Excuses

Does living in New York now provide me with an excuse to be rude? All my life, I’ve heard the stereotypes about rude new Yorkers. Their colorful candor is almost expected. So recently I’ve noticed that when someone is walking too slowly up the stairs from the subway or they stop short on the sidewalk, I have the sudden and disturbing urge to play the rude New Yorker card. So far, I’ve suppressed the urge. And rationally I believe that this kind of behavior just isn’t right! But where does this come from? What is this need to hide bad actions behind a perceived expectation? To stand in the shadow of a stereotype and exploit it – just to be mean. And why do I want to do it? Especially when my own experiences with the city so far have been nothing akin to the stereotypes. Where’s my head?