Back in the last century (I love saying it that way) I worked at a job that was a 45 drive away, and I had several routes I could take to get there and home. Over time I came to understand that it would take me equally as long to get home regardless of which route I took, and the distance was almost the same (within a tenth of a mile or two.) Of course, being the impatient person I am, I was always sure that the other route would have been quicker regardless of which one I took.
One evening I was on the interstate listening to something on talk radio (my car stereo sucked for music), with about a hundred things on my mind. I was in the left lane, doing my standard five miles per hour over the speed limit (it’s safe and you won’t get a ticket at that speed), and was quickly overtaking a car in the right lane. There was very little other traffic around, and no cars within a quarter mile of us in front or behind.
When I was within a car length of the other vehicle, the driver suddenly came into my lane. There was no signal, and I could see him clearly enough in his rearview mirror to know that he didn’t even glance around to see if there were any other cars. He was probably in his 60s, and he and the lady in the passenger seat were both staring straight ahead.
Slamming on the breaks at that speed would have been… bad. Fortunately I rarely panic in situations like that, and I applied enough pressure on the breaks to reduce speed quickly without breaking traction with the tires. I also laid on the horn in an attempt to show my displeasure at such irresponsible driving, but neither person in the car reacted at all. (I also discovered a problem with my front end that I hadn’t known about before, because the quick deceleration caused the front end to become very loose, and I had to fight to keep from swerving off the road. I got that fixed right away, of course.)
Being the hot head that I am, I attempted to catch up to them, but they took the left-hand exit (which was the reason he got in the left lane, though a good half mile before he needed to) before I could draw even with them. I was going to wave my fist and make angry faces and call them both nasty names. I wanted them as scared as I’d been those few seconds it took me to get the car under control. But I also wanted to get home, so I went my way and let them go theirs.
Maybe the guy was just old and forgetful, but I really don’t think so. He was most likely just another of the people I see every day who have no regard for anyone other than themselves. You see them at Wal-Mart, or really any other store, plodding along and taking up as much room in the aisle as they can, with no consideration to the people behind them. They may grudgingly (and slowly) move after a polite “excuse me,” but it’s just as likely that they’ll ignore you.
Just as bad are the people who come barreling out of the aisles, and if you happen to be where they want to go and you don’t get out of the way, well that’s your own damn fault. They’ll cut you off (and hit you if you don’t yield to them) just to stop to look at an item, while giving their cart just enough of a twist so that it blocks the rest of the aisle on the other side. I’ve noticed this behavior about equally from men and women on the road, but it’s almost always women who do it in the stores. I’m sure there’s a reason for that, like women do most of the shopping or something.
I know I’m a hothead, quick to anger, and very impatient with people in general, but for fucks sake what is wrong with them? I used to think it’s just because people are stupid (which they are, of course) but this is more than just stupidity. Then I thought it was malice, and they were doing these things and getting off on being the bully. That’s closer to the truth, certainly true for some people, but not quite right.
I’ve had people ram into my cart (or cut me off on the road), look right at me, and not say a word. Then they get offended when called out on it (that’s where my angry, biting sarcasm works to calm any situation) and act genuinely surprised that there was another (allegedly) sentient being in the vicinity. It’s not even self-centeredness, which would imply that they are aware of people that they think are beneath you. I think it’s just that people don’t care enough about anything outside of their world to even acknowledge the presence of others.
I don’t’ care about people (in general, I mean), but I notice them, and I try not to be in their way when I can help it. If I can’t help it, or if I just make a mistake or was inattentive for a moment, I acknowledge they exist and mumble a quick apology for the inconvenience. On the rare occasion that someone does the same for me, I appreciate it and I don’t get near as angry as I do otherwise. But as I said, those are rare occasions.
One evening I was on the interstate listening to something on talk radio (my car stereo sucked for music), with about a hundred things on my mind. I was in the left lane, doing my standard five miles per hour over the speed limit (it’s safe and you won’t get a ticket at that speed), and was quickly overtaking a car in the right lane. There was very little other traffic around, and no cars within a quarter mile of us in front or behind.
When I was within a car length of the other vehicle, the driver suddenly came into my lane. There was no signal, and I could see him clearly enough in his rearview mirror to know that he didn’t even glance around to see if there were any other cars. He was probably in his 60s, and he and the lady in the passenger seat were both staring straight ahead.
Slamming on the breaks at that speed would have been… bad. Fortunately I rarely panic in situations like that, and I applied enough pressure on the breaks to reduce speed quickly without breaking traction with the tires. I also laid on the horn in an attempt to show my displeasure at such irresponsible driving, but neither person in the car reacted at all. (I also discovered a problem with my front end that I hadn’t known about before, because the quick deceleration caused the front end to become very loose, and I had to fight to keep from swerving off the road. I got that fixed right away, of course.)
Being the hot head that I am, I attempted to catch up to them, but they took the left-hand exit (which was the reason he got in the left lane, though a good half mile before he needed to) before I could draw even with them. I was going to wave my fist and make angry faces and call them both nasty names. I wanted them as scared as I’d been those few seconds it took me to get the car under control. But I also wanted to get home, so I went my way and let them go theirs.
Maybe the guy was just old and forgetful, but I really don’t think so. He was most likely just another of the people I see every day who have no regard for anyone other than themselves. You see them at Wal-Mart, or really any other store, plodding along and taking up as much room in the aisle as they can, with no consideration to the people behind them. They may grudgingly (and slowly) move after a polite “excuse me,” but it’s just as likely that they’ll ignore you.
Just as bad are the people who come barreling out of the aisles, and if you happen to be where they want to go and you don’t get out of the way, well that’s your own damn fault. They’ll cut you off (and hit you if you don’t yield to them) just to stop to look at an item, while giving their cart just enough of a twist so that it blocks the rest of the aisle on the other side. I’ve noticed this behavior about equally from men and women on the road, but it’s almost always women who do it in the stores. I’m sure there’s a reason for that, like women do most of the shopping or something.
I know I’m a hothead, quick to anger, and very impatient with people in general, but for fucks sake what is wrong with them? I used to think it’s just because people are stupid (which they are, of course) but this is more than just stupidity. Then I thought it was malice, and they were doing these things and getting off on being the bully. That’s closer to the truth, certainly true for some people, but not quite right.
I’ve had people ram into my cart (or cut me off on the road), look right at me, and not say a word. Then they get offended when called out on it (that’s where my angry, biting sarcasm works to calm any situation) and act genuinely surprised that there was another (allegedly) sentient being in the vicinity. It’s not even self-centeredness, which would imply that they are aware of people that they think are beneath you. I think it’s just that people don’t care enough about anything outside of their world to even acknowledge the presence of others.
I don’t’ care about people (in general, I mean), but I notice them, and I try not to be in their way when I can help it. If I can’t help it, or if I just make a mistake or was inattentive for a moment, I acknowledge they exist and mumble a quick apology for the inconvenience. On the rare occasion that someone does the same for me, I appreciate it and I don’t get near as angry as I do otherwise. But as I said, those are rare occasions.
people I see every day who have no regard for anyone other than themselves. You see them at Wal-Mart, or really any other store, plodding along and taking up as much room in the aisle as they can, with no consideration to the people behind them. They may grudgingly (and slowly) move after a polite “excuse me,” but it’s just as likely that they’ll ignore you.
ReplyDeleteI swear, we are twins separated at birth! This is the same thing I observe all the time and it just makes me nuts.