blue ant
Well-known member
Herein lies an attempt to catalog the various reactions a driver projects through their windshield as they encounter a hitchhiker on their favorite on-ramp.
I'll probably expand this, if you guys don't do the job for me. Might also add drawings, if it's fun enough to draw.
The "Resting Bitch Face"
This is, I've found, the most common reaction to a sign-waving maniac standing dangerously close to the freeway. This look, directed unambiguously towards you, is mean and unpleasant, but it's hard to tell whether it's genuine derision or they're not really too invested and they just kind of look mean by default.
The "Mommy told me not to talk to strangers"
Sometimes, especially with younger drivers, it's hard to tell whether they just didn't notice you or they're deliberately trying not to look in your direction. However, on some ramps, the nature of this expression becomes obvious, as they're forced to look the opposite direction that they're turning in order to avoid eye contact with the scary hitchhiker.
The "White Girl Wave"
This one's most common when the car has a passenger, but it happens with solo drivers as well. As they pass, the driver (usually a man) looks straight ahead, a stern expression on his face, while the passenger (always a pretty white woman age 20-40) offers an enthusiastic smile and a friendly wave to the kid sitting out in the freezing cold, his thumb deep black from the frostbite.
The "Solidarity with Kurdistan"
A young man in his twenties, beard mildly scruffy, holds up his fist in a gesture of encouragement. Much like an American leftist group pledging their solidarity with the Kurds' struggle against ISIS and Assad, any attempt at solidarity or mutual aid ends with the meaningless gesture, leaving you no further down the freeway and the driver no poorer in wealth or time.
The "Cheerleader"
You've truly been blessed on this day! The driver, roaring past at breakneck speed, noticed you just in time to roll down their window for several seconds and shout, "Way to go!" or something similar, their voice distorted by the blue shift of a moving vehicle, before driving away. This is often done by grey-haired women, either vicariously re-experiencing the wild days of the sixties or glad that someone didn't end up a housewife for 40 years like they did. Fortunately, if you're in a good mood, this can be genuinely encouraging, fortunately.
The "Kids These Days"
A middle-aged man, slightly balding, just entering his fifties and wondering why his white picket fence doesn't make him happy, spies you on the roadside, trying to get somewhere he's going. A smile crosses his face as he spies you, an adventurous young fellow, going where he wouldn't dare. "Kids these days," he says to himself. It's little more than a glance, and in an instant his eyes return to the winding road ahead as he continues his daily commute. This one I find the most interesting.
I'll probably expand this, if you guys don't do the job for me. Might also add drawings, if it's fun enough to draw.
The "Resting Bitch Face"
This is, I've found, the most common reaction to a sign-waving maniac standing dangerously close to the freeway. This look, directed unambiguously towards you, is mean and unpleasant, but it's hard to tell whether it's genuine derision or they're not really too invested and they just kind of look mean by default.
The "Mommy told me not to talk to strangers"
Sometimes, especially with younger drivers, it's hard to tell whether they just didn't notice you or they're deliberately trying not to look in your direction. However, on some ramps, the nature of this expression becomes obvious, as they're forced to look the opposite direction that they're turning in order to avoid eye contact with the scary hitchhiker.
The "White Girl Wave"
This one's most common when the car has a passenger, but it happens with solo drivers as well. As they pass, the driver (usually a man) looks straight ahead, a stern expression on his face, while the passenger (always a pretty white woman age 20-40) offers an enthusiastic smile and a friendly wave to the kid sitting out in the freezing cold, his thumb deep black from the frostbite.
The "Solidarity with Kurdistan"
A young man in his twenties, beard mildly scruffy, holds up his fist in a gesture of encouragement. Much like an American leftist group pledging their solidarity with the Kurds' struggle against ISIS and Assad, any attempt at solidarity or mutual aid ends with the meaningless gesture, leaving you no further down the freeway and the driver no poorer in wealth or time.
The "Cheerleader"
You've truly been blessed on this day! The driver, roaring past at breakneck speed, noticed you just in time to roll down their window for several seconds and shout, "Way to go!" or something similar, their voice distorted by the blue shift of a moving vehicle, before driving away. This is often done by grey-haired women, either vicariously re-experiencing the wild days of the sixties or glad that someone didn't end up a housewife for 40 years like they did. Fortunately, if you're in a good mood, this can be genuinely encouraging, fortunately.
The "Kids These Days"
A middle-aged man, slightly balding, just entering his fifties and wondering why his white picket fence doesn't make him happy, spies you on the roadside, trying to get somewhere he's going. A smile crosses his face as he spies you, an adventurous young fellow, going where he wouldn't dare. "Kids these days," he says to himself. It's little more than a glance, and in an instant his eyes return to the winding road ahead as he continues his daily commute. This one I find the most interesting.
