Can we just talk about how some people park for a bit?
It’s not even just parking. It’s driving. It’s shopping. It’s going out to eat. It’s online. It’s a blatant lack of respect for people other than themselves.
I’m not sure how you were raised, but I’m assuming that since you are here, and an awesome human being, you were raised similar to me. My parents instilled a basic sense of respect within me from an early age that has stayed with me throughout my entire life.
Hold the door for other people.
Smile.
Say thank you, excuse me, I’m sorry.
Let someone with one item go ahead of you in the store if you have more items.
If someone drops something, help them pick it up.
And so on…
None of these are particularly hard tasks to accomplish. It’s not a groundbreaking idea to be polite. It’s even an easy thing to do…in most cases. It’s much harder to be generally polite to those people that don’t return the favor. You may think that they don’t deserve your respect and that’s understandable. The thing is though, kindness is a chain reaction. If you put it out there, even to those people that are not receptive to it, it does make a difference. However small it may be.
This brings me to parking. Why do people park with seemingly no regard for anyone else? What would even make people think this is okay? How did they get their driver’s license? More importantly, if this is how they park - imagine how they must drive! How do they function during basic everyday tasks? Do they forget to lick the envelope and put the stamp hanging halfway off the edge when mailing something?
In art, it’s almost encouraged to be creative and not necessarily stay within the lines if it is more effective and expressive. This is not one of those cases. Driving isn’t so much an art as it is a calculated means of transportation. Your creativity doesn’t mean shit in the automotive landscape. Safety, respect, and general awareness mean everything! Art is inspiring - parking like an asshat is selfish at best.
If you truly feel like people should respect your choice to do whatever your heart desires, I recommend you first do something to earn that respect and admiration. For instance, I think the Dalai Lama or perhaps The Queen of England, would have the clout to park like a douche nozzle if they wanted to. The thing is, they wouldn’t do that because, even though they may be perceived to be a higher form of being, they still realize that their actions have implications. They would rather not be the cause for frustration to their fellow humans. I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am. (If you happen to know either of them personally, can you ask them for me?) Basic respect among us makes us different than the other living creatures on this earth. In some cases, it’s this lack of basic morals that also makes us the worst creatures currently inhabiting this planet.
Kindness doesn’t have to be hard. Though sometimes it can be tough, the reward always ends up being more pleasant than the quick ego boost you get from being selfish. Though certainly not as immediate. What I am trying to say is…the road to being a decent human being starts with parking. Don’t park like a jerk and great respect and joy will come to you. Eventually. Good things come to those that take other people into account.
Well, I need to get off my high horse now. I’m scared of heights and not much of an equestrian anyways. I have no right to scold you about parking. Park like a dick if you want, I just needed to get this off my chest.
That’s today’s cartoon folks! I’ll be back Wednesday with the next one. As always, it means the world to me that you stopped by to check out my cartoons. Please share with your friends, print out this cartoon, and put it on the windshields of cars that you see parked like this. If it doesn’t make them chuckle when they come back to their vehicle, that’s on them. The world doesn’t need to be so serious and it also doesn’t need to revolve around people that have no regard for those of us trying our best to get along in this crazy world.
Happy motoring!
Cheers,
~tod
