Tuesday, 3 May 2005 07:57 pm
District of Disrespect
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deckardcanineDoesn't have quite the same ring as "Sin City," but it seems fitting for where I live.
Last month I saw a woman say to her young charges, 75 feet from the crosswalk, "When I tell you to, run." Now, I've been jaywalking and ignoring "Don't Walk" signs pretty often for the last decade (I confess at my own risk, seeing how often bloggers are betrayed by their patriotically paranoid readers), but this bothered me. I had to fight the urge to weigh in on that woman's decision. Even if she declared that they were not to jaywalk until her command, they would probably go on to jaywalk to an unwholesome degree. While I can't claim to know the kids well, they appeared too young for me to trust their judgment. Even if they consistently avoid getting hit on that busy street -- in one of the reputedly (and quite believably) worst U.S. cities for traffic -- they'll probably cut it close enough to inconvenience drivers. The shopping bags preventing the woman from holding the kids' hands were but a slight mitigating factor.
Today I witnessed, and partook in, a different act of disrespect for district street law. The sign in the middle of the sidewalk clearly told us to cross the street due to construction work. Every single passerby ignored this sign, presumably because (1) the metro was just up ahead, so we'd cross back over in no time, (2) the work was only beginning and didn't look dangerous, (3) the other side of the street didn't have much of a sidewalk, and (4) it was that same busy street, and the sign was not that close to the crosswalk. So in a way, the people who put up the sign may have been a little disrespectful.
Oy vey.
Last month I saw a woman say to her young charges, 75 feet from the crosswalk, "When I tell you to, run." Now, I've been jaywalking and ignoring "Don't Walk" signs pretty often for the last decade (I confess at my own risk, seeing how often bloggers are betrayed by their patriotically paranoid readers), but this bothered me. I had to fight the urge to weigh in on that woman's decision. Even if she declared that they were not to jaywalk until her command, they would probably go on to jaywalk to an unwholesome degree. While I can't claim to know the kids well, they appeared too young for me to trust their judgment. Even if they consistently avoid getting hit on that busy street -- in one of the reputedly (and quite believably) worst U.S. cities for traffic -- they'll probably cut it close enough to inconvenience drivers. The shopping bags preventing the woman from holding the kids' hands were but a slight mitigating factor.
Today I witnessed, and partook in, a different act of disrespect for district street law. The sign in the middle of the sidewalk clearly told us to cross the street due to construction work. Every single passerby ignored this sign, presumably because (1) the metro was just up ahead, so we'd cross back over in no time, (2) the work was only beginning and didn't look dangerous, (3) the other side of the street didn't have much of a sidewalk, and (4) it was that same busy street, and the sign was not that close to the crosswalk. So in a way, the people who put up the sign may have been a little disrespectful.
Oy vey.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
I hate construction. Every summer it starts up on my uni campus, about two weeks before the students leave actually. Which always creates a huge mess and hassel.
no subject