Let's try to see reason in darkness.
This event has ties to a greater syndrome of behavior I'm seeing with my own eyes, more than ever. People who cross the street when vehicular traffic is approaching, and seem to dare them by deliberately not getting out of the way, and in a few extreme times, even slowed down to get in an angry stare or middle finger. The belief that each individual has no burden of knowing the guidelines and processes governing movement of physical masses, and the consequnces when they make contact, is astonishing. I've seen people of all walks, young and old, blue or white collar, yak away on the cellphones crossing directly in front of fire engines, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles, and flash out the obscene gesture or sequence of curse words, when the sirens and lights are blaring.
This syndrome is disturbing in that it touches not only confrontations like this, and a train/truck collision is one of them, but in other behaviors. Folks getting on a crowded bus freely and breezingly knock their bags and other carry ons into others, then play dumb when questioned. In business we are told to treat every one as a customer, i.e. show deference, patience, respect, yet outside of work the same purveyors of office manners will be the first to run me down with their car. Or luggage on wheels. They would sell their mother to Satan five times over, just to prove that they are right, they are number one, they are absolutely correct. Even some of the responses here in this very thread, and you know who you are, have been chipped down to a contest of the last word instead of meaningful dialogue on what happened and rational treatments of related subjects that branch out, whether the laws of physics, the law of law in that part of town, and so forth.
I'd like to see a psychologically based essay be taken up by some bright future scientist, about these behaviors, what are some of the causes, and human error / salvation in general. We have all caused train wrecks in our own lives in some way or another, and have been peacemakers as well, picking up the pieces of others' or our own gross behaviors. And each of us has also been a savior at some point, a glowing light, to someone who needed it.
Deceased newspaper guidance giver Ann Landers said it best many years ago: don't step on loosers, and when winning, enjoy without putdowns of your competitors because at some point in life, you will have been all of these.
