009 =-.
@Kevin, I was certainly tempted, and I considered doing just that (or worse), but it was right in front of a busy restaurant, and I didn’t want to act like the thug I felt he was being.
I think you just signal if you’re waiting for someone to pull out of a spot. If you’re in the process of backing up, I think the backward motion of the car serves as a signal. If this is a test as to whether or not I deserve a license because I don’t know squat about traffic laws, please disregard this comment.
.-= Trout Towers´s last blog ..just because =-.
@Trout Towers, I don’t know traffic laws, either…they don’t teach that in lawschool! After publishing this, I wrote my friend who’s a cop and another friend who’s a prosecutor about the tag and the incident. I’ll update this post with my findings!
Fucker! I can’t stand people like that. He obviously knew you were backing up but decided to be a jerk. I don’t think you overreated but calling the cops wouldn’t have done anything.
I’m a bitch so I would have let Maddie “play” with your car keys rather “closely” to his car. But that’s just me.
Glad the rest of the weekend was fun!
.-= Keyona´s last blog ..I Had A Bad Day, Just Ask Twitter =-.
@Keyona, Thanks…I think you’re right re: calling the fuzz. I just wanted to make him look like an ass but didn’t really have the time.
Signal? Who the hell signals when they are parallel parking and are backing into the space? Your reverse lights tell other drivers that you’re backing up. It’s not just you – this guy is an asshole.
.-= Lori (@drlori71)´s last blog ..Kiss My Boo-Boo! =-.
@Lori, Thanks…that’s what I thought.
Yeah…he’s a douche.
.-= Jessie´s last blog ..Wooooo!!! =-.
@jessie, Good. I feel better then.
Well, he lives in a craptacular neighborhood.
Did you forget that I’m still a cop in Alabama even though my other career is a computer goob??
Deadly combo my friend, let me know what you need…LOL.
.-= Kim´s last blog ..I knew. =-.
@kim, How ’bout a name to add to this post?
Oh he’s definitely a dickwad … but I don’t think he broke any laws so I doubt if the police could do anything about it. Unfortunately, people don’t get arrested for being dickwads. (There’d be no men left in Orange County!)
.-= Twenty Four At Heart´s last blog ..Escaping the Heat on Labor Day =-.
@24atHeart, The potential lawbreaking was his threat–that could be assault. Otherwise, no.
Most people google themselves once a week? Crap, yet another thing I’m not getting done.
.-= Juli Ryan´s last blog ..Twitter-bleeping and my Facebook friends. =-.
@Juli, Only the vain.
1. I like what Kim had to say. It helps to have friends who can not only 1) find out who someone is…but also, 2) know how to screw with their computer lives. lol
It’s too bad you’re a better father than I am a mother. I would have immediately given the signal to my kids to start screaming and crying, yelling, “Daddy! We’re gonna miss it!!!” or, “Now I’m reaaaallllyyy gonna pee my pants!!”. Then I would have just gone with it.
Some people take pleasure in screwing others without the proper niceties beforehand…just look at my ex. Bahahaha
Glad you had fun in spite of this jerk. xx
.-= Queen Katherine´s last blog ..Time for a Shortie =-.
@queenkatherine, I don’t know about “better parent,” but thanks! I’m hoping Kim runs the tag and gives me a name today.
It sounds like that guy was a big doo-doo head. Some people are just like that.
.-= Daisy the Curly Cat´s last blog ..Talking Tuesday: Robo-Mommeh! =-.
@daisy, I’m feeling better knowing his karma will likely mean a positive cancer screen sometime this week.
Hahaha! I think it’s karma for your general dick baggery. Maybe the next time someone innocently contacts you by facebook you should be a man and help or let it slide.
Comeuppance what a concept.
@:{|, Correctly using punctuation: what a concept.
First, dude was an asshole. No question.
However, I don’t know what getting the cops involved would have done in the long run.
Second, re: signaling, most cars now unlatch the signal once the wheel is turned to a certain point in the other direction. Therefore, even if you had signaled to begin with, there’s no guarantee you would still be signaling when someone performed a rear admiral on you.
.-= SciFi Dad´s last blog ..Two Munchkin Stories =-.
SciFiDad, You’re right…it would’ve stopped blinking when I cut the wheel. I think our city’s cops have too much to worry about now to have done anything anyway.
I think you did the right thing by calling the guy a FUCKING ASSHOLE in front of your 3-year old and not a GODDAMN FUCKING ASSHOLE.
.-= prefers her fantasy life´s last blog ..Not The Way I Thought "The Sex Talk" Would Happen =-.
@prefersfantasy, Ha! She was still in the car, which is soundproof (I hope).
Guy was a dick for cutting into the spot behind you.
That being said – overreact much?
Someone stole a parking spot.
I’m pretty sure that’s not illegal.
Just prickish.
.-= Miss Britt´s last blog ..The Ache =-.
@missbritt, Agree. I used to have a long fuse. It shortened in 2003.
Total dick. I would have been so pissed off. He deserves flat tires. Or having his engine die right when in the middle of a roundabout.
.-= Wynn´s last blog ..I get it now =-.
@wynn, That’s what Atlanta needs–some roundabouts! I think Decatur is the closest one. 10 years ago, I probably would’ve left some flat tires but didn’t feel the need to do so at this stage in life.
It’s not just you, he’s an asshole.
Although I’m glad you didn’t call the cops because I’m pretty sure they would have laughed and made you angrier…
.-= Belle´s last blog ..You be the judge =-.
@belle, I think you’re right about that.
Oh, man. What an asshole. There are legal laws and then there social laws, and he broke one of the latter. (You like “legal laws”? You can borrow that.) ANYway, you were right, he was wrong, and this was JUST like that Seinfeld episode:
“George . . . finds a space, and decides to back into it. . . . When he starts backing into the space, Mike enters the same space, front first.
The two argue over who is entitled to the space, all the while blocking traffic. Mike argues that he entered the space first, while George argues that he saw it first and was simply positioning himself, entitling him to the space.
To make way for a truck, George and Mike get neutral people to move the cars and position them perfectly after the truck is moved.”
.-= JD at I Do Things´s last blog ..I Have Four . . . er, Three Phones so you don’t have to =-.
@JD, I love that you provided a link to a Seinfeld episode! I’d forgotten that one. Glad to know I’m like George (but with more hair, thank God).
When that happens here, I just apologize and go look for another parking space.
(Just kidding, I was playing up the Canadian card here!)
The guy is definitely an asshole. People like that make me want to install front Rhino bars and a giant hitch in the back of my car. What do you mean there’s a massive hole in your bumper? My car’s fine! Or just leave a note on his windshield: “Sorry buddy…I don’t guess you can’t do anything about it now!”
.-= LeSombre´s last blog ..Ode to Facebook =-.
@lesombre, If I drove an older car, maybe. I had a trailer hitch on my car in highschool, and it definitely came in handy. Its being >10 years old came in handy, too.
Yes, he’s an asshole. But you have over-reacted.
Life is not a game where every point counts. You win some, you lose some.
Let go of it. It’s already caused you more aggravation thinking about it, than it has cost you in the aggravation of having to fork out for a parking garage.
Forgive me for this remark, but you don’t have to be a lawyer on weekends.
.-= headbang8´s last blog ..The second worst word in the English language =-.
@headbang8, I agree with you. No forgiveness necessary.
first, sweet ass parade, just sayin.
I wouldn’t have called the cops, they can’t do anything about an asshole.
@staciesmadness, It was sweet!
The man was living out his fantasy. That is what DragonCon is about, living a fantasy life. He feels that swiping a parking spot makes him a grown ass man.
Another possibility ( though incompatible with scenario number one) is that the parking spot thief was the preacher in GP plaza. Here is a picture of this fine example of humanity.
.-= chamblee54´s last blog ..The Best Think BHO Has Done =-.
@chamblee54, Very good point. And, it could’ve been that guy!
What a douche! I was at the parade, which was packed! I like what Kevin said about letting the air out of his tires.
I have seen people signal and not signal when parallel parking. I don’t recall ever seeing it stated that signaling was required.
.-= Jules´s last blog ..Indianapolis Day One =-.
@jules, Thanks for your agreement!
Lots of good points have been repeated here regarding signaling, no point in calling the fuzz, and what a douchebag that guy is. It would have totally pissed me off too. HOWEVER, rather than letting it go, also noted above, get his name on the WWW and let social justice take its course!
@semky, Working on it, and thanks for your input!
.-= muskrat´s last blog ..is it just me, or is this guy an asshole? =-.
While you’re at it, research AKE-9947. That motherfucker spit on my face last year. We’ll take both these douchebags down.
.-= Coal Miner’s Granddaughter´s last blog ..And Here’s To You, MAJ Livingston. =-.
@coalminer’sGD, Really? That’s so much worse. I’ll be glad to tell you what my cop friend finds.
He’s a fuck nuts. Taking your three your old daughter to a parade trumps whatever story he had. Whatever happened to Southern gentility?
.-= A Free Man´s last blog ..You always told me Father’s Day was just another way of selling Hallmark greeting cards =-.
@freeman, It went away when you moved across the ocean (the Atlantic…I realize you’re now across the Pacific).
He was a major douchebag for pulling that crap. You were (and are being) a tiny bit douchebaggy for over-reacting then and not letting it go now.
Did you and Maddie have a great day together? Then focus on the fact that that douchebag might have snagged a good parking spot totally unfairly but he’ll never ever *ever* have a Maddie or an Owen or a PB.
And now I have to go live in my own Pollyanna world of rainbows and puppies and lollipops.
@countessa, What a great world in which to live! I doubt I’ll ever be there. Say “hi” to the puppies for me.
“Puppies, your filthy Unkle Muskrat sez hi!”
*puppies proceed to piddle on my feet*
The imaginary puppies were not impressed, Unkle Muskrat.
what a freakin ass. if you ever need license plate info – let me know. i gotta guy. i’d like to say i’ve never reacted poorly in situations like this, but my emotions usually get the best of me. and seriously, you had a KID with you. what d-i-c-k. i like your idea of getting his name and having all your friends blog about what a dick he is, so when he googles it – ohh the surprises that await!
@emacgrass, Yes, please do.
Well…..
Technically you are suppose to signal but still, the guy is a dick.
DragonCon totally rocked though. We took the kids before and after the Braves game. I have to say that although some look like freaks they are the nicest freaks I’ve ever met. We were in Landmark too because honestly, who doesn’t like a piece of Red Velvet cake while they watch a DragonCon parade?
@amanda, Wow…are you sure you weren’t “this guy”? Did you have on a man suit? Glad we were in some of the same places and that y’all enjoyed it. My girl liked it, and I made quite an effort to enjoy it.
You should get a bumper sticker that says, “I ran a death camp for ten years, and all I got was this lousy bumper sticker.” Then, we’ll see how many douchebags try to cut you off.
.-= Faiqa´s last blog ..I’m Not A Feminist Or Anything… Again =-.
@faiqa, Wow…this is the greatest comment in this string. Great idea!