Signed,
The sweaty woman with the melted groceries
Why is it that most drivers in parking lots are so insensitive to pedestrians? I always give people on foot the right of way when it is very hot outside. Or when it's very cold. Or rainy. After all, as soon as I park my vehicle or my bike, I'll be on foot, too, and sure hope someone will have the slightest sense of decency and the courtesy to let me get inside before melting, freezing, or getting drenched.
I've noticed this is even more of an issue where I live now. A large percentage of the population northwest of Tucson is retired and many of them are wealthy. Many of these folks project an annoying sense of entitlement and it is not at all uncommon to have them cut you off on the roads and in businesses.
I can't help but wonder if this is a green banana phenomenon - like they don't think they have enough time left to wait their turn in line. Sheesh, old man, do ya really want to spend your last moments paying for groceries you're not going to get to eat? Why not? I guess it's better than spending your last moments waiting behind the freaky woman with 10 packs of recycled toilet paper and 50 pounds of bulk rolled oats in her cart!
To quote Robert Heinlein again,
... a dying culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Lack of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than a riot.
11 comments:
Sweetie and I have also noticed that the wealthy seem to have a sense of entitlement. It's not uncommon to be walking down the street and see an oncoming well-heeled party, four abreast, and not one will move behind the others to permit the rest of us to pass them single file without stepping off the curb into the street. A few times, I have not stepped into the street and oncoming traffic, and each of those times, the person in my path literally bumped into me.
It is as though everyone who is not part of their immediate world is invisible. But have to say, it's not limited to oldsters. We encounter this from every age group. More, it seems to be a function of class.
I was never so aware of class as I am living in San Francisco. Mon dieu!
Breathe, dear, breathe. Deep breaths.
P.S. Had to look up "green banana"!
Kathryn - yeah, it could be more the class thing than age, but the two combined seem to be potent.
Sorry, maybe the green banana reference is an old one. I remember people - not of the upper class LOL - telling me, "I'm so old I don't even buy green bananas!"
Wow. I was having a similar discussion with my husband this evening. I asked, basically, if drivers these days really were a**holes as it seemed or if I were just becoming less tolerant of it as I get older.
They do have a sense of entitlement because they've had a lifetime of people sucking up to them, either for recognition or paycheck... Then, they retire and the only way they can feel their power is through acts of entitlement... You could always let them bump into you and mumble, "I'm so sorry your mother didn't have the ability to teach your manners..." or have it printed on some tear aways sheets and stick it under windshield wipers... maybe add a curse like, the fleas of a thousand camels find a home in your armpits... you know, something friendly... btw, Heinlein is my all time favorite author...
Twitter: SolarChief
LOL when I saw the titel for your post on my reader my first thought was UH OH. You know, since I started riding the bus and having to walk a few blocks I have noticed this same thing.I don't think it is saved for the retired whom think they are entitled, but rather a few non-partisan a-holes in the bunch!
Manners are one thing that really gets my goat. I work on a telephone helpdesk and it is amazing how aggressive people can be and how their overinflated sense of importance comes across in their tone of voice. It is rife in the UK now, across all sections of society - and we truly are one of the last bastions of the old class system - you can still inherit the right to sit in our upper house and pass laws (grits teeth.
I probably go to far the other way though and am a total pushover and too polite.
I am enjoying reading about your renovations, hope it all goes fairly smoothly from now on!
Chile, you've hit such a nerve I can barely respond!!! As a visually impaired person, I walk or use transit. Drivers will not even pause for a person using a white cane. It's insane. I gave my fold-up white cane back to the CNIB because it did no good whatsoever to alert drivers, and the only thing I used it for was to smack the bumpers of cars as they nearly ran over me. And believe me, I'm a cautious pedestrian! Aargh! ...ok, going for that second cup of coffee now and will remind myself I don't actually have to go anywhere today lol! And yes, I do believe it's a class thing - drivers are 1st class, the rest of us... not so much.
-Elli :-)
Wendy - they're getting worse. My theory is that as the economy gets worse and other bad news (oil spill) continues to dominate the news, people get more and more out of sorts, especially since they feel a loss of control over stuff happening. In a car, one is seemingly totally in control of one's world; hence, they take it out on everyone around them!
Sharlene - wouldn't do any good to say or write anything to these folks. I don't register on their radar as anything other than an annoyance - like a flea. ;-)
Yeah, I like Heinlein, too. Just recently reread some of the Lazarus Long stuff.
Rob - not to get into a partisan discussion but many of the communities up in this area are rather conservative. Then there are the areas with the less wealthy people that just want to be left alone to do whatever they want. Guess where I live?
Aurora - oh wow, I could not work at a help desk phone. Too many bad attitudes would have been being less-than-polite before lunch!
There's a fine line between being courteous and being a push-over, though. Gotta make sure you're not letting others walk all over you! (This is not work advice, but life advice....from someone who took a long time to get over her fear of authority.)
Ellie - your comment really dismayed me. I just hate that people are such jerks! What are they thinking?!
You know, I sometimes want to chase someone down and ask what they were thinking. The main reason I don't is that I think I'd end up getting hurt. ;-O
It has nothing to do with class or age. We've become VERY egocentric as a culture. I've been nearly hit more than once with a shopping cart of groceries and two little kids by someone racing to get their spot or getting to church (truly ironic there). Wish I had an answer!
Grocery store parking lots are the most dangerous places, I think!
In defense of older people, they have all the resourcs they're going to have in their life and they can be terribly afraid that they'll outlive it or something will happen to it. I saw this in my parent's at different stages. I think this fear makes them act that way sometimes.
We have become a very individual egocentric culture but these days people are very fearful and that can come out as agression or a haughtiness/arrogance.
the above can be applied to drivers as well!
I drove way out of my way to park far away from the double cab trucks and SUVs the other day. Once I get parked between them, there is no way out!
peace to all, shamba
JMHO of course,
Robbie - yeah, explain the church thing to me. I just don't get that!
Shamba - I hate trying to negotiate parking lots on my bike, too. And I hate, hate, hate seeing parents let their little kids run off in front of them in a parking lot. I know of one person that actually ran over, and killed, a child in such a circumstance, and I know there have been times when I could barely see a child behind me when I started backing up.
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