May 16, 2008

Throw Those Stereotypes Out

We often hear people say, "That neighborhood is BAD... your car will get broken into, but this neighborhood is GOOD... your car is safe."

Well, not exactly the case every time, is it? We get so wrapped up in stereotypes about just about everything and as a result, we tend to forget that things don't always happen the way we expect them to nor the way we mentally imagine they should.

Here is one case... last night, I attended a private party at a nice restaurant and bar in a very well known supposedly posh neighborhood: Santana Row. Here you almost always see fancy cars parked and smartly dressed people weaving in and out of expensive shops and restaurants.

However, all that ambiance aside, when I got back to my car around 10 pm, it had been vandalized. Someone took their car key and ran several sets of scratch lines up and down the doors of my car. Nasty... very nasty... a rotten thing to do!

Today, I went back to file an incident report with Security and now I have to submit a letter in writing to the Management and Police. The parking lot cameras will be checked and hopefully the culprit will be caught and punished!

But, let's not forget the key reason for my post... all this happened in a 'good neighborhood' and even more shocking, I can't say with 100% certainty yet, but my car appears to have been vandalized by the owner of a new black Porsche.

Throw those stereotypes out of your head! Poor people, rich people, bad neighborhoods, good neighborhoods... anyone can behave in an unethical and irrational manner on any corner of the planet and they do.