Crosswalk Etiquette as a Reflection of Culture

Doesn't that title just grab you? Make you yearn for that 0ft-sought-after-yet-never-quite-grasped insight into crosswalks and societal norms?

No? Good, because nothing written here will ever encompass anything that people yearn for.

My observations are quite simple and obvious to anyone who has lived in both the northeast and the west coast, but I hope they serve as enlightment for those who don't have this experience:

• In the northeast, your only hope of crossing a busy street is to find a crosswalk that is actually accompanied by traffic lights. No one will ever voluntarily stop to let you cross. Ever.
  
• Because of the previous point, northeasterners are exceptional at darting across streets and through traffic, middle fingers at the ready, a hearty 'fack you!' ready to be let loose from the confines of their lungs. Rarely do they ever heed traffic signals or consider that 'jaywalking' might actually be a crime. That would be absurd.
  
• In California, when you encounter a crosswalk that is not accompanied by a set of traffic lights, they have installed special devices that cause all oncoming traffic to spontaneously brake as soon as you step onto said crosswalk.
  
• Yet, when crossing at intersections with traffic lights on the west coast, it is forbidden to cross if the Red Hand is displayed, as opposed to the Blue Walking Guy. To cross a street in violation of the traffic signal, even with no cars in sight, clear to the horizon, is to risk becoming the victim of vigilante justice by fellow law-abiding pedestrians. You will be lucky to escape with only the sting of incensed stares and judgmental denouncements.