During a recent morning’s carpool to school, I received a ticket for not signaling a right turn.
I was stopped in the turn lane while the kids crossed in front of me and then inched up around the corner to wait while they crossed again. After the crossing guard left the crosswalk, I began my turn.
Lights behind me flashed! I pulled over, dropped off one of my charges, and waited while Salt Lake’s finest ticketed me for my failure to signal. No doubt, it was a bad start to the morning.
The ticket was my fault. But I’d like to call attention to the parent who drove by slowly, rolled down his window, smirked at me, and shouted “Thank you!” to the officer.
Instead of compassion for a fellow parent making the morning run, this man made the choice to embarrass me further than I already was, in front of my kids and other parents.
This moment of nastiness is just one more drop in the sea of incivility that we are creating in our society. When you can choose to show compassion or nasty behavior, choose compassion. No matter how small, your choice will make a difference.
Tiffany Rousculp, Salt Lake City