Parking Rage
There is a war out there and you may not know it, but you are a part of it. For the most part, I know that I am one of the soldiers on a common battleground: The Parking Lot. The parking lot of any facility (shopping mall, office building, etc.) is a place where emotional states rise and go beyond logical problem-solving tactics. For this reason, I have chosen some sites on the net that document some of the cases involving this disruptive behavior.
"Parking lot fights are territoriality disputes, turf wars, or power struggles, and are carried out as symbolic fights that arouses our pride, stubbornness, and negative stereotypes. There is a general lack of civility in public places along with a cultural "in-the-face" attitude that goes with a sense of entitlement to do as we please and to retaliate when we're displeased. People use various words to describe what happens to a car parked next to another car: the car was dinged, banged, bumped, gouged, nicked, scratched, keyed, and others." The first of the three web sites that I chose was by Dr. Driving, Leon James. His site lists a vast array of articles pertaining to Parking Rage. The majority of which ends in violence and sometimes, mayhem. The opening quote to this section comes from the Dr. Driving homepage on Parking Rage. In this page, one can take a test to see how they rank on the Parking Rage in terms of escalating emotions and temperaments, take a look at a 3 step program to curb and perhaps cure Road Rage, and view many articles discussing the topic. This site is very intensive and fact laden. I highly recommend viewing this site. To view the Dr. Driving page, click here.
The following page contained an article that hit close to home. I, like the person in the article had my car defaced before. This was maybe due to circumstances involving parking rage. This article written by Jennifer McKim discusses acts of disruptive behavior due to Parking Rage. My car, just like the person in the opening paragraph, fell victim to an act of car defacement. The article further discusses the shocking occurrence of the behavior. To read the article, click here.