Today, while driving through the neighborhood that I park in near UNR (I'm not paying $200/year for a crappy parking pass), this car starting pulling out when I was RIGHT NEXT to it. Using my cat-like reflexes, I quickly swerved to avoid the car. Had I not swerved right in time, this car would definitely (as in, 100%-for-certain) hit my car. After swerving, I immediately looked over to see who the dumb driver of the offending car was, planning on employing my "What the heck?" glare on the offender.
Well, I looked over and it was this cute girl who had an embarrassed "I'm sorry" look on her face. Upon seeing this, my "What the heck?" glare immediately dissolved into a friendly, "Haha, please watch out!" smile. This instant forgiveness is, admittedly, completely unfair. Had it been an older women, or a man of any age, my "What the heck?" glare would almost certainly have been fully employed, and followed by thoughts of utter disgust about the offending driver.
Instead, because of nothing other than an apologetic look and a pretty face, the offender experienced my immediate forgiveness, not only in my external response to them but also within my internal regard for them. The unfairness of this reality is not lost on me, but it is what it is.
