to think if I’d been a man, the road rage idiot wouldn’t have tried to open my car door?

[28to1]

Never have I been so grateful for my car door locking system.

Driving to a fireworks display yesterday, long queues, country roads, but everyone is being quite chilled out and polite about it all.

I’m making progress down a lane but I’m blocked by a car coming the other way, but it’s ok, I can see behind that car that the cars behind her are reversing and backing up so we can all pass. Everything absolutely fine. Other driver and I smiling at each other.

Except some bloke gets out from a few cars back (he won’t have been able to see what I could see). He comes up to my car, tries twice to open my driver’s door and starts berating me through the window for holding up the traffic. I was petrified afterwards to think what could have happened.

Thankfully after I looked away and don’t engage he went back to his car. The car in front of me reversed and we all we able to proceed on our way.

AIBU to think he wouldn’t have dreamed of doing this had I been a male?

I'm not sure, he might have been even worse against a man.

BUT it's probably true that you felt more vulnerable than another man would in that same situation, and so it does make him even more of an asshole. Good men wouldn't do anything to potentially really scare a woman.

Have a glass of wine and try not to think about what if.

Since my nearly 80 year old - disabled, COPD - was threatened with a big bloke with a spade, he's carried a baseball bat in his car. He couldn't do any damage with it bit no one else knows that! He says there've been a couple of time when he's got out of the car with the bat as a raging nutter is storming towards him and they've turned tail and got back in their cars all nice and quiet..... this is over a period of about 15 years and no, he doesn't drive like a twat, just understands country roads.

Friend, my nearly 80 year old friend ☺️