Gen Z drivers say this is worse than flipping the bird. Can you guess what it is???
I started thinking … I may have only been flipped the bird once in my life while I was driving. I’m not oblivious to it, it’s just that – admittedly – I’m usually the aggressor.
Before you ask, no. I’ve never flipped the bird at another driver. I’ve flashed my lights, but bird-flipping is another level of aggression. Which is, I guess, what Gen Z drivers see in it, as well. When someone flips the bird, I feel like they usually look like the bad guy instead of the person on the receiving end. It’s as though he/she has anger management issues. So I think Gen Z has something with their idea that the THUMBS DOWN gesture is even worse that flipping the bird. It’s more personal. It says to the receiver, “You’ve disappointed me,” whereas the bird says, “You’re just another thing I’m mad at today.”
28-year-old Gabrielle Deleon told the New York Post:
“It’s much more impactful than giving the middle finger because it’s such a major sign of disapproval. It just hits different.”
Ouch.
She went on to tell a story about nearly being sideswiped by another driver who was on his phone. She rolled her window down and gave him the “Thumbs Down:”
“[The guy] looked at me and was in shock. A few seconds later, I looked over into his car and he’d put his phone down.”
