Opinion - Columns - Kathe Tanner

Published: Thursday, Jul. 23, 2009

Chicken Little lives

Clueless and dangerous

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“Hey, Chicken Little. Wake up. Now, please. Guess what? The sky really is falling … (pause because I’m not getting through) … Chicken Little, can you hear me now?”

Clearly, there’s a disconnect here. These days Chicken Little and many of her friends are plain-and-simple oblivious, out to lunch, mentally absent without leave. Especially when they’re on vacation.

It’s the “duh generation.”

Excuses? Maybe the “duh-zers” have been by themselves too long, lashed to their cubicles, stuck in traffic or inhabiting the voluntary solitary confinement of computing, texting, iPod-ing or video gaming. They simply don’t know how to act around other people any more.

In the process, perhaps they’ve forgotten what it’s like to stay aware out in public, using some manners and street smarts, obeying laws and being on guard for hazards.

I have some advice for them:

Suggestion to the woman crossing the street looking only at her own feet while also talking on her cell phone. She absentmindedly strolls in front of two guys carrying a large sheet of glass — “Lady, just because you don’t look at it doesn’t mean it can’t kill you.”

Alert to the man who says nasty things to me when I park in a space he wanted, but for which I had been waiting and about which I had been using my turn AND arm signal to indicate my intentions: “Get a life, sir. It’s just a parking place.”

Serious memo to the red-truck driver who almost killed us by pulling out into a lane of opposing traffic to pass three cars that were heading north too slowly to suit him: “Wise up or get lost, sir, before you send someone else into the cemetery with you.”

Humans used to be so aware of what was going on around them. It was their survival mode. Now I wonder if we’re about to lose our peripheral vision and our common sense, the same way and for the same reason humans lost our tails — because we didn’t use them any more.

A friend told me recently about people she’d observed at Cal Poly. “People in their 20s now are so self-absorbed, they feel everybody’s going to look out for them. Amazing! People walk right out in front of your car! If they can’t find a parking place, they’ll just park on the lawn.”

Some folks put their brains on hold in simpler, more common situations, too. For instance, how many times has someone cut in front of you in line or meandered directly in front of your grocery cart and then just stood there, in the middle of the aisle, not leaving enough room for you to get around on either side?

Is the cereal really that engrossing? They never even turned their heads or shifted their glances to see if anybody or anything was coming.

I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve seen blithely driving their cars the wrong way up Center Street, a one-way street with two relatively blind corners on it. Sure, I’ve done it, too. But if someone had pointed my error out to me, I certainly wouldn’t glare at them, the way so many of them have when I’ve waved my arms, shouted and tried to prevent an accident.

I’ve seen a lot of single fingers pointed my way, too.

Stop sign? Red light? Danger? What’s that?

Manners? Never heard of ‘em.

“Duh-zers” also run after the deer, feed the bear and try to pet the elephant seal.

These rude, clueless people put themselves and the rest of us in real danger, or at the very least, into a fit of spitting, growling frustration.

In less hazardous situations, they’re also missing out on so much!

Look! See! Enjoy! Pay attention!

Wake up, Chicken Little. It is a wonderful world out there, but if you’re not paying attention, dummkopf, your lapses can kill you and other people, too.

E-mail Kathe Tanner at ktanner@thetribune news.com. Read more “Slices” at thecambrian.com.