Foo - On rudeness....

Just venting, and thinking

This weekend my fiancee and I went out for dinner to a restaurant that has a long walkway (windows on one side, 5 foot wall on other. Bear with me, this becomes relevant later on).

You cannot walk down this walkway two abreast because it goes in both directions and can only accommodate one person. Soooo.... my pet peeve is when people are inconsiderate poopy-heads. We are walking down this long walkway, my fiancee in front and me behind her when this older woman and her son, who is probably in High School or College, come walking down the walkway abreast heading towards us. Of course, there is no space and Mr College kid pretty much pushes my fiancee against the wall, he doesn't even budge a bit, no apology, nothing and keeps going! I suppress my rage and when he gets to me plant a well aimed shoulder in is ribs (I didn't have to do much, just not flatten myself against the wall). Of course, he stops like he wants to have words with me and then continues on (though, given that he had almost a foot over me, I would have been toast). And his mom gives us a rude look. But here is what bugs me,

Here is this kid with his mum who obviously doesn't see anything wrong with his rude behavior. My pet peeve around here is that people do this all the time, you get four people walking down the sidewalk abreast and they are rudely surpised when I don't either step into the road or flatten myself against a wall to let people by. My fiancee and I joke about it and say that 'I'm on bumping duty' . But come on, if I was that age and I was with my mom and I was so bloody inconsiderate I would definitely hear about it.

Today morning, riding on Mass ave, little traffic, I am in the right lane, about 3 feet from parked cars, when some bozo in an SUV pulls up behind me and leans on his horn for two blocks!. The left lane was open and all he had to do was pull into it and keep going (and I wasn't about to hug the parked cars because a couple of blocks back I had inadvertently done that and have some genius driver fly by me about 2 inches away). After two blocks of this I get pissed and stop in the middle of the lane, turn back and the guy begins launching into a 'get off the road' tirade laced with colorful metaphors for copulation. I look directly at him and the stupid side of me takes over, I tell him to 'Go *** himself". He gets this shocked look like he is actually suprised that someone had the temerity to shout at him, pulls left and passes me.

Now, in both situations I am not really proud of my behavior, but what is wrong with people that they think that they and they alone are entitled to space (walking space, the road etc)? And I swear, this is predominantly a NorthEast (Boston etc) thing, especially the sidwalk hogging)

Normally I am a calm and collected person, as quiet as a church mouse and as slow to anger as..... a rock, but c'mon.

Grrrrr!!!!!!!

Just venting, and thinking

This weekend my fiancee and I went out for dinner to a restaurant that has a long walkway (windows on one side, 5 foot wall on other. Bear with me, this becomes relevant later on).

You cannot walk down this walkway two abreast because it goes in both directions and can only accommodate one person. Soooo.... my pet peeve is when people are inconsiderate poopy-heads. We are walking down this long walkway, my fiancee in front and me behind her when this older woman and her son, who is probably in High School or College, come walking down the walkway abreast heading towards us. Of course, there is no space and Mr College kid pretty much pushes my fiancee against the wall, he doesn't even budge a bit, no apology, nothing and keeps going! I suppress my rage and when he gets to me plant a well aimed shoulder in is ribs (I didn't have to do much, just not flatten myself against the wall). Of course, he stops like he wants to have words with me and then continues on (though, given that he had almost a foot over me, I would have been toast). And his mom gives us a rude look. But here is what bugs me,

Here is this kid with his mum who obviously doesn't see anything wrong with his rude behavior. My pet peeve around here is that people do this all the time, you get four people walking down the sidewalk abreast and they are rudely surpised when I don't either step into the road or flatten myself against a wall to let people by. My fiancee and I joke about it and say that 'I'm on bumping duty' . But come on, if I was that age and I was with my mom and I was so bloody inconsiderate I would definitely hear about it.

Today morning, riding on Mass ave, little traffic, I am in the right lane, about 3 feet from parked cars, when some bozo in an SUV pulls up behind me and leans on his horn for two blocks!. The left lane was open and all he had to do was pull into it and keep going (and I wasn't about to hug the parked cars because a couple of blocks back I had inadvertently done that and have some genius driver fly by me about 2 inches away). After two blocks of this I get pissed and stop in the middle of the lane, turn back and the guy begins launching into a 'get off the road' tirade laced with colorful metaphors for copulation. I look directly at him and the stupid side of me takes over, I tell him to 'Go *** himself". He gets this shocked look like he is actually suprised that someone had the temerity to shout at him, pulls left and passes me.

Now, in both situations I am not really proud of my behavior, but what is wrong with people that they think that they and they alone are entitled to space (walking space, the road etc)? And I swear, this is predominantly a NorthEast (Boston etc) thing, especially the sidwalk hogging)

Normally I am a calm and collected person, as quiet as a church mouse and as slow to anger as..... a rock, but c'mon.

Grrrrr!!!!!!!
The horn honker, just smile and wave! It confuses him and you definitely know he see's you!:D

That reminds me, I got driven off the freeway by an Escalade that cut me off last year. I've always regretted not ramming the SOB. It would have been worth sacraficing my 2,000 dollar car to smash that punks 50,000 dollar ride.

Smile and wave boys, smile and wave.

Things like people not paying attention when walking down narrow aisles don't usually bug me too much. I've gotten kind of used to the fact that people sometimes don't really think about what's around them. But I see people like your SUV driver as an opportunity to polish my wit. For example:

"Excuse me, I kept the left lane open for you, but if can't squeeze your fat ass by in that narrow 10 foot lane and honking your horn is as eloquently as you can describe how you feel, please keep on being a jackass"

or

Pull out your phone (if you have one handy), hold it to your ear for a second, then look back and say "Hey, the jerk store called. They're out of you!"

or

Just smash a mirror as he drives by. Ok, no don't do that, but I think carefully measured retaliation should count as witty, too.

I don't know why, but every time I go back to the States (once every four years or so) it seems people are ruder and ruder each time. I guess it's part of the "I'm going to get mine" attitude that is so prevelent in America.

I hear ya and have the same pet peeve.. what bugs me the most are runners coming straight at me while im biking, now... Im on the lane going with the traffic flow, they can see if a car is coming, I CANNOT! and they wont bulge! that happends to me quite often.. I have to turn around make sure im not gonna get hit by moving on the road so that I dont crash with them! that reallly makes me angry.

And I swear, this is predominantly a NorthEast (Boston etc) thing, especially the sidwalk hogging)
Not so. Human cattle are everywhere. Some due to a sense of entitlement, some due to a complete obliviousness to their surroundings. Both need to be confronted, otherwise they will continue down their path of stupidity. And if you do confront them, be careful, because there is no intelligence test required to own a handgun and the dumber these people are, the more defensive they become.

Still, you should have told that brat that he needs more class and to step aside for a lady then told his mother that it's not to late to teach the kid at least a minimal understanding of manners and class, assuming she had any to begin with. It's unlikely it would have had an effect since these people are usually deeply and safely secured in their world of self-absorbed ***********. But, you never know...

Rude people are mean. I have my opinions as to why they are this way but I'll refrain from that comment. :)

I've done the shoulder check a few times, usually to young guys who are full of machismo and testosterone and think they're invincible. Depending on my mood I've been known to say, "Excuse you!" afterwards, then give them a hard stare. I've also done this to women who can't be bothered to move over when I have no room to spare. Last time I did it to a woman, she mouthed off and I let her have it right back. She wasn't expecting it and pretty much shut up.

As for the idiot drivers laying on the horn, I just ignore them. At least they see me and they'll look stupid for laying on the horn, not me for riding in traffic.

I remember going to Action Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_Park) when I was about 10, and walking next to my dad, only to have almost every person coming towards us bump into me if not pushing me to the side. I had been to water parks before, but never encountered such a-holes left and right, it was just ridiculous...

I am convinced that much of this rudeness is just a power trip. The thing that I see is teenaged girls crossing the street, against the light, just daring you to hit them. Often they will glare at you while strolling slowly, making you wait for them. I just smile and don't let them think they are getting a rise out of the old cracker in the pickup truck.

They have the walkers up here in Canada too. My wife and I will go single file, but some of these people just keep walking. Also have it where people are all walking abreast not letting anyone past. It's kinda funny, but my wife is a lot more aggressive than I am - she'll just barge through with a sarcastic comment. I'm too British to do that :)

I remember going to Action Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_Park) when I was about 10, and walking next to my dad, only to have almost every person coming towards us bump into me if not pushing me to the side. I had been to water parks before, but never encountered such a-holes left and right, it was just ridiculous...

Ha Ha Action Park, that is a blast from my past. Is that place still around or did too many people get maimed or killed from the insane 'rides' :D

I was going around a traffic circle (BDG - Kittery, NOT Portsmouth :eek: ), I had the right-of-way, yet a woman in an SUV looked right at me and tried to cut me off.

I am convinced that much of this rudeness is just a power trip. The thing that I see is teenaged girls crossing the street, against the light, just daring you to hit them. Often they will glare at you while strolling slowly, making you wait for them. I just smile and don't let them think they are getting a rise out of the old cracker in the pickup truck.

I think that is precisely the problem. People have lost the fear that they might actually get the crap beat out them while being cretans.

I am convinced that much of this rudeness is just a power trip. The thing that I see is teenaged girls crossing the street, against the light, just daring you to hit them. Often they will glare at you while strolling slowly, making you wait for them. I just smile and don't let them think they are getting a rise out of the old cracker in the pickup truck.
You see that sometimes in NY. However, NY drivers don't take that **** and just drive around/through you just like cyclists/messengers/cabbies do. I know I do it when I drive. If I got the right of way, you bettah reckanize fool!

i think a lot of pedestrians are just utterly oblivious.

Here's another story. I was at the grocery store and was waiting my turn in the checkout... i'd sort of phased out while waiting for the person in front of me. Then, the cashier started to scan my stuff- only it wasn't mine! I turned around and saw this middle aged man behind me had just put his stuff in front of mine on the conveyor belt. I didn't even see him do it. So i said, okay fine, just go ahead.

What a loser... like it was this big victory to push in front of me. Like he can't just wait until I'm finished. What is it with people!

I only had to sholder check a pedestrian once in my life. He had the forsaken deer-in-headlights syndrome in the crosswalk against a green light. If I didn't knock him back on the curb, he would have killed us both.

Other assorted ass holes are just practice for my meditation techniques.:)

I hear ya and have the same pet peeve.. what bugs me the most are runners coming straight at me while im biking, now... Im on the lane going with the traffic flow, they can see if a car is coming, I CANNOT! and they wont bulge! that happends to me quite often.. I have to turn around make sure im not gonna get hit by moving on the road so that I dont crash with them! that reallly makes me angry.
I usually go out for my sunday morning ride and use pathways for a portion of the route. OMG, the runners around here are insane! I mean, c'mon! It's great that you're out there getting exercise and all, but there are lines down the middle FOR A REASON. Also, I had a group of out of towners who did the "let's walk four abreast" thing. I know they're from out of town, because it was near downtown, and they had a map out..

Ive done the shoulder check too. It feels good to stub up on someone when they are rude. Back when I lifted weights I started taking creatin for a while. That stuff made me feel invincible, but in a good way. I didnt get rude or cocky, i just felt very strong and knew there wasnt much i couldnt handle. I looked very intimidating too. i usually look pissed even when happy so...Me and my wife went to WalMart one night to buy a movie when i noticed as we were looking at the movies, a group of mexican guys (4) were eyeing my wife grinning and looking her up and down. This was disrespectful to me. I ignored it until we wound up walking by them as we left. I let her go on through ahead of me so I could see if they still looked. They did. I told her to go on, Ild catch up. I stopped right in the middle of them ready to explode and told them to either walk away or break them in half. To my suprise they left. haha

Just venting, and thinking

This weekend my fiancee and I went out for dinner to a restaurant that has a long walkway (windows on one side, 5 foot wall on other. Bear with me, this becomes relevant later on).

You cannot walk down this walkway two abreast because it goes in both directions and can only accommodate one person. Soooo.... my pet peeve is when people are inconsiderate poopy-heads. We are walking down this long walkway, my fiancee in front and me behind her when this older woman and her son, who is probably in High School or College, come walking down the walkway abreast heading towards us. Of course, there is no space and Mr College kid pretty much pushes my fiancee against the wall, he doesn't even budge a bit, no apology, nothing and keeps going! I suppress my rage and when he gets to me plant a well aimed shoulder in is ribs (I didn't have to do much, just not flatten myself against the wall). Of course, he stops like he wants to have words with me and then continues on (though, given that he had almost a foot over me, I would have been toast). And his mom gives us a rude look. But here is what bugs me,


Here is this kid with his mum who obviously doesn't see anything wrong with his rude behavior. My pet peeve around here is that people do this all the time, you get four people walking down the sidewalk abreast and they are rudely surpised when I don't either step into the road or flatten myself against a wall to let people by. My fiancee and I joke about it and say that 'I'm on bumping duty' . But come on, if I was that age and I was with my mom and I was so bloody inconsiderate I would definitely hear about it.

Today morning, riding on Mass ave, little traffic, I am in the right lane, about 3 feet from parked cars, when some bozo in an SUV pulls up behind me and leans on his horn for two blocks!. The left lane was open and all he had to do was pull into it and keep going (and I wasn't about to hug the parked cars because a couple of blocks back I had inadvertently done that and have some genius driver fly by me about 2 inches away). After two blocks of this I get pissed and stop in the middle of the lane, turn back and the guy begins launching into a 'get off the road' tirade laced with colorful metaphors for copulation. I look directly at him and the stupid side of me takes over, I tell him to 'Go *** himself". He gets this shocked look like he is actually suprised that someone had the temerity to shout at him, pulls left and passes me.

Now, in both situations I am not really proud of my behavior, but what is wrong with people that they think that they and they alone are entitled to space (walking space, the road etc)? And I swear, this is predominantly a NorthEast (Boston etc) thing, especially the sidwalk hogging)

Normally I am a calm and collected person, as quiet as a church mouse and as slow to anger as..... a rock, but c'mon.

Grrrrr!!!!!!!

First off yeah your right, second you only pushed him;) . Hell if he pushed my girl hell i do not care how big he is he is going down and very hard too. Yeah i deal with people walking side by side on my local trail me being the local "kamikazi" i would speed up (actually start sprinting" and at the last moment say i'm passing them. Man i love scaring the hell out of people:). I deal with knucle heads on the road as well, can't scare the hell out of them:( well unless i cut in front of them and nearly cause them to crash:) and yes i have done that too:rolleyes:.