It is my belief that there is a link between increased driver hostility and a lack of jaywalking laws. Hear me out here. In Irvine, jaywalking is against the law. I rarely see anyone jaywalk. Pedestrians wait patiently (or so it seems) for the walk sign, and rarely do I see people cross the street when there is a red light or the ‘don’t walk’ sign. The only place where I see rather persistent jaywalking is next to the ARC (Anteater Recreation Center), where Palo Verde (grad student apartment complex) residents regularly jaywalk. It is ironic that it is on our way to work out when we cannot be bothered with walking the equivalent of an extra city block to cross the street at the traffic light.
Anyway, so my theory is that since jaywalking is against the law, drivers are more friendly. They don’t get frustrated or hostile, because pedestrians generally abide by the ‘walk’ and ‘don’t walk’ signs. Rarely do pedestrians cross the street anytime they feel like it, and I think this makes for better driver-pedestrian relations. Thus, drivers don’t nearly run you over, honk the horn, or make rude gestures. In fact, the relations are so friendly that sometimes when I and a driver are approaching a street corner, the driver usually defers to me after an “after you,” “no, no, after you,” charade.
In contrast to my experience in Irvine, driver-pedestrian relations are almost downright hostile in cities without jaywalking laws. Since pedestrians cross the street anytime they want, red light or walk sign or not, drivers are hostile. They honk their horns and nearly run you over. Even if you are not a jaywalker, you are still a target. I have been a pedestrian in several major cities in the U.S. and now in Beijing. Quite honestly, sometimes I fear for my life when I cross the street, especially here. When I was in D.C., I developed the habit of sandwiching myself within a group of people whenever I crossed the street. I decided that if I were in the middle, rather than leading or lagging, I would be less likely to get hit by a vehicle. So far, this strategy works.
Sometimes, particularly in Beijing, it seems like pedestrians and drivers are playing a game of chicken. Depending upon how fast the driver is driving, I almost always let them win. Other pedestrians are more daring, and sometimes I’m surprised that they survive without a scratch. Drivers have the big metal piece of machinery that can kill me, and that’s enough to make me concede. I mean, I have nothing deadly on my person. I do have my Sigg water bottle, but that is unlikely to cause severe damage unless if 1) it were full of water, and 2) I was able to solidly wack the driver over the head with it. In all seriousness, I find my water bottle strategy about as useful and persuasive as the guns-as-self-defense argument: both are useless after you’ve already been attacked. I mean, let’s say that I do get hit by a car. What am I going to do? Pull myself up off the ground and run after the driver (who is surely long gone and has already done the damage) with my water bottle in hand?
All right, enough about my jaywalking theory. Let’s switch gears now. Last night, Drew and I went to the opera at the Liyuan Theatre. The back half of the theatre had stadium seating, but there were three sections near the front, where we sat at tables and drank tea, munched on some snacks, and made friends with a Brazilian couple. We were nearly front row and center, and we felt like VIPs.
The opera was really cool- there were two shows and each one was a combination of acting, singing, and acrobatics. The theatre had English subtitles, so I was able to follow along. The costumes and the makeup were extravagant, bright, and colorful. The actors were talented, and the shows were entertaining.
Chris with a 'K' 