Patio Pundit discusses German politics. Warning: draws on actual experience. A friend of mine, an ordinarily mild-mannered lawyer, lived in Germany for a few years. It used to drive him crazy that native Germans absolutely refused to cross the street or so much as step off the sidewalk against the light, even if no cars were in sight in any direction. Finally one day he snapped. He walked into the middle of the street against the light and screamed at the other pedestrians, “There are no cars coming! You can cross! Cross!! Why won’t you cross?” Nobody answered him. They all waited for the light to change, and then they crossed the street. (Link from Geitner Simmons.)