Johnny Dangerous - White van driver.
Discussion
walm said:
And you and spookly were the ones to bring up martial arts and how it gives you the confidence to call people out when they do something rude like jumping the queue.
It wasn't going full PH-Director but not far off!!
A classic humble-brag.
I do recall that post and I saw it as someone just having a dig because a couple of people had mentioned martial arts. On my part certainly there was no bragging it was more an observation that perhaps martial arts can give someone the confidence to stand up to rude people or bullying types. Confidence is not the same as claiming to have the ability to beat everyone up and that really wasn't implied. But where someone may shy away from people that are out to intimidate perhaps it helps others feel that bit safer. It wasn't going full PH-Director but not far off!!
A classic humble-brag.
I could totally understand it appearing as a boast if someone had posted about being a 5th Dan in this that or the other, that they'd fight anyone and win and indicated they were unstoppable but I didn't spot that. Doing martial arts as a hobby isn't that special a thing, everyone has access to it so I don't see it as something to be boastful of I guess and in most clubs they teach you the opposite of being feeling indestructible.
Edited by Alex_225 on Friday 17th June 11:29
Alex_225 said:
I do recall that post and I saw it as someone just having a dig because a couple of people had mentioned martial arts. On my part certainly there was no bragging it was more an observation that perhaps martial arts can give someone the confidence to stand up to rude people or bullying types. Confidence is not the same as claiming to have the ability to beat everyone up and that really wasn't implied. But where someone may shy away from people that are out to intimidate perhaps it helps others feel that bit safer.
I could totally understand it appearing as a boast if someone had posted about being a 5th Dan in this that or the other, that they'd fight anyone and win and indicated they were unstoppable but I didn't spot that. Doing martial arts as a hobby isn't that special a thing, everyone has access to it so I don't see it as something to be boastful of I guess and in most clubs they teach you the opposite of being feeling indestructible.
If that's the case, then why raise it? I don't do martial arts, never have, never will. If the fact you have that training gives you confidence to confront others that you otherwise wouldn't, then that suggests physical confrontation is not far away. Risk assessment and management should take priority over perceived physical superiority. I could totally understand it appearing as a boast if someone had posted about being a 5th Dan in this that or the other, that they'd fight anyone and win and indicated they were unstoppable but I didn't spot that. Doing martial arts as a hobby isn't that special a thing, everyone has access to it so I don't see it as something to be boastful of I guess and in most clubs they teach you the opposite of being feeling indestructible.
Edited by Alex_225 on Friday 17th June 11:29
For info, I have no chip and I have no problem with people doing any form of training that they like. I chose to push a few buttons verbally with a couple of you and got some interesting responses.
A few jumped straight to physical confrontation, one even suggested I come down to his local dojo to get hit by people with sticks. That doesn't suggest people in control after such minor provocation.
Alex_225 said:
I do recall that post and I saw it as someone just having a dig because a couple of people had mentioned martial arts.
I think you're right.Reading it again he did seem to jump the gun a little.
Ironically the whole to-and-fro highlights how quickly things can turn acrimonious!
Alex_225 said:
spookly said:
I don't understand what these people intend to do if they ever did catch up with you?
I guess it depends if the person they're trying to intimidate is easy to do that to. I'm 6'1 and have tattoos, that's usually a criteria for people to assume I'm a bit of a thug (I'm really not) so you tend to find that if it ever comes to getting out of the car with one of these kinds of muppets, they'll either start to bottle it or try and front it out but usually you can talk people out of it. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of their own medicine. Had a guy in a van making it difficult for me to merge in slow traffic. I was almost a cars length ahead but he seemed to think that sitting on my right corner was a better idea. I just looked round at him from the drivers and as soon as he looks at me he's, gesturing and swearing. I did nothing but simply look over my shoulder. I just mouthed quite clearly, 'F*ck off!' and next thing you know he's backed right off. Can't condone it but some people do lose their inferiority issues quite quickly if they realise they can't intimidate.
It seems middle aged men in either white vans, people carriers or motorway mile munchers seem to be the most aggressive, from my personal experience that is.
walm said:
Alex_225 said:
I do recall that post and I saw it as someone just having a dig because a couple of people had mentioned martial arts.
I think you're right.Reading it again he did seem to jump the gun a little.
Ironically the whole to-and-fro highlights how quickly things can turn acrimonious!
A large chunk of rage stems from people taking something personally where the "offender" may have made an innocent mistake and / or the road eager chose to take an incident a certain way when there are many other available options to them.
snorky782 said:
Alex_225 said:
If that's the case, then why raise it? I don't do martial arts, never have, never will. If the fact you have that training gives you confidence to confront others that you otherwise wouldn't, then that suggests physical confrontation is not far away. Risk assessment and management should take priority over perceived physical superiority.
I totally agree, you have to weigh it all up. Thing is one reason (far from the only reason) why someone may shy away from a confrontation is a fear of someone being physical, especially in a driving scenario when some drivers are outrageously quick to kick off. The confidence I was referring to is more around feeling like you could do something if someone kicked off. One chap I know, late 50s was mugged and it knocked his confidence. He took up martial arts, trained hard and now teaches it, he's by no means cocky but he has confidence to feel he would be better equipped than he was if the same happened again. He's not swaggering down the street like he's in Saturday Night Fever but just feels he could handle himself that bit better. That's generally what martial arts is about, not wearing a Tap Out t-shirt and thinking you're a cage fighter haha Talking someone down is far more wise than strutting up to someone in a threatening manner. I've actually been in two situations where someone has been a muppet and words have been exchanged but by the end of it it's actually been friendly, one chap actually shook my hand and that was by no means due to intimidation.
Edited by Alex_225 on Friday 17th June 12:19
WJNB said:
It's 2016 not 1966 so before getting involved in ANY face to face 'discussions' with van drivers be aware you are very very likely to come up against the language barrier & with behaviour patterns totally alien to anything you may have encountered before.
You mean from Liverpool ?I try very hard not to let people upset me on the road, although driving in the SE of England barely 30 seconds goes by without somebody doing something stupid or aggressive.
I try to avoid using the horn these days, you tend to assume most other people on the road will have the same moral compass as yourself and will realise they are in the wrong and you can go on your way having shown them the error of their ways. The truth is, you have absolutely no idea who is in that car, Mr.Meek, the next Kenneth Noye, or some guy on the edge of a nervous breakdown who is going to snap and beat you to death with a shovel.
Deep breath, drive on, don't let them be part of the rest of your life (as somebody on here once said).
I try to avoid using the horn these days, you tend to assume most other people on the road will have the same moral compass as yourself and will realise they are in the wrong and you can go on your way having shown them the error of their ways. The truth is, you have absolutely no idea who is in that car, Mr.Meek, the next Kenneth Noye, or some guy on the edge of a nervous breakdown who is going to snap and beat you to death with a shovel.
Deep breath, drive on, don't let them be part of the rest of your life (as somebody on here once said).
NiceCupOfTea said:
I try very hard not to let people upset me on the road, although driving in the SE of England barely 30 seconds goes by without somebody doing something stupid or aggressive.
I try to avoid using the horn these days, you tend to assume most other people on the road will have the same moral compass as yourself and will realise they are in the wrong and you can go on your way having shown them the error of their ways. The truth is, you have absolutely no idea who is in that car, Mr.Meek, the next Kenneth Noye, or some guy on the edge of a nervous breakdown who is going to snap and beat you to death with a shovel.
Deep breath, drive on, don't let them be part of the rest of your life (as somebody on here once said).
I drive a white van every day in SE England and very rarely see these incidents you are suggesting.I try to avoid using the horn these days, you tend to assume most other people on the road will have the same moral compass as yourself and will realise they are in the wrong and you can go on your way having shown them the error of their ways. The truth is, you have absolutely no idea who is in that car, Mr.Meek, the next Kenneth Noye, or some guy on the edge of a nervous breakdown who is going to snap and beat you to death with a shovel.
Deep breath, drive on, don't let them be part of the rest of your life (as somebody on here once said).
Once every 30 days maybe not once every 30 seconds.
One of the guys I work with does appear to cross swords with a lot of "stupid or aggressive" drivers.
I wonder what that can mean.....
That you're not very observant? Or maybe you're one of them? 
I'm not talking major incidents, but look around you next time you are driving - there is always somebody in the wrong lane, on the phone, drifting over the centre lines, not knowing how to use a roundabout, stopping on the cyclist refuge at the lights, tailgating. Lots of people, poor driver training, years of insisting that you are fine as long as you're not speeding, too many cars on the road, busy schedules and lives all combine to give a perfect storm of poor driving!
I'm not perfect, but it mostly seems to come from inattention or aggressiveness. Many people just don't care and view driving as a right rather then a privilege.
I'm not talking major incidents, but look around you next time you are driving - there is always somebody in the wrong lane, on the phone, drifting over the centre lines, not knowing how to use a roundabout, stopping on the cyclist refuge at the lights, tailgating. Lots of people, poor driver training, years of insisting that you are fine as long as you're not speeding, too many cars on the road, busy schedules and lives all combine to give a perfect storm of poor driving!
I'm not perfect, but it mostly seems to come from inattention or aggressiveness. Many people just don't care and view driving as a right rather then a privilege.
_dobbo_ said:
So the majority of vans are now driven by murderous immigrants? Got it.
So on average, people from poorer and more backward countries behave exactly the same as people from the UK? Got it.Let's ignore relative crime rates to make ourselves feel morally superior. Nothing but good can come of that.
With strangers, as with much in life, you have to make a call based on the information available to you. If you would genuinely be no more initially wary of a Romanian van driver than an English one, all other things being equal, then frankly you're a fool. And if (as I suspect) you would be, then you are a hypocrite who is expressing views which will cause those who take them seriously to be less well-prepared, should they have such a confrontation in the future. Stunning irresponsibility, just so that you can pretend to be better than someone else on the Internet, but I don't suppose you care.
walm said:
Exactly, no prizes for guessing how WJNB might be voting tomorrow. 
Ah, the virtue-signalling is strong in this one as well. "Half the country are xenophobes for wanting elected representatives to be able to make all our laws!" Don't forget that we also want the economy to tank, and we advocate the street murder of anyone who disagrees with us.There is nothing wrong with having our own democracy and sovereignty, and being able to set our own policies on security, the economy, trade and immigration in order to benefit the British people. Try doing your own research instead of just listening to the BBC, and if you can't be bothered, say because emotion and virtue-signalling matter more to you than mere facts, then with any luck you and your ilk (whatever one of those is) can't be bothered to go and vote either.
I'm looking forward to voting this evening. And though our side will lose, at least for once we've been able to unambiguously express our opposition to the kind of fashionable, vapid, narcissistic dislike of this country that you see above. Whatever happens, this isn't over, and the EU is quite rightly on borrowed time.
GPSHead said:
Ah, the virtue-signalling is strong in this one as well. "Half the country are xenophobes for wanting elected representatives to be able to make all our laws!" Don't forget that we also want the economy to tank, and we advocate the street murder of anyone who disagrees with us.
There is nothing wrong with having our own democracy and sovereignty, and being able to set our own policies on security, the economy, trade and immigration in order to benefit the British people.
The thing which i find interesting with all the information above is people kept saying Scotland should vote no in their referendum because together is stronger etc.There is nothing wrong with having our own democracy and sovereignty, and being able to set our own policies on security, the economy, trade and immigration in order to benefit the British people.
Now the same people who used that method of reasoning to encourage people in Scotland to vote no, are ignoring their own advice (and method of reasoning) and selecting the polar opposite. Strange, but amusing.
GPSHead said:
Try doing your own research...
You are defending someone who has said that "with van drivers be aware you are very very likely to come up against the language barrier".Because with 1% of English residents saying Polish is their first language that's obviously a HUGE risk.
http://www.itv.com/news/story/2013-01-30/polish-is...
Oh and here is the study showing that there was no observable effect on violent crime nor were immigrant arrest rates different to natives following the EU accessions in 2004.
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/28732/
GPSHead said:
...because emotion and virtue-signalling matter more to you than mere facts...
Yes.If only I had some facts.
Don't forget your pen when you go to vote, moron.
GPSHead said:
Ah, the virtue-signalling is strong in this one as well. "Half the country are xenophobes for wanting elected representatives to be able to make all our laws!" Don't forget that we also want the economy to tank, and we advocate the street murder of anyone who disagrees with us.
There is nothing wrong with having our own democracy and sovereignty, and being able to set our own policies on security, the economy, trade and immigration in order to benefit the British people. Try doing your own research instead of just listening to the BBC, and if you can't be bothered, say because emotion and virtue-signalling matter more to you than mere facts, then with any luck you and your ilk (whatever one of those is) can't be bothered to go and vote either.
I'm looking forward to voting this evening. And though our side will lose, at least for once we've been able to unambiguously express our opposition to the kind of fashionable, vapid, narcissistic dislike of this country that you see above. Whatever happens, this isn't over, and the EU is quite rightly on borrowed time.
I bet there were angry little flecks of spit hitting the screen as you hammered the keys typing this. There is nothing wrong with having our own democracy and sovereignty, and being able to set our own policies on security, the economy, trade and immigration in order to benefit the British people. Try doing your own research instead of just listening to the BBC, and if you can't be bothered, say because emotion and virtue-signalling matter more to you than mere facts, then with any luck you and your ilk (whatever one of those is) can't be bothered to go and vote either.
I'm looking forward to voting this evening. And though our side will lose, at least for once we've been able to unambiguously express our opposition to the kind of fashionable, vapid, narcissistic dislike of this country that you see above. Whatever happens, this isn't over, and the EU is quite rightly on borrowed time.
NiceCupOfTea said:
That you're not very observant? Or maybe you're one of them?
I'm not talking major incidents, but look around you next time you are driving - there is always somebody in the wrong lane, on the phone, drifting over the centre lines, not knowing how to use a roundabout, stopping on the cyclist refuge at the lights, tailgating. Lots of people, poor driver training, years of insisting that you are fine as long as you're not speeding, too many cars on the road, busy schedules and lives all combine to give a perfect storm of poor driving!
I'm not perfect, but it mostly seems to come from inattention or aggressiveness. Many people just don't care and view driving as a right rather then a privilege.
When you put it like that you may have a point. Apart from my observation skills LOL.I'm not talking major incidents, but look around you next time you are driving - there is always somebody in the wrong lane, on the phone, drifting over the centre lines, not knowing how to use a roundabout, stopping on the cyclist refuge at the lights, tailgating. Lots of people, poor driver training, years of insisting that you are fine as long as you're not speeding, too many cars on the road, busy schedules and lives all combine to give a perfect storm of poor driving!
I'm not perfect, but it mostly seems to come from inattention or aggressiveness. Many people just don't care and view driving as a right rather then a privilege.
Lots of people on phones , poor lane management no indication etc. All minor transgressions but could easily escalate if they annoy the wrong person.
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