i hate suvs

So I will not be blogging about crafts for a while, but about my life. The reason: at the moment crafting is a luxury, that does not fit around the various details of my life. So, while awaiting inspiration, I will just blog in general. SO today I will rant about people in ridiculously large cars. But first: turn away if you are easily offended, I am not politically correct. . .
So, today I parked my nifty little pyzar into a carpark, straightening up so as to sit easily in the center of the white lines. Jauntily we set off to St Lukes mall to meet my lovely sister. A few hours later, we dragged ourselves back to the car, only to find a large black Nissan Xtrail parked diagonally in the park to the left, with its fat rear end drifting across our space. To put maddy into her seat, I had to open the door 30 cm, hold her facing the side of the car, and push her into the car from about a meter back. I told her to keep her arms in the vehicle and then slammed the door shut, and climbed through the other door to do up her seat belts.
It took a lot of positive self-talk to convince myself that I was a good person, and not the kind given to KEYING strange peoples BLOODY big cars.
Thankfully Maddy, at 3 and a half, is old enough to be gently shoved into the car

- imagine if she had been a little baby, to be held with two hands, neck fully supported?
- imagine if I was hugely pregnant?

I have actually been in this position once, where at 8 and a half months pregnant(and yes, I had my own weather system) I came back from shopping with my heavy 2 yr old daughter, only to find that we had been blocked in by a huge SUV parked diagonally. I actually couldn't get her into the car, huge as I was, and we hung around for about an hour until someone came to take their precious car away.

I have always had my suspicions about people who choose to drive seemingly unnecessarily massive vehicles - compensating for something??? So some questions spring to mind, in order to soften my prejudiced heart.
Firstly, if one was to buy a large vehicle, or currently owned a large vehicle, would one not automatically be aware of one's size? And therefore make a conscious effort to park and drive carefully? Just because the occupants of these larger cars are safer in crashes, is this a reasonable excuse to go looking for accidents with smaller cars? Or is the visibility in a larger vehicle restricted, resulting in difficulty driving and parking with car, 'colouring within the lines' if you will. If us small car drivers are driving carefully, checking our mirrors and our boundaries, and parking as considerately as possible, how much more should big car drivers do the same?
Secondly, why do we buy these big cars, that drink small countries worth of gas and foul up the environment with their massive engines? What are the worthy reasons? Here are some reasons I think deserve large cars:
- you not ONLY have TWO children(yes more than one), but you have TWO large dogs - dobermans, rottweilers, great danes perhaps. (in this case, consider a station wagon first)
- you do NOT have a house but live entirely out of your car, while researching in the field, as you try to rescue the environment, and Gods good green earth singlehandedly. Perhaps even, you did not need to buy this car, because the car manufacturers sought you out as their green posterboy, and offered you this car to drive/live in as you continue your heroic work. good on you, you do deserve it. And probably will actually use the huge four-wheel drive motor and tyres as you gently glide across the savanna, unlike the rest of the cars owners.
- You are on kidney dialysis, and take your machine with you wherever you go. You do need the space, I'll grant you that.
So why then, does having ONE child, with perhaps one pram and a bulging nappy bag, give us the right to own these urban monsters? Even TWO children, who are older, sporty and require more equipment than I wish to imagine, still DO NOT require a vehicle that is at least half a metre higher off the ground, half a meter wider and half a metre longer!!! Try a station wagon, or if pressed, a 4 door RAV4, or of course a 'vanette' if you continue to multiply.
My suspicion, which of course is as politically sensitive as my rant has been(!), is that we women are compensating for something. Let's make some grand sweeping statements, shall we? Mothers of young children are about 10 years older(at least) than mothers 10 years ago. If that is the case, we can assume that these new mothers had built up successful careers, fighting to the top of corporate bodies and cynical boards, and I am incredibly proud of these women. Despite all the efforts of rampantly hairy, sweaty, and courageous feminists, it is still VERY TOUGH to succeed as a woman out there. So to get to the top, especially in something you love, is an achievement not to be belittled, and worthy of some semi-macho female pride. Go us.
HOWEVER when you go from top dog to a new mother, it is a different story. Even for those of us who didn't have an exciting career pre-children, it is a blow in the stomach. All of a sudden, you know nothing. You are wrong, you are tired, you are covered in the bodily fluids of another person and you have ZERO status. So, we compensate. we COMPENSATE. The prams get bigger, the tyres get bigger, the babies are compared brutally to each other as we seek total domination in this new field of our life. And some of us buy a new car. And continue to dominate, over roads, carparks and kindy drop-offs. And over those of us who have chosen the road of the 'little' car, with fuel efficiency and visibility and a great lock. Please be considerate. Please remember that those of us with little cars may be just as tired as you. May be just as frantic and stressed and late as you. May be just as concerned for our childrens safety while on the road, but not to the point of endangering others. Please be nice. Ta