Despite millennia of evolution, deep down we still retain many ancient animal instincts, and literally a minor incident can sometimes wash away that thin veneer of civilization, forcing us to fight for resources, as ancient humans fought over a mammoth carcass…
The story we’re about to tell you today seems like a manifestation of this “territorial instinct,” when one entitled lady, having lost a parking spot she already considered “her property,” lost it completely and resorted to outright vandalism. However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
More info: Reddit
Sometimes, any clash over a free parking spot turns into a full-fledged battle, washing off drivers that thin veneer of civilization
Image credits: bilanol / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The author of the post works in an office building with 6 different parking zones
Image credits: frimages / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Recently, on a rainy day, the guy found a great parking spot for his car and left his car there
Image credits: stefamerpik / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Then, some random lady stopped next to him, loudly demanding he give up his spot to her
Image credits: Wavebreak Media / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The man just shrugged her off and walked away, and then she started keying the door of his car
Image credits: McJimbo
So, the man just called security, and the entitled lady ended up in handcuffs, since she lashed out at the guard as well
So, the Original poster (OP) has a quite compact car and works in an office building with 6 different parking spaces. He usually chooses a spot in one of the indoor spaces, but this time it was pouring rain, and the author, seeing a vacant spot right next to the entrance, rushed to take it. Incidentally, the spot had a sign that read “Compact” as well.
As he exited the car, the guy heard someone’s loud honking, and a huge SUV pulled up next to him, splashing him with its tires. Its owner loudly demanded that the OP make room for her. No, this wasn’t her designated spot, and she ignored several other empty spots nearby. She just wanted this specific spot so “her baby” won’t get wet in the rain.
The author glanced inside - “the baby was around 12 years old, so he simply shrugged and walked away, ignoring the stream of insults directed at him. Okay, he also wished that the lady would get struck by lightning. Back at work, he began to feel guilty about his words, but any remorse quickly faded away when he saw the lady start vandalizing his car by keying its door.
The “avenger” wasn’t paying attention to the cameras around her, so the OP, after snapping a few photos on his phone, simply called security. The angry woman lashed out at the security guard as well, so she ended up arrested by the cops and, taking into account a homophobic insult she’d scratched on the car door, is now likely facing trial. At least the author would be happy to testify…
Image credits: noxos / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Why do people even fight over parking spaces? Why do seemingly normal and respectable people turn into berserkers just by seeing an open parking space and another driver approaching it? This dedicated article at “Route-Fifty” explains that many people actually perceive parking spaces as a scarce resource.
Consequently, many believe that investing effort and energy into finding a space entitles them to that spot. The authors of this study, published in 2019 at ResearchGate, also argue that a prolonged search for a parking space, especially in bad weather, significantly increases irritability, making people far less tolerant of any form of competition.
Moreover, according to the authors of this article at Snag Parking, people often have the so-called “loss aversion” - that is, they experience the loss of “their” spot more intensely than they enjoy the opportunity to take another one. They also note that we still have a highly developed territorial instinct, and drivers can begin to perceive a vacant spot as “their property” just by seeing it.
However, this in no way absolves the woman in this story of responsibility for what she did. Many commenters under the original post expressed surprise that she didn’t even notice the security cameras around her and hoped she would face all the proper consequences for such outrageous behavior. So what do you, our dear readers, think of this story?
Most commenters gave the author their fullest support, hoping that the lady finally gets what she deserves
