Long story, please bear with me...
I live diagonally opposite my DCs' primary school at the start of a very long cul-de-sac. Like all primary schools, it has issues with car parking around school run times. I was well aware of this before buying the house in 2002. Opposite our house is a side street of 6 houses. The road is not wide enough for two cars as cars park all down one side. Parents on the school run use this side street to turn their cars round, but they have three options:
- Reverse into it from the 'main' part of the cul de sac and then turn round.
- Drive into it forwards and then reverse onto the main part of the road.
- Use the drives of the houses for turning.
All three options are a nightmare at peak times and cause numerous issues for everyone around the school.
Anyway, I came home yesterday (on foot) to find the street blocked by two cars involved in an argument. By the position of the cars my best guess is that a parent coming to pick up a child from the school had decided to use option 1 and had almost reversed into a red car that was coming behind him (this happens quite regularly). The parent was shouting and swearing at the owner of the red car - repeatedly using the 'f' word and calling them stupid- and then got out and told them that if they didn't 'f'ing drive off then they were going to 'do' them.
I took a photo of the car (which he obviously saw) to get details of the number plate to pass onto the police and head teacher of the school. Needless to say this isn't the kind of issue is a fairly regular occurrence.
The parent saw me and, after parking the car, he and his passenger came up my drive and started shouting at me and telling me I was stupid. He asked what I was doing taking a photograph of his car and I told him that I was reporting him for his foul language and threatening behaviour in front of a primary school. He carried out calling me stupid and told me I should ring the police (which I later did). He called me stupid a few more times.
This is the bit that really made me angry. His passenger then said 'You're stupid. You all are. You're all the same. You don't like anyone who's a foreigner'.
At this point I had a bit of a 'harpy' moment and did a bit of 'how dare you make this about race' etc and I must have gone a bit 'ultrasonic' as they left quite quickly.
I felt really, really, really offended that the passenger had basically accused me of acting only based on race/nationality. A day later and I am still really angry and upset by it.
grrrr......