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People honking at me triggers my RAGE

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Old 12-12-15, 12:25 PM
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rushncrush
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People honking at me triggers my RAGE

I'm a nice person but disrespecting me, or being plan ignorant takes me from cool and collected to raging mad man in a matter of miliseconds.. Literally almost been in a few fist fights during my travels.. Some probably would have been if I could have caught them..

Whats the best way to deal with this? I have zero tolerance for the imbeciles
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Old 12-12-15, 12:26 PM
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Honking is Good...It Means they See You...Just wave at them.
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Old 12-12-15, 12:28 PM
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Old 12-12-15, 12:28 PM
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Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
Honking is Good...It Means they See You...Just wave at them.
far enough, wonder if the bloke thought my spit wad was me cleaning his car
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Old 12-12-15, 01:02 PM
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Originally Posted by rushncrush
I'm a nice person but disrespecting me, or being plan ignorant takes me from cool and collected to raging mad man in a matter of miliseconds.. Literally almost been in a few fist fights during my travels.. Some probably would have been if I could have caught them..

Whats the best way to deal with this? I have zero tolerance for the imbeciles
The world is full of people who are imbeciles at least once in a while. If you have zero tolerance for them you are destined for a miserable existence. I'm not suggesting that it isn't sometimes necessary to call people out, but a lot of the time, fuming over some transgression does nothing but make you unhappy while the transgressor is miles down the road and has already gone on with their life.

There's been a couple of videos posted recently about drivers doing dumb things. In one case the driver had honked (apparently in annoyance) at a cyclist while passing them. The cyclist approached the car at the next intersection and calmly asked the driver what the problem was. I think that's fine but what the end result is we don't know. Will the driver be more considerate and less likely to honk in the same situation, or will they be even more inclined to be hostile to cyclists?

While some disagreed, I see that sort of conversation as a reasonable thing for a cyclist to do. At that point though I would forget it. It's not worth my energy to worry about it beyond that. If you're milliseconds away from raging though, I would skip the conversation and realize that it's up to you whether or not you let something like that ruin your day.
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Old 12-12-15, 01:09 PM
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I just wave and smile. If the honk was meant as a friendly warning, as many doubtlessly are, no harm done to either party. If the honk was meant to piss you off, the wave and smile piss the honker off.
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Old 12-12-15, 01:19 PM
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Originally Posted by rushncrush
I'm a nice person but disrespecting me, or being plan ignorant takes me from cool and collected to raging mad man in a matter of miliseconds.. Literally almost been in a few fist fights during my travels.. Some probably would have been if I could have caught them..

Whats the best way to deal with this? I have zero tolerance for the imbeciles
Grow up?
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Old 12-12-15, 01:21 PM
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They aren't honking at you. They are honking at each other.
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Old 12-12-15, 01:26 PM
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I give a friendly wave to show my thanks for them being careful to announce their presence. I'mtoo much of an idiot to get the actual message and get angry.

Last edited by Walter S; 12-12-15 at 05:19 PM.
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Old 12-12-15, 01:31 PM
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Originally Posted by rushncrush

Whats the best way to deal with this? I have zero tolerance for the imbeciles
Take a few anger management classes.
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Old 12-12-15, 01:55 PM
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Lots of good suggestions, given the reality is that you are suffering and bound to suffer more if you do not find a healthy way to deal with this reality of our world.
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Old 12-12-15, 02:15 PM
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Small town .. a toot and a wave from people I Know ..
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Old 12-12-15, 02:18 PM
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
Small town .. a toot and a wave from people I Know ..
How do you know they farted?
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Old 12-12-15, 02:33 PM
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Thats called 'to Trump' ..
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Old 12-12-15, 04:06 PM
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Get an AirZound and honk back!
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Old 12-12-15, 04:18 PM
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Get a gun?
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Old 12-12-15, 04:31 PM
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Act like you recognize them as a friend of yours. You can think to yourself "this idiot is bound to fall for this" but put on the act. Exuberant wave, smile etc. Hopefully they'll go the rest of the day wondering if they were honking and/or mouthing off at a neighbor or someone who knows them at work.
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Old 12-12-15, 04:39 PM
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Originally Posted by rushncrush
I'm a nice person but disrespecting me, or being plan ignorant takes me from cool and collected to raging mad man in a matter of miliseconds.. Literally almost been in a few fist fights during my travels.. Some probably would have been if I could have caught them..

Whats the best way to deal with this? I have zero tolerance for the imbeciles
Counselling can work wonders. There is no shame in it.
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Old 12-12-15, 04:39 PM
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Originally Posted by rushncrush
....
Whats the best way to deal with this? I have zero tolerance for the imbeciles
CHILL OUT !!!

The problem isn't the people who make you mad, the world is full of them. the problem is your own inability to take nonsense like this in stride. If minor grief like this makes you flip, you're in for a miserable, short stress filled life. Once you decide that you don't care, it gets much easier even if nothing actually changes.
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Old 12-12-15, 04:55 PM
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Originally Posted by wphamilton
Act like you recognize them as a friend of yours. You can think to yourself "this idiot is bound to fall for this" but put on the act. Exuberant wave, smile etc. Hopefully they'll go the rest of the day wondering if they were honking and/or mouthing off at a neighbor or someone who knows them at work.
That's brilliant. I'll have to remember that next time,..if only I can stem the rage.
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Old 12-12-15, 04:59 PM
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Old 12-12-15, 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Trakhak
I just wave and smile. If the honk was meant as a friendly warning, as many doubtlessly are, no harm done to either party. If the honk was meant to piss you off, the wave and smile piss the honker off.
this is my way of looking at it. Ignoring it is also perfectly acceptable, what if they didnt' mean to honk at you?
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Old 12-12-15, 05:46 PM
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Originally Posted by rushncrush
I'm a nice person but disrespecting me, or being plan ignorant takes me from cool and collected to raging mad man in a matter of miliseconds.. Literally almost been in a few fist fights during my travels.. Some probably would have been if I could have caught them..

Whats the best way to deal with this? I have zero tolerance for the imbeciles
A good piece of adavice I read on Bike Forums (for commuters at least) is that as you get closer to work, contain your rage, in case it’s a co-worker, or even your boss.
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Old 12-12-15, 05:59 PM
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Originally Posted by AlmostTrick
Get a gun?
A Go-Pro camera would be a lot better. OP could film all the drama along their commute and then post it on bikeforums for entertainment.
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Old 12-12-15, 06:20 PM
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Originally Posted by wolfchild
A Go-Pro camera would be a lot better. OP could film all the drama along their commute and then post it on bikeforums for entertainment.
I've got some flicks on my watch-list about paint drying and then maybe...
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