Coming Together in Crisis
The cooperative nature of people when a traffic light goes out is a wonder of the human spirit. Normally on the road we could flick off a grandma and speed over a sack of kittens without a second thought and that's okay because everyone else has the same moral hierarchy.
But when a traffic light goes out everyone instinctively understands the "treat it is a four way stop" rule. People treat it even better than a normal four way stop. It's great when we have this moment in society when collectively we're all thinking, "Okay everybody, let's just calm down and we can handle this together. You go, and then you go, and now I go. Stay calm and we'll get through this." Do you ever even see police out there handling the situation? Nope - they know everyone will keep it cool.
On the other hand if it's clear the traffic lights just aren't changing, a rigid caste system takes hold. The people in the "green" lane are the clear superior traveling unfettered through the world. In fact, they will not even pause to look at the people in the "red" lane. The "red" lane people on the other hand, initially accept their lot in life and then become angry until the Moses of the drivers metaphorically screams out "Let my people go" and screams through the intersection with the rest of the cars following behind like a Capital One "What's in Your Wallet" Viking mob.
But when a traffic light goes out everyone instinctively understands the "treat it is a four way stop" rule. People treat it even better than a normal four way stop. It's great when we have this moment in society when collectively we're all thinking, "Okay everybody, let's just calm down and we can handle this together. You go, and then you go, and now I go. Stay calm and we'll get through this." Do you ever even see police out there handling the situation? Nope - they know everyone will keep it cool.
On the other hand if it's clear the traffic lights just aren't changing, a rigid caste system takes hold. The people in the "green" lane are the clear superior traveling unfettered through the world. In fact, they will not even pause to look at the people in the "red" lane. The "red" lane people on the other hand, initially accept their lot in life and then become angry until the Moses of the drivers metaphorically screams out "Let my people go" and screams through the intersection with the rest of the cars following behind like a Capital One "What's in Your Wallet" Viking mob.
posted by Rob at 12:13 AM
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