Today I'm channeling Andy Rooney. Imagine his nasally voice whining, "Don't you hate it when...." So, in the spirit of that icon of American journalism, I offer thirteen things that really get my goat.
- People who think they can ignore rules just because they're in a hurry. I see this as a crossing guard all the time. People pull illegal U-turns, park in the middle of the street, urge their 8-year-old to run across the busy street because they don't want to wait for them to walk the twenty yards to the crosswalk. Dumb. And selfish.
- Selfish people. This is a superset of the ignore-the-rules people. Pretty much anyone who thinks they're so special that they don't have to consider other people's feelings, needs, or desires.
- Algae. As a homeowner with a pool, algae is the bane of my existence.
- Ridiculously large SUVs. Now, I admit there are people who really do need a Tahoe or an Exhibition. People with like nineteen kids. But I know plenty of families that have just two kids who "need" the bigger truck.
- Owners of ridiculously large SUVs who complain about gas prices. Well... duh.
- W. And, by extension, Cheney and Rove. Back in the early days, I saw a photo of a protest sign that said "pursue a no-CARB diet (no Cheney, no Ashcroft, no Rumsfeld, no Bush... and absolutely no Rice!)" I thought it was pretty funny.
- Crowds. While I love people-watching, I hate crowds. It's a fine line.
- Busy work, and, by association, self-serving tasks. Have you ever worked on a project where you had documentation requirements which basically existed to meet the requirement of documentation? I was hired to work, people, and I'm spending all my time documenting what I should be working on.
- Reclining airline seats. When I fly, I write with my laptop open the entire flight. Halfway through, the person in front of me dumps their seat back, making it a contortionist's challenge for me to type and see the screen at the same time.
- Our disposable society. I am appalled at all the disposable packaging in use in the United States. Anyone with a child who gets Christmas or birthday presents knows what I'm talking about. It makes me sick to my stomach to see all the plastic and cardboard and such that exists just to package a piece of junk that breaks and gets thrown out within weeks anyway.
- Extending #10: rampant consumerism. Sure, we own a lot of nice things. We have more than one computer in our house, my kids have Gameboys, we have a nice house (with a pool, as I mentioned). But our entire culture is so driven by "buy, buy, buy" that the most ridiculous products can succeed here.
- The price of entertainment. Now, when you think about it, $8 for a movie ticket really isn't outrageous considering all the creativity and work and production and shipping and theater maintenance and all that goes into showing it. But $60 for a single ticket to a single basketball game? $200 to take a family of four to a baseball game, and not even get very good seats? All this so the average MLB player's salary can be over $2.5 million a year? Most of them aren't even that good, and quite a few of them go on the disabled list for things like ingrown toenails and deep thigh bruises. This just really chaffs my hide.
- Religious zealotry. I don't mind people who have strong faith and spirituality. It creeps me out a little when people do all the "it's God's will" stuff, but hey, that's what they believe and how they live. It's when they push it on the rest of us that I get ticked off. Mostly in politics (see "sanctity of marriage" from righteous homophobes who have been divorced or had affairs; see "sanctity of life" from Christians who gleefully supported bombing Baghdad; see "family values" from people who've been caught with their pants down at the brothel).
What bugs you (besides me, I mean)? Leave a comment and vent.
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7 comments:
Great list! #13 is right up there at the top of my list of pet peeves as well. I just have to laugh at the SUV culture and the whining about gas prices. Happy TT!
I found this site yesterday, and I like the premise. But you probably already know all about it...
oh, and warning - some might be offended by the pictures posted on the site. You've been warned.
SUVs drivers are more likely to be involved in accidents but less likely to be injured in a road accident than other drivers. Maybe they should be treated as a separate class of vehicles requiring an additional licence and passing an extra test.
I know someone who has an SUV bigger than my house (almost) and she does nothing, but complain about gas prices. She lives in a condo, by herself and is within walking distance of her work. She does not camp, go off-roading or need to drive the behemoth for any reason, other than she said it makes her feel like Xena. Xena's great! But, she walks everywhere :)
As well as people who put their seat backs down on planes, are people, usually children, who sit behind you and kick your seat repeatedly.
People who have religious beliefs are always keen to share them with you, but are never keen to listen to yours. The God's Will gang are always sure that Jesus wants us to put criminals in the gas chamber even though Thou shalt not kill. And you're quite right -- good Christians think it's perfectly ok to kill Ay-rabs.
I agree with you on pretty much all of these.
But you reminded me of a couple of peeves...
1. When people who do not own SUVs judge me because I do. I live in snow country and commute through backroads and I need an all-wheel- or 4-wheel-drive at least 5 months per year. That's because I drive through several inches of unplowed snow on a regular basis in winter. (And I am not referring to you PJD or anyone who is just bugged by those who don't actually need an SUV but want to be Xena, etc.)
2. Self-righteous prigs, who are frequently the religious proselytizers (but are not always.) These people tell me how I should live with little to know acquaintance or knowledge of my life or my reasons for my choices. Forinstance, being told that I'm not complete because I choose to be single or not to have kids. I wish they'd get a life and not try to co-opt mine.
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