Not the right road for status
Three teenage Armenian girls pulled up to a local gas station on a
recent evening in a sleek, newer-model BMW and got out of the car,
chatting and laughing at what appeared to be an amusing story one of
them had been sharing.
The driver headed to the window to pay for the gas and returned to
the car and continued to chit chat with her friends. She headed for
the gas tank looking for a way to open the gas cap door.
After some fiddling, she managed to find the lever inside the car
that opened the gas cap door. Then the real task at hand awaited as
she questioned which type of fuel to use.
“Which one is it?” she asked, referring to the unleaded, super
unleaded and diesel options awaiting her. Her friends stood and
pondered the choices and offered seemingly uneducated opinions and
blank stares.
The driver then reached for the diesel fuel. I quickly walked over
to the car after having purchased gas, and suggested she use the
unleaded fuel instead.
As I helped her adjust the nozzle, she sighed, relieved someone
came to her rescue.
They drove away from the gas station and continued their jovial
conversation. .
I drove off thinking to myself that what I witnessed is so common
among Armenian youth, or any teens for that matter.
It certainly isn’t uncommon to see inexperienced drivers, teens in
particular, driving $40,000 cars in the Armenian community.
There is no shortage of BMWs, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus or other luxury
cars being driven by Armenian teens. And it is not only about a
desire to exert one’s independence by driving. Driving, especially an
automobile with an expensive price tag, also creates the illusion of
status.
To put it simply, a car is a status symbol for a younger
generation of Armenians.
Now, that is not to say that some parents don’t look at cars the
same way.
Often, they lend their luxury cars to their teens or even buy a
luxury car for their children.
Aside from one’s ethnicity and culture, it is beyond my
comprehension why a parent would hand over a Mercedes-Benz key to
their 17-year-old son or daughter.
Some parents, I suppose, proclaim that driving is an initiation
into adulthood and should be rewarded, while others simply want their
children to be part of a social circle that demands the display of
wealth and status.
Yet it also seems that many parents have no fear when their
children get behind the wheel; or perhaps they mask the fear by
offering them a car in exchange for the promise of safe and skillful
driving.
I, for one, attempt to stay off particular roads, during certain
hours of the day, that these young drivers tend to frequent. Not only
do I have a concern for safety, but I also have no desire to view an
entourage of luxury vehicles that appear and reappear on the streets
for show and spectacle.
I think I will stick to my trusty Toyota and find alternative
routes to make my way through the city.
* ANI AMIRKHANIAN is a news assistant. She may be reached at (818)
637-3230 or by e-mail at ani.amirkhanianlatimes.com.