Ethiopian and Somali Midwest megalopolis kids Harassed while commuting To school, Meet at summer coding camp, And study traffic law. Dads downstairs laugh about Times past in dusty cities Alerted by screams Beating thieves in the street While fat, bribed, police sit at the station. Low-income high school teacher Americorps volunteer weighs in. 100 dollar traffic fines for Audis Barreling through crosswalks, Complained out of. Anonymous, free, “Rock ‘Em” Hits iTunes store. Rocking cars gets mainstream As angry SmartCar passengers, Pedestrians, and Guys watching their Mazdas from bar patio seats Play on ordinance packed Interactive make-a-driving scenario game And know the driver was wrong. Pockets of rocks Exploding righteous fury As cars drive away. Nosy neighbors And office workers passing though parking lots Surprised to see whose car Is peppered with little dents Or maybe not, So surprised.
*This is one of those tough stories that feels like it is going to occur, but wouldn’t be pleasant to have happen.
The two perspectives, the very vulnerable pedestrian walking through the crosswalk, and the heavily armored but often oblivious driver, are irreconcilably at odds. I didn’t get a crash course on pedestrian walking rules, other than to not “jay walk,” whatever that means. And I’m not an expert in traffic laws. So it’s hard to know when what you’re doing is actually, definitely, correct. I imagine there is some demand for an app like this, and I imagine that if people felt they were definitely in the right, they might lash out a bit.
A happier alternative might be to learn how to American Sign Language sign, “Thank you!” to cars that let you walk by, but that’s a tough sell.