Colombia's aggressive-driver mentality

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

A Venezuelan friend once told me of a saying in her country: 'The Colombian can never lose.'

This seems to have come, for the most part, from the days when Venezuela was the ostensibly richer, more Western-leaning nation while Colombia was largely viewed as a violent backwater from which many of its citizens found refuge with the neighbours to the east.

Road Rage Republic: This Bogotá highway may look relatively calm but looks can be deceiving.

Sore losers

The rather desperate Colombians who did business with and settled in Venezuela couldn't be wholly trusted. They were always trying to get one over their better-off counterparts in the brother country (or perhaps that should be sibling country these days, lest one offend). So the story went anyway.

Needless to say, there's a lot of generalising in such a viewpoint. As Venezuelans — many of whom are quite desperate — living in Colombia today know only too well, it just takes a few bad types to see the whole group tarred with the same brush.

What's more, not wanting to lose, doing one's best to avoid defeat, is in many ways a rather good trait to have. Very often, if one doesn't stand up for oneself, he/she will be trampled upon.

It must also be noted that some people, simply by virtue of where they were born, start off in life with distinct disadvantages compared to others. They have a lot more obstacles to overcome to get to what one could call a break-even line if we imagine one exists (such comparisons are, though, fraught with complications; there are many variables at play).

'With the merest break in oncoming traffic, they'll overtake as many cars as possible, safe in the knowledge that they'll be able to force their way back into line when the need arises.'

That notwithstanding, all of us, regardless of our situation, suffer losses at some stage in life. How we deal with these setbacks tends to say a lot about our character.

Not only that but in our interconnected, interdependent society, there are certain malignant moments when the greater-good option is to accept our predicament. Wait it out until more favourable conditions present themselves. To do otherwise is not only selfish but it can also endanger one's own life and that of others.

Alas, human anxiousness to get ahead at all costs can override such judgement — if it exists in the first place that is.

Maniac motorists

Coming back to the 'Colombian can never lose' idea and, I'll add, 'to heck with everyone else', one place where it can be said this does exist without being accused of wild generalising is on the roads.

I've written previously about how otherwise kind, mild-mannered locals here turn into complete lunatics when they get behind the wheel (see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2014/11/como-conduzco-er-not-very-well.html).

Observing this behaviour as a passenger is one thing — frightening as it often can be — but actually entering this high-stakes race as a driver allows one to get a better understanding of the maniac-motorist mindset.

For that idea, think of those rather fatuous Fast and Furious movies — appropriately enough, if you happen to find yourself on a bus with TV screens in Colombia, it's practically guaranteed that a Fast and Furious flick will be shown.

More specifically, the mentality is 'not an inch'. That is, if one leaves the slightest space between vehicles, it will be exploited.

Even in a long line of barely moving motors, many drivers believe that their time is all that matters. With the merest break in oncoming traffic, they'll overtake as many cars as possible, safe in the knowledge that they'll be able to force their way back into line when the need arises. (Such utter contempt for fellow humans can also be seen in queues at supermarkets and such like.)

In a futile effort to combat this, tailgating is the norm — a vicious circle of sorts. Gradually reducing speed when there's a red light or slower vehicles ahead appears to be frowned upon. Frantic breaking is what's expected. When you mix that in with an apparent inability to go through the gears, it's little wonder cars seem to need more servicing here compared to other places.

So, whilst the Colombian may think that he is "winning" by driving in such a manner, he's actually losing. Short-term gain, long-term loss. It's a phrase that sums up many practices in these parts.

Some awareness of others' needs, plus a bit of empathy, wouldn't go astray. Indeed, it could be the road to fewer loses and more wins for all interested parties. It's certainly worth attempting to navigate at least.
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Me, myself and I

There is an expression we use in Ireland to describe those who put themselves before everybody else. We call them 'mé féiners', putting an English ending to an Irish-language phrase, 'mé féin', meaning 'myself'.

Basically, you could say these are a type of fundamentalist individualist. 'The greater good for the greater number' only comes into play if it means a significant gain for them. Otherwise, it's not a runner.

No car day — well, not quite.

The selfish gene

Of course, in many ways, we are all a bit like this, we are quite selfish beings. Many often talk a good 'community game', but on a normal day-to-day basis, it tends to be the self and, maybe, close family that occupy our minds rather than that 'bigger picture'.

“Many wealthy people aren’t prepared to see their living standards drop.”

Take all those wealthy leaders and job creators, be they on the left or on the right, who live in a world far removed from the people they claim to help and represent. They are usually very reluctant to reduce their costly living standards, something that might help society as a whole.

Accidental goodness

On many occasions, that self-centred interest, more by accident than design, is favourable to more than just those closest to us. We, most of us I like to think anyway, work hard to have a better living, add more meaning to our existence, and others who we don't know, who we've never met, benefit from this.

This work ethic contributes to the greater good — this applies less so to some areas of employment than others. (Again, what are those politicians about?)

However, on other occasions, and more frequently it could be argued, this self-centredness doesn't add anything at all to the collective good.

Here in Bogotá, a city with considerable traffic congestion, you have those who insist on taking their private cars to work even when they don't really need to. What's more, the wealthier types have a number of vehicles at their disposal in order to circumvent some well-intentioned measures aimed at reducing traffic volume.

“No matter what we do, we’re doomed anyway.”

For sure, similar to many other places, public transport is far from ideal in the city. Yet, if more people started using it coupled with a resulting greater revenue generated to be pumped back into it, it would be better, more efficient and, keeping with the zeitgeist, greener. That's the theory anyway. The practice in these parts is usually a long way off the mark.

Lap it up

There is the whole who-cares mentality in all of this as well. Referring back to my Saving ourselves post from a while back, the argument can be made that no matter what we do, we're doomed anyway.

Our way of life is going to drastically change soon, whether that's in our lifetime or not, so let's just enjoy the ride and lap things up as best we can. 'Why inconvenience myself for future generations when the chance of the very existence of these future generations is in grave doubt?'

Fair enough. But there are greater-good measures we could take now that would result in an almost immediate benefit. How we commute on a daily basis is just one of those.

If we'd fewer vehicles clogging up our highways and byways, practically everyone would benefit from that, even, nay especially, those who use vehicles regularly.

Some people are just a bit too "mé féiner" to realise this.
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