Seattle salute

Yesterday I experienced a really peculiar happenstance (not sure I'd label it as an adventure--more likely a mis-adventure). I was commuting from Seattle to my home about 50 miles away and found myself caught in some of the worst 'stop & go' traffic I'd ever experienced in downtown. Possibly due to the appearance of rain after 7 months of gorgeous sunny skies or perhaps because the 'bus tunnel' was recently closed for a 2 year renovation and now the buses have been diverted to surface streets resulting in gridlock all around. Regardless, the traffic was a nightmare.

I had been inching forward 'neck & neck' with several cars right around me for about half an hour and noticed that one Nissan Quest (even got the license info) minivan in particular carried 4 passengers--who all seemed to range in age from mid/late 40s to mid-60s. What was bizarre is that the passenger in the front passenger seat flipped me the proverbial single finger salute every time I passed him or he passed me. How pleasant! As many of you probably don't know, I wear a certain uniform to work and it was quite visible to these passersby. So, my conjecture is that the salute was meant toward the uniform. Not sure how to respond, I simply smiled and continued inching my way home. Gotta love freedom of speech!

What I couldn't get over is that these individuals all appeared to be well dressed businessmen who, if I could judge solely on outward appearances & the fact they were in a brand new car, probably are middle class folks. I just couldn't believe that people who, by that age in life, should be mature enough to respect other people regardless of race, religion, occupation, etc. It just struck me as being quite odd. I would expect that behavior from teenagers and young adults but not middle-aged 'professional' men. :( Now I wonder if this is a 'society' thing or just a 'Seattle' thing. So sad...