NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm normally a fairly calm and relaxed sort of person, but in the queue at the supermarket this morning I had a revelation: I cannot tolerate oblivious people. Not stupid people, necessarily; not malicious or deceitful. Just those who wander vacantly through life in genuine ignorance of the fact that their existence intersects with those of other people.

There's a set of lights I pass through on the way home from work. There's usually a large queue and the light is only briefly green, so most people will take the trouble to move off safely, but with a degree of purpose and a sense of immediacy. And there's always someone who'll finish adjusting their radio, check the configuration of the shopping bags on the back seat and adjust their window for optimal air flow before very, very slowly releasing the hand-brake and crawling at glacial speed past the lights, leaving a thwarted and bewildered horde of motorists glaring daggers at their back.

So, as I say, I was in the queue at the supermarket. The woman in front of me chatted casually to the checkout girl as her purchases were scanned, and as the last item went through she looked at the small pile in front of her in mild amazement as if to say "My god, where did that lot come from?". After finishing her conversation it apparently struck her that the plastic bags at the end of the checkout would be ideal for the purpose of carrying her shopping back to the car. So we waited while she calmly packed a couple of bags, ensuring an exact distribution of weight between the bags and devoting a couple of minutes to that thorniest of dilemmas: should three tins of chopped tomatoes be placed in the same bag for ease of unpacking, or separated to assist balance and posture in transit? And if the latter, how can three cans be best divided between two bags without unfairly discriminating against the bag containing only one tin?

And then she paid the £4.16 with a cheque (or check, if you insist on being American). Now, there's a cash machine (or ATM, if you really must) right outside the supermarket for the express purpose of not making me wait while you hand over the cheque, rummage around for the corresponding card, wait for the cheque to be printed and then try so very hard to remember how to write your signature, grunting slightly with your tongue protruding as you ensure that every i is dotted according to the appropriate ISO standards.

Anyway, she finally trundled off, glowing with pride at having done her bit toward the damnation of the cashless society. I assume that she went to take her place at the lights to catch me on my way home tomorrow evening.

I do wonder, though, whether my ire at her unwillingness to use a cash machine was misplaced. I'm absolutely certain that she is one of those most blessed of people who lack both the mental and social faculties to do so successfully. I constantly see people who seem convinced that God is watching them try to extract money, and it goes something like this:

1) Insert card into machine.

2) Glance suspiciously over shoulder before entering pin number.

3) Enter correct pin number.

4) Enter the really correct pin number.

5) Do something. I've never quite worked out exactly what it is, but I think it must be checking the account balance.

6) Stand motionless for five minutes, blissfully unware that there is a queue behind you and that this is not your very own dedicated cash machine.

7) Eject card from machine.

8) Reinsert card into machine, repeating steps 1 to 5 above.

Seriously, what the blistering fuck is the matter with these people? Jesus loves you, but he has not added £1,000,000 to your current account since you checked it two minutes ago. I swear on my life, he really, really hasn't. God works in mysterious ways, yes, but not that fucking weird.

9) Press buttons randomly for five minutes in the hope that some hitherto undiscovered behaviour of cash machines will manifest itself in the form of an unending fountain of £20 notes.

10) Remove card from machine and prepare to insert it a third time.

11) As muttering from the ever-growing horde of onlookers reaches a crescendo, turn round in baffled amazement as the realisation hits that the universe has other people in it.

12) Say, in a tone of great indignation, "I waited for my turn, and I have every right to take as long as I need!"

No! No, you haven't! You have every right to use the machine, but you have less than no right to visit your own bumbling incompetence upon the general public as you wrestle in vain with your ignorance of how money works. Your magical card was issued to you by a bank, and that bank is staffed by people who are paid money to sit you down with a nice cup of tea and explain, with the help of colourful diagrams involving a cat called Socks, what money is and how the nice man behind the counter will help you get to it without ever having to stop thinking about how your brother Arthur's kitchen really could do with a new set of curtains.

Just make sure that you're not driving in front of me on your way to the bank.

Wow :eek:

I'm normally a fairly calm and relaxed sort of person, but in the queue at the supermarket this morning I had a revelation: I cannot tolerate oblivious people. Not stupid people, necessarily; not malicious or deceitful. Just those who wander vacantly through life in genuine ignorance of the fact that their existence intersects with those of other people.

There are a number of reasons why people will do this. Some few really do seem to be moving through an entirely different time dimension than the majority of us, but many others have ligitimate reasons.

The aged, for example, have a tendency to take their time because they're either genuinely afraid of making mistakes with their often meagre funds, or because they have arthritis in their hands and it truly does hurt to use them.

Some people have simply been trained since birth to account for every penny.

I suspect you may have the modern syndrome called ( for want of a better term ) "rushitis," which manifests itself as a need to be somewhere else in the shortest possible time, regardless of when you actually need to be there.

Cheers

I suspect you may have the modern syndrome called ( for want of a better term ) "rushitis," which manifests itself as a need to be somewhere else in the shortest possible time, regardless of when you actually need to be there.

I admit I have symptoms of rushitis in certain situations. Mainly when in a supermarket queue. Even if I don't have anything to do I would rather not be in a queue (I see it as a nessasary evil). However this dieappears if I in a place like a cinema. I will gladly sit until everone has left. :D

Well, I think we've all come across a situation where someone really was taking far too long over something simple e.g. using a cashpoint when it's frickin' pelting down.

And if you haven't I envy you.

I normally laugh about such things or feel indifferent. There has been one exception tho: We were driving in a narrow street and an old man was riding on his bike at about 5 km/h IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. We spent 10 minutes driving behind the man fs.

I normally laugh about such things or feel indifferent. There has been one exception tho: We were driving in a narrow street and an old man was riding on his bike at about 5 km/h IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. We spent 10 minutes driving behind the man fs.

LOL! I ride a mountain bike almost everywhere in my small town. I stay to the right side ( US drivers drive on the right side of the road ), but absolutely refuse to ride in the gutter, not only because I dislike it, but because it can be dangerous ( debris, drains, etc. ). You should see some of the behaviours people exhibit! I've actually had people toss things like drinking cups full of ice at me! :eek:

LOL! I ride a mountain bike almost everywhere in my small town. I stay to the right side ( US drivers drive on the right side of the road ), but absolutely refuse to ride in the gutter, not only because I dislike it, but because it can be dangerous ( debris, drains, etc. ). You should see some of the behaviours people exhibit! I've actually had people toss things like drinking cups full of ice at me! :eek:


You know, that's a particularly novel thing to have flung at you. Perhaps they prepared it beforehand, and it wasn't a piece of constructive criticism on your riding technique? :P Either way.... I need the pic of the car stuck up a tree after you finished with it :D

You know, that's a particularly novel thing to have flung at you. Perhaps they prepared it beforehand, and it wasn't a piece of constructive criticism on your riding technique? :P Either way.... I need the pic of the car stuck up a tree after you finished with it :D

Actually, they most likely had just finished a fountain drink from a convenience store and were going to litter the environment with it anyway. They just happened to resent bicyclists and decided to "kill two birds with one stone" so to speak.

As to sticking their car up a tree, I probably would have had I been able to catch it! Heh! Either they didn't know, or just didn't care that tossing things, ANYthing, at a bicyclist could result in serious injury. :eek:

So, as I say, I was in the queue at the supermarket. The woman in front of me chatted casually to the checkout girl as her purchases were scanned, and as the last item went through she looked at the small pile in front of her in mild amazement as if to say "My god, where did that lot come from?". After finishing her conversation it apparently struck her that the plastic bags at the end of the checkout would be ideal for the purpose of carrying her shopping back to the car. So we waited while she calmly packed a couple of bags, ensuring an exact distribution of weight between the bags and devoting a couple of minutes to that thorniest of dilemmas: should three tins of chopped tomatoes be placed in the same bag for ease of unpacking, or separated to assist balance and posture in transit? And if the latter, how can three cans be best divided between two bags without unfairly discriminating against the bag containing only one tin?

That's why over here, they make us checkout slaves pack the groceries. :p

There are a number of reasons why people will do this. Some few really do seem to be moving through an entirely different time dimension than the majority of us, but many others have ligitimate reasons.

The aged, for example, have a tendency to take their time because they're either genuinely afraid of making mistakes with their often meagre funds, or because they have arthritis in their hands and it truly does hurt to use them.

Some people have simply been trained since birth to account for every penny.

I suspect you may have the modern syndrome called ( for want of a better term ) "rushitis," which manifests itself as a need to be somewhere else in the shortest possible time, regardless of when you actually need to be there.
after the aryan revolution such defectives and the worthlessly aged with be euthanized to promote a better society with shorter lines and less congested streets.

I'm normally a fairly calm and relaxed sort of person,
Are you sure about that? It would appear by the length of this post that you are very impatient, perhaps intolerant, and a bit egotistical?

but in the queue at the supermarket this morning I had a revelation: I cannot tolerate oblivious people.
At least you know that you have a problem so there is help for you.

If this kind of thing was happening to you all the time, then maybe I could understand your rant. However, if you are always in a hurry then maybe your schedule needs to be adjusted to account for possible delays? This can save you energy and cause less stress.

Do you know any people who consistently complain, yet do nothing to alleviate the problem? Perhaps they just enjoy bitching and it is a normal part of their day?

There will always be delays in our lives. If we are always blaming others for these delays than what does that say about our planning?

I agree! I know that there are some people who really cannot tolerate waiting for anything, and yes, "rushitis" is a good term to describe this. But I think that the situations as described in this thread would try a saint's patience. I have every sympathy with, for example, elderly people being slower to do things, it'll probably happen to the majority of us eventually, but some people need to wake UP and get their heads out of the clouds. I'm sure road rage would decrease greatly if all the airheads just took the bus. It's not that everyone should rush everywhere, they should just have some awareness that other people exist - if you're really having difficulty at a cashpoint, would it take so very much effort to address the queue of people who have been there since the ark and say, "sorry about this"? Life's too short to spend it in checkout queues. Perhaps this thread should be used to vent frustration at such people!

Are you sure about that? It would appear by the length of this post that you are very impatient, perhaps intolerant, and a bit egotistical?

At least you know that you have a problem so there is help for you.

If this kind of thing was happening to you all the time, then maybe I could understand your rant. However, if you are always in a hurry then maybe your schedule needs to be adjusted to account for possible delays? This can save you energy and cause less stress.

Do you know any people who consistently complain, yet do nothing to alleviate the problem? Perhaps they just enjoy bitching and it is a normal part of their day?

There will always be delays in our lives. If we are always blaming others for these delays than what does that say about our planning?

if you had followed the offender out of the store, seized the offending groceries and smashed them all over the parking lot and loudly proclaimed that it was in response to the person's checkout line preformance, you would be much more proactive. you also would have taught they offender a valuable lesson, from then on they would realize that there were potential consequences for their thoughtless actions and have to weight the merits of their behavior accordindly.

You should see some of the behaviours people exhibit! I've actually had people toss things like drinking cups full of ice at me! :eek:

I sympathise, somebody once hit me with a half empty (or is it half full?... No.) beer can when I was cycling.

As for oblivious folk in the supermarket you can't any more anoying than the people who leave their trolleys justing out at extreame angles while they browse the shelves - blissfully unaware that nobody can get past them.

I sympathise, somebody once hit me with a half empty (or is it half full?... No.) beer can when I was cycling.

As for oblivious folk in the supermarket you can't any more anoying than the people who leave their trolleys justing out at extreame angles while they browse the shelves - blissfully unaware that nobody can get past them.

i used to walk to work in the early morning along a four lane highway. its amazing the number of people who while they would never intentionally highbeam another driver would turn on their highs as soon as they saw me and keep them on just until they had passed me, i assume to make sure they knew where i was walking, but completely blinding me for the duration.

if you had followed the offender out of the store, seized the offending groceries and smashed them all over the parking lot and loudly proclaimed that it was in response to the person's checkout line preformance, you would be much more proactive. you also would have taught they offender a valuable lesson, from then on they would realize that there were potential consequences for their thoughtless actions and have to weight the merits of their behavior accordindly.
You are not serious with this statement are you? If you are, then perhaps you have some serious issues with anger management, and some serious ego problems?

Your act of aggression could land you in jail for assault, that or being found guilty of being stupid in a public place?

You are not serious with this statement are you? If you are, then perhaps you have some serious issues with anger management, and some serious ego problems?

Your act of aggression could land you in jail for assault, that or being found guilty of being stupid in a public place?
canadians are such cowardly weaklings is it any wonder your society has been over run by foriegn refugees and homosexuals. you are too effeminate to stand up for your own rights and merely ring your hands as other trod all over you. hell canadian jails are nicer than low rent housing in the usa so if i'm ever down on my luck maybe i'll take a trip up north just to beat down a few shopping line slow pokes.

canadians are such cowardly weaklings is it any wonder your society has been over run by foriegn refugees and homosexuals. you are too effeminate to stand up for your own rights and merely ring your hands as other trod all over you. hell canadian jails are nicer than low rent housing in the usa so if i'm ever down on my luck maybe i'll take a trip up north just to beat down a few shopping line slow pokes.
I gather your bellicose response is in relation to my comment about you being found guilty of being silly in a public place? I retract the statement and apologize.

Come on up and visit Canada, so that you can dispel your rash generalization about what makes this country tick.

I suspect you may have the modern syndrome called ( for want of a better term ) "rushitis," which manifests itself as a need to be somewhere else in the shortest possible time, regardless of when you actually need to be there.
Don't confuse the wish to be somewhere else with the wish to not be where you are. I think you'd agree that the time spent in line for anything is best kept to a minimum.

Kudos to you, Calricstan, for being so FUCKING right.

I gather your bellicose response is in relation to my comment about you being found guilty of being silly in a public place? I retract the statement and apologize.

Come on up and visit Canada, so that you can dispel your rash generalization about what makes this country tick.
hey now, stop being so dang polite, this is at the heart of the canadian personality problem. i attack and you apologize and invite me to visit.

What? I'm sorry, did you post something?

Are you sure about that? It would appear by the length of this post that you are very impatient, perhaps intolerant, and a bit egotistical?I don't think that I'm any more impatient or intolerant than most, though I'll cheerfully concede the last. I wouldn't read too much into the length: I enjoy both reading and writing a good rant purely for the entertainment value.

My wrath, such as it is, isn't fuelled by a frustrated desire to be somewhere in particular. As others have suggested, I simply dislike being obliged to wait when it could easily be avoided with the application of basic consideration and common sense.

Caught in traffic? Held up by an elderly or disabled person? Queuing to get out of a theatre? Fine, all fine. I can tolerate waiting with great equanimity, as long as it isn't necessitated by the thoughtlessness of others.

oblivious people are that much worse when somebody trusts them with a driving licence and a set of keys to a car.

like when theyre in the inside lane of a motorway, doing 30mph slower than you whos in the outside lane ( i was doing 80, she was doing about 50)...and then when youre about 15m behind them just pull into the outside lane without even indicating..i had to swerve to avoid her and mashed the horn...i could tell shed spent the whole time talking to her friend in the passenger seat - and then she somehow felt annoyed that id interrupted her conversation....

after the aryan revolution such defectives and the worthlessly aged with be euthanized to promote a better society with shorter lines and less congested streets.

Well, I'm 61 and disabled! My address is 912 Piney Grove Road, Kernersville, North Carolina, USA 27284. Come get me. I'll show you what's going to happen to your friggin' "revolution," you Nazi mother-f***er! :D

Well, I'm 61 and disabled! My address is 912 Piney Grove Road, Kernersville, North Carolina, USA 27284. Come get me. I'll show you what's going to happen to your friggin' "revolution," you Nazi mother-f***er! :D

hey i'm a theoritician, we'll have lackeys and flunkies and goons for that sorta work once we acheive state power.