I was driving Deal to camp in Cary yesterday afternoon. At the Harrison Avenue exit on Highway 40, a silver Toyota 4Runner was playing lane changing games with me and didn’t let me over to get to my exit. He did the whole speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down dangerous dance. I slowed down, waiting for him to go ahead safely. I made note of the next exit just in case I couldn’t make it over because of his highway shenanigans. At the last minute he pulled over, allowing me to exit. Then he came right next to my car on the driver’s side. Bird was sitting right behind me. He and Deal were a little flipped out by this guy driving uncomfortably close to us on the highway. The driver proceeded to flip me off and cuss me out. Bird could even tell that he was cussing. “I think he just said the “F-word, Mommy.” In this man’s eyes were rage. In the brief moment I saw him I could tell. My sons were in the car with me, and they were frightened. I tried to maintain composure, though I was fuming and scared too. In a split second he veered his car over to mine, let out an evil laugh, said “Fuck Obama” and sped off.
He bullied me verbally and physically WITH HIS CAR ON A HIGHWAY, while my almost-nine and seven year old sons sat in the back seat of my car. Why? Because I have an “Obama 2012” sticker on my car.
You don’t need to support the President realize how freaking WRONG this is. No one wins when Americans bully each other.
I ask you, those who don’t support Barack Obama, how do you react to stories like mine? What do you have to say about this sort of behavior? Does this guy accurately represent your tribe? What do you say to this? Does this guy’s behavior help your cause?
I should have called 911, but truth be told, I was trying so hard to be calm so my sons wouldn’t be scared. It was one of those times that I would have surely burst into tears had I spoken a word. I was freaked out because these sorts of things have happened before (like the time a man threw his lit cigarette on the hood of my car at a red light while cackling anti-Obama rants…that time Bird and Deal were five and three years old and strapped into car seats behind me).
The driver yesterday was in a silver Toyota 4Runner with North Carolina plates and an NC State University sticker on the rear window on the passenger side. He had light brown hair, cut short, a smidgen longer than a crew cut. He was wearing a pale blue golf shirt. I wish I could have captured his license plate number. I pray this doesn’t happen to anyone. I pray for our country. And I pray for those who are driven by such anger, hate, and venom that they endanger children in their path.
Oh Ilina, I’m so sorry that happened to you. That’s just a mindset I can’t figure out. I can’t believe people who behave that way are allowed to vote, have children, drive cars…disgusting.
I am a mom of four, soon to be five, who is no fan of our president. However, behavior such as you described is completely outrageous and unacceptable. Seriously, you should have called 911. In our country, open debate is welcome and encouraged. Endangering the lives of others is not. There is no telling how many lives he could have destroyed.
Ma’am, to answer your question, I do not support Obama and this guy is not helping any cause other than the sale of blood pressure medication!
I served in the Army because I thought it important to protect our freedoms
to express, among other things, our political opinions. I had a neighbor that repeatedly puledl up my “American for Peace” sign when the Iraq War was starting.
I think the rude actions of that man were not only a danger to you and your children, but acts that are unAmerican and harmful to democracy!
Not to mention stupid! Did he think he would actually persuade you to re-think your politics?
It’s this kind of stupidity that makes me resent politics. Healthy, objective, knowledge-filled debates, I don’t mind. But, negative campaigning, stupid stunts like the one you describe above, and overall crassness turns this voter off. I vote…usually at the last minute…because it’s my duty and right as a citizen but as for supporting one or the other, I could care less. The more I see and hear, the more I’m turned off.
That said, I am just thankful that nothing bad came out of that exchange. If it were me, I would’ve gone a step further and recorded the whole thing on my cell phone while driving. I know you were trying to hold it together for your children and I applaud you for that but in this case, the Boston girl in me would’ve come out and I would’ve done whatever I could to record and report. That guy doesn’t have a right to drive a car if he’s going to use it as a weapon. In that instance, it was just about there. Not appropriate.
Besides, I like what Thad said in his last line too – “Did he think he would actually persuade you to re-think your politics?” Amen.
Hey Ilina –
Not sure when you’ll see this since you’re taking a break from your blog but I just wanted to say how glad I am that you and the boys are okay. Kudos to you for keeping your cool in front of the kids. That isn’t easy when you’re rattled and you need to think of them first. They will probably remember that moment for a long time.
That kind of bullying only serves to reinforce your own political views – honestly, does he think others want to emulate his behavior?! That creep is narrow-minded, weak and threatened.
Stay safe!
The behavior is obviously horrendous, ignorant and criminal. That dope should be in jail. I’m glad there were no accidents. If I would have seen something like that occurring, I surely would have intervened.
Having said that and coming back to your other comments, I don’t get lumping all non-Obama supporters into one tribe. Nor do I get the use of the term tribe either. I think the answers to your questions are so obvious they don’t need answering. In fact, I think they are intentionally incendiary. So, I am not sure why you feel a need to ask them. For what it is worth, it feels as if you want to lump all non-supporters of Obama into one group which is stereotyping and partisan in the same vein as the incompetents in Washington. Ask yourself, if that isn’t working…should you adopt it as your own strategy?