When stationed in Okinawa, Japan while in the Marine Corps (1997-1999), I enjoyed learning about an underground street racing scene. Relatively close to Camp Kinser, where I was stationed, was Naha—the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan.
In the evening and throughout the night while on patrol as a military policeman (MP), I could hear sounds of street racing events which occurred relatively close to the sea line in Naha. As well, a fellow MP purchased a Nissan Skyline and taught me about tuners.
According to one source, “A car, usually imported, that has been modified to increase both appearance and performance. Not the same as a ricer”—a “slow car with excessive cosmetic upgrades,” per one source. Notably, there’s a rivalry between tuner and ricer enthusiasts.
Regarding this matter, one source clarifies of tuners, “COMPLETE opposite of ricer. The tuner is all go[,] no show. What is UNDER the body of the car is far more important than how the car looks. For example the tuner will actually have no stickers on his car from where he got his parts, while the ricer will have stickers all over his car from parts he doesn’t have.”
By the time I was stationed aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California (2001), the tuner underground racing scene had migrated from the East to the West. It was then that I was made aware of the joke, “Does each sticker you slap on that ricer come with five extra horsepower?”
Before I go any further with the discussion regarding street racing culture, allow me to acknowledge the proverbial elephant in the room. The term “ricer” is considered racially and ethnically insensitive to some people. I value free speech, so I’m not playing that game with you.
Yet, I digress. To say the least, the ricer enthusiasts aren’t valued by the tuner crowd. The former is considered inauthentic while the latter regards genuine performance over aesthetic.
Understanding this distinction, I saved up my money and purchased a Honda Civic with a salvaged title, hoping to earn enough money to put a Spoon engine in the vehicle. However, my insurance company wouldn’t insure a car with a salvage-title and I wound up selling the Civic.
After that disappointing setback, I’d begun a family and frivolous spending wasn’t an option for me any longer. Thus went my attempt at participating in the underground racing scene that by that point had gained popularity after the 2001 film The Fast and the Furious.
Following the dissolution of my marriage, which included no further financial contributions to raising a child, I’d altogether lost interest in the racing scene. All the same, I still maintain an appreciation for tuners in the same way I appreciate lowriders, which I admired in my youth.
When contemplating this matter, I think of my approach to rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). In particular, I consider how personal agency, as well as personal responsibility and accountability (collectively “ownership”), play a key role in the process of self-disturbance.
You may be wondering how I went from discussing a fondness for modified cars to advocacy for mental, emotional, and behavioral health. This imagined curiosity is understandable. If you’ll grant me a moment of your time, I’ll explain how these matters relate.
From an REBT perspective, personal agency refers to the ability to control one’s actions and decisions, and to understand that an individual’s beliefs are the cause of one’s own life circumstances. Rather than being the victim of a situation, you have a role to play in the matter.
Similarly, taking personal ownership of this experience entails the process of acknowledging that you, and only you, are in control of your reaction to various circumstances. It’s your duty, or responsibility, to change this reaction if it serves as an undesirable effect.
This harkens to the concept of personal accountability which regards acceptance of responsibility for your actions, words, and behaviors, and the consequences that follow. Whereas responsibility suggests duty, accountability infers recognition of consequences.
You are the cause of your reaction to circumstances (agency) and you own your role in the outcome of your beliefs about such matters (responsibility and accountability). Admittedly, this isn’t always an easy process for people to accept.
This is why I look at REBT as a tuner, of sorts. Using the ABC model and unconditional acceptance, I try to help people achieve a standard of rational living.
Dissimilar to the ricer effect of many other psychotherapeutic modalities, which merely present the appearance of wellness, though without any significant performance improvement, a tuner approach to rational living aims to help people get better and not merely to feel better.
Unlike my insurance company that essentially required that a vehicle would be in tiptop shape before insuring it, REBT acknowledges human fallibility. Proverbially speaking, you can have a salvaged title and still turn yourself into a tuner of a person who outperforms your old self.
If the tuner effect to well-being sounds like something in which you may be interested, I invite you to consider that I don’t value the ricer effect. Merely attending sessions with me so that you may brag about how you’re “doing the work” won’t likely get you very far down the road.
Therefore, I encourage you to challenge your beliefs about my invitation for you not to virtue-signal—the act of expressing opinions or taking actions that are meant to appear virtuous, but are often insincere or don’t lead to meaningful action. Proper tuning requires effort, not braggadocio.
If my approach to rational living sounds like something in which you’re interested, and you’re prepared to put in work so that you may achieve your desired results, let’s get to tuning! Otherwise, you’re welcome to slap on some stickers and pretend as though that significantly changes anything at all.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
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