Sometimes Stereotypes *Do* Apply

Anyone who knows me knows that I admire humans from all walks of life, regardless of race, color, background, whatever. I'm a pretty laid-back, tolerant person. In fact, the diversity is one of my favorite perks in the Bay Area. I'm definitely not prone to falling into stereotyping traps.

HOWEVER,

yesterday an elderly Asian woman did her very best to convince me that some stereotypes were created for a reason. In fact, I could tell from her persistence that she REALLY wanted to get her point across to everyone in the parking lot. Yes sir, if there was going to be any doubt in the near vicinity as to her inability to drive a conservatively sized sedan, she was on a mission to dispel that doubt so utterly as to leave not a single soul in the dark on the matter.

You see, she had just come out of a grocery store and was attempting to back her car out of its parking space when another driver came down the aisle and decided to wait for her spot. This new driver, being the courteous person that she was stopped a full car-length and a half behind her intended target. This allowed, in my estimation, sufficient area for the little lady in front of her to maneuver her vehicle out of her spot and on her way. Well, as we all know, estimates can often be little more than sordid half-truths and lies and she was bound and determined to prove mine so.

The Asian woman proceeded to check all her mirrors and over her shoulder for what apparently was an invisible army of blockades for approximately sixty seconds. Upon deciding that the encroaching obstacles could apparently be mowed over, she shifted the car into reverse and proceeded to slowly pull out whereupon she stopped, started, stopped, started, stopped, started and then finally stopped with the nose of her vehicle less than 6 inches out of the spot she had been occupying. My first thought was that her car must have died as she surely couldn't have intended her actions.

To my surprise, she then began to rotate the steering wheel a full turn (yes, one time around) and pull forward at a now slightly different angle. Her wheels must have overlapped their previous course by a full 85%. Once the full distance of her 6 inches forward had been covered, she proceeded to back up again without turning the wheel!

As you can imagine, the Caucasian, middle-aged woman driver patiently waiting for her to extricate herself from the treasured parking spot was now furious. She lept from her car and began shouting at the poor, befuddled Asian woman through her firmly shut window. I snapped a shot on my cell phone to prove the event's factuality but it didn't turn out.

Ah, the wonders of the clash of civilizations.