After reading a thread on the Australian Cobra Club forum (
link ), I wanted to make a point. But rather than intrude on that thread, I decided to start this new one. I’ve long noted that many of the disagreements over issues related to aggressive driving on public roads come down to differing opinions about how most of us drive our cars. The “safety crowd” to which I belong, argues that only thoughtlessly reckless people drive aggressively on public roads. The “lighten up crowd” argues that everyone who owns a Cobra drives it aggressively some time. As driving a Cobra aggressively is normal in their eyes, the safety crowd is a bunch of hypocrites. Each side thinks it is right, and nothing I will say will likely change any of those opinions.
The point I wanted to make regards an observation about human behavior that has been used by many businesses screening potential employees for some time. Employers would like to screen out people who would likely steal from them if hired. But few people are dumb enough to answer “yes” to a questionnaire asking, “Do you think it is alright for you to steal from your employer?” However, it turns out that most of us humans think that our way of seeing the world is typical of the way most people see it. So many people will answer “yes” to the question, “Do you think most people occasionally steal things at work?” It turns out that people who think most people are thieves find it easy to rationalize their own behavior when they decide to steal a company pencil, calculator, car battery, tank of gas, or credit card.
So, I believe it is normal for each of us to assume that most of the world agrees with our point of view. Thus the safety crowd thinks most people drive safely and that only the reckless do otherwise. Likewise, the lighten up crowd thinks most people regularly drive aggressively and people who claim otherwise are hypocrites. Each side must adhere to its point of view to justify its own behavior. It turns out that one side of this particular argument must be wrong, but neither side is likely to ever give in.