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Specialization is for Insects.
Posted on Nov 19, 2009 - 10:23am by John P. in Philosophy, Thoughts
Have you ever been to the zoo? I was at the Dallas Zoo the other day, staring at the primates. Don’t worry, they were staring right back. Anyway, this big male gorilla, who had been sitting quietly with a couple of females laying around nearby, suddenly just got up and freaked out.
Now, I should emphasize, nothing caused this. Seriously. He’s a gorilla. There is nothing to piss him off. But all of a sudden, he got in a bad mood and started taking it out on all the other gorillas nearby. They are all running in fear, the people staring at them are freaking out, and I’m just thinking… you big, dumb ape.
Well, I expect that creatures who lack the ability to use a spoon might be wild and unpredictable. But you know what drives me crazy? Humans who do the same damn thing!
Lately I’ve heard a rash of stories from friends and family about situations they’ve been in at work in which customers are just complete assholes for no apparent reason. In fact, I was even at McDonalds today when this snooty woman came in carrying her child that was acting up. The extremely courteous young lady behind the counter greeted her quickly and politely, and then this dirtbag of a woman just started acting like that aforementioned gorilla.
Back in my grandfather’s day society didn’t tolerate that kind of behavior. They’d have escorted a rude customer right out of the joint, and then that woman would have been the talk of the town. I actually got so offended on behalf of the girl behind the counter that I snapped at that lady, “Hey! If you’ve got a personal problem, keep it to yourself! No need to ruin these nice people’s day, so how about NOT being an a-hole?!? It’s no wonder your kid has a bad attitude. Take a look in the mirror.”
For a second after I said that, the entire place was so quiet you could have heard a McNugget drop. The kid shut up. The lady turned and looked at me, and her mouth dropped open. And you know how sometimes you just know when someone is about to say something? Yeah, I saw it coming, so I hopped in real quick with, “You don’t want to say anything to me. I guarantee I am meaner than you ever dreamed of being in your entire life.”
It was amazing. She turned around, completed her order – clarifying that it was “to go” – and quietly walked off to the side. About that time, my food came up. I politely thanked the nice young lady behind the counter, who thanked me right back, and took my food to a table to sit and eat in peace.
Now here is the problem with all of this. What goes around, comes around. All of these jackasses are simply adding to the decay of our polite society. I bet I’m the only guy who ever reproached that lady in her life. And she goes around ruining people’s day and leaving a trail of destruction in her wake. But someone has to come in line after her. And once she ruins the attitude of the person who was helping her, service diminishes for the next person.
You see how this works? It’s a chain reaction. You ruin someone’s day, and they pass it on. But guess what! It works the other way too! I wrote about this over two years ago, so in case you missed it go find out how I Discovered the Secret to Happiness at 7-11.
PS – Thanks to Squid for the gorilla image.
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By the way, I LOVE comments! Please feel free to leave one below!
John — couldn’t agree more! I think we need a little bit more civility these days. I mean I do empathize with the lady in McDonalds (I know how maddening it can be to lug kids around) — but that is no excuse to take it out on everyone and be a jerk. Thanks for the post.
It’s so strange, but it seems like in the last few months that this sort of “a-hole-ish” behavior is not only becoming more prevalent, but it’s actually becoming the norm!
Keith Burtis and I were talking on skype a few days ago about it. “Where have all the decent people gone” he asks. I have to wonder the same thing.
Perfect timing! sometimes you’re the gorilla, sometimes you’re the McDonald’s clerk. The last couple of days, um, er, I’ve been the gorilla. Sigh…
Thank you!
JP-Awesome post. I love it!
I think we need a little bit more civility these days. Nice post JP, thanks
Things like that can trigger me too, but I rarely get to experience them myself. I guess God knows that it’s not a good idea for me to lose it because I can lose control, so he must not want to present these situations to me.
A friend was watching a lady in Pizza Hit wail on her kid that went beyond ridiculous. He called her out in front of the entire lunch crowd and told her if she beat the kid once more, he would start beating on her. She stopped. I’m glad that you verbally bitch slapped that woman at the Golden Arches.
[...] That’s me laughing! Yeah, that’s what I really looked like – only because, darnit John P – you made me laugh that hard! If ya’ll wanna hear the backstory on that one (which is a very good point, actually!!!) check it out here: Hey, How About NOT Being an A-Hole? [...]
Down here in Houston… she would pulled out and capped your a–! And even the McDonalds lady would have cheered her on. Crazy world.
Yes, but if we were in Houston I would have stabbed the bitch with my shiv!
hehehe
John
What a funny post. I actually thought the post was going to be about the gorilla, flipping the bird. Amusing post nonetheless. ;)
And yes, I agree, we need some more positivity in our lives. Everyone gets in a pissy mood at times, but it’s upto them to realize, hopefully quickly, that they are doing it, and to “save it” for an appropriate place and time.
Awesome John :D /cheer!
Many years ago I was in my favourite restaurant back in my home county. I was having a celebratory meal with my better half, it’s the sort of place we could only afford when it was for something special …
A group of around 15 people arrived and set up residence. The entire group were a total pain in the ass to the staff. There wasn’t one course of their meal they didn’t find /something/ to whine about. They made a huge amount of noise which destroyed the atmosphere for everyone else in the very nice French restaurant.
When it became time for them to pay the bill, the guy who took it upon himself to settle it started another diatribe of complaints to the restaurant owner and was refusing to pay – yep, 15 people, 3 courses each, and he was intending to refute the bill.
I stood and told him how he and his friends had ruined our night out, ruined the restaurant for everyone else, and had made totally unjustifiable complaints about their meals and service. I then threatened to call the police myself and act as a witness should he wish to contend.
He paid, in full, without saying so much as one word.
As they were leaving the whole restaurant clapped and cheered and the atmosphere cleared, everyone had a great time thereafter.
I agree with you, John. When we have our own problems, we mustn’t blame other people. I have a suggestion for this. People can take their time privately to make sure that their mentality is fine before starting to meet other people.