The Domesticated Primate

I just recently finished Suburban Nation and it talks a lot about the pathology that comes with a car culture. One of the things mentioned by one of the authors, IIRC, was the way in which American suburbs are not only antagonistic toward walking BY DESIGN (see the book for why), but also that they have experienced antagonism from drivers. The author mentioned that they get someone (always male, usually driving a truck or SUV with dark tinting) shouting at them in anger while passing by.

Why anyone would do this is beyond me, but I've experienced the same thing while putting around on a mountain bike or a recumbent. And it's not always some high school punks - it's often guys at least in their 50's or 60's. I usually figure the guy is trying to overcompensate for something else - maybe getting a ridiculously big vehicle with darkly tinted windows isn't helping his low self-esteem enough, he has to shout at peds and bikers, too. Whatever.

Then I read this story on Boing Boing. Figures the guy was driving a Dodge Ram - that seems about right. I fervently hope they find the driver. He needs to spend 10-20 years in jail.