Inspired by poster Shizzles: Modern Day Adults-Big Babies? (healthcare, death, party)

[joejitsu]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Oh, all sorts of ways. For example, if you're in line at a store and they open another line, someone behind you will quick run up to the new register, things like that. A place where I go to the dr. finally instituted a "form one line" policy, even though they have several cashiers, b/c of all sorts of sneaky tactics. Now the next available cashier takes the next person in line.

I don't see anything wrong with that. Its a new line so its up for grabs. However, if someone runs to it its kinda rude I admit. As long as they went at a normal pace though seems fair enough.

[kevcrawford]

Originally Posted by Shizzles

I think there is far more than one answer as to the gensis of this phenominom. In my short time on this earth, I do believe it starts in the home and in the schools, where the idea that "Everyone is Right" and "Only you matter".

kevcrawford's mini-tantrum was an example of said selfishness (and I'm a conservative, BTW). Rather than take an objective look at the root cuases of government dependance and ways to remove said cancer, it's simply easier and more bite-sized to simply smear people/ideas one doesn't like.

Cute rebuttal. I just thought it was funny that the post was talking about adults being "big babies" and that it included some of the same cast of characters that want the government to take care of all of them.

I thought it was just another case of hypocrisy from a few lefties. You know, adults should take responsibility for themselves, but not when it comes to healthcare, jobs, etc. They should just take care of themselves sometimes, as long as it follows party lines.

[diva360]

Originally Posted by kevcrawford

Cute rebuttal. I just thought it was funny that the post was talking about adults being "big babies" and that it included some of the same cast of characters that want the government to take care of all of them.

I thought it was just another case of hypocrisy from a few lefties. You know, adults should take responsibility for themselves, but not when it comes to healthcare, jobs, etc. They should just take care of themselves sometimes, as long as it follows party lines.

The problem with this line of reasoning is that it ignores all the ways that government does take care of all of us in one form or another. If you drive, for example, do you use the interstate highways? Government welfare for people with cars. Do you live off the grid? If not, you depend on public utlilties that are partially subsidized. Do you eat food? Then you benefit from farm subsidies. Do you own a home? If so, you've probably benefited from a loan partially subsidized by the FHA. Have you benefited from a prescription medication? Might want to thank the FDA. I'm not even going to get into social security and medicare.

The argument against "all big government" is, it seems to me, itself hypocritical and dishonest. Who's going to maintain the U.S.'s infrastructure, for one thing? To say that a country as large, populous, and diverse as the U.S. could possibly run without some central planning is patently absurd.

The level of involvement of the federal government is something that we should argue about. I don't want the government to take care of all of us. If people are unhappy about what the government should or shouldn't take care of, then why not make proposals of your own? What do you specifically think should be done? Huge generalizations are not convincing, neither is invective or other name-calling.

And what the original posting was about was a perceived increase in the number of adults who engage in temper tantrums in public. I have witnessed this first hand. I recently saw someone break the rules meant to make all our lives easier by leaving her shopping cart behind my car so that I would have to move it to be able to leave. I pointed out her bad behavior, and she preceded to yell at me as if I had done something wrong. Her language implied that she thought she shouldn't have to pick up after herself by putting away her cart. It's that attitude of entitlement and selfishness that I believe the OP was getting at. She was behaving, in a public parking lot, like a two year old who threw her toy at someone and then expected that same person to clean it up. In a two year old, such behavior is understandable. In someone who's forty? Not so much.

[Bluefly]

I try to call people out when I see it, but so many people on this forum just can't handle any views other than their own existing in their country.

They don't just have different political ideas than the president - they HATE the president. They think he's destroying their country. Meanwhile, they have no idea that Reagan and Clinton enacted many of the same policies and made our country very strong. They just don't seem to be able to see the common humanity. They have become fundamentalists and see no way but their own. Sad.

[diva360]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

I try to call people out when I see it, but so many people on this forum just can't handle any views other than their own existing in their country.

They don't just have different political ideas than the president - they HATE the president. They think he's destroying their country. Meanwhile, they have no idea that Reagan and Clinton enacted many of the same policies and made our country very strong. They just don't seem to be able to see the common humanity. They have become fundamentalists and see no way but their own. Sad.

I pretty much agree. There have been posts lately complaining about such inane things as the bill of fare at the Obamas' recent and first state dinner. Such events are always somewhat lavish to people who aren't used to fancy food. But somehow now, these events are worthy of comment and are used as ammunition against the Obamas. This is a new thing--it seems to me that people are using insignificant things to make a variety of cases about a variety of nefarious purposes they assume that this current administration has adopted. When others ask them to offer evidence other than their own sense of being somehow offended, they then take those demands as proof of their own victimhood.

It really is weird. To some extent, it seems silly to me. But, when I try to listen empathetically, I hear that there is some real outrage behind what such posters say. I am just trying to understand how much of that outrage is sincere, how much is posturing, and how much has been supplied by demagogues. I am basically an optimist, so I try not to think about these things too much. But there is also a level of vehemence in some people's postings coupled with a refusal to think lately that worries me. It is almost as if requests for evidence are themselves viewed with suspicion. That worries me. If people automatically assume that anyone who disagrees with them is stupid, then we are in very bad shape.

There are many people here with whom I disagree, but we disagree in a very respectful way. I have repped these people, and they have done likewise. I think the speed that discourse devolves into name-calling here is reflective of the bad and selfish behavior the OP deplores. It really isn't about any of us, it is rather about all of us.

[Bluefly]

Originally Posted by diva360

I pretty much agree. There have been posts lately complaining about such inane things as the bill of fare at the Obamas' recent and first state dinner. Such events are always somewhat lavish to people who aren't used to fancy food. But somehow now, these events are worthy of comment and are used as ammunition against the Obamas. This is a new thing--it seems to me that people are using insignificant things to make a variety of cases about a variety of nefarious purposes they assume that this current administration has adopted. When others ask them to offer evidence other than their own sense of being somehow offended, they then take those demands as proof of their own victimhood.

It really is weird. To some extent, it seems silly to me. But, when I try to listen empathetically, I hear that there is some real outrage behind what such posters say. I am just trying to understand how much of that outrage is sincere, how much is posturing, and how much has been supplied by demagogues. I am basically an optimist, so I try not to think about these things too much. But there is also a level of vehemence in some people's postings coupled with a refusal to think lately that worries me. It is almost as if requests for evidence are themselves viewed with suspicion. That worries me. If people automatically assume that anyone who disagrees with them is stupid, then we are in very bad shape.

There are many people here with whom I disagree, but we disagree in a very respectful way. I have repped these people, and they have done likewise. I think the speed that discourse devolves into name-calling here is reflective of the bad and selfish behavior the OP deplores. It really isn't about any of us, it is rather about all of us.

I think there are people who simply cannot fathom Obama being in the White House and see any expenditure - even a state dinner that every president has hosted for the sake of international trade - as somehow illegitimate because they view our president as illegitimate.

Nothing will change their minds. I just feel for them. The anger and hostility that infects their hearts prevents them from seeing the world as it really is and no doubt affects their health and well-being.

[diva360]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

I think there are people who simply cannot fathom Obama being in the White House and see any expenditure - even a state dinner that every president has hosted for the sake of international trade - as somehow illegitimate because they view our president as illegitimate.

Nothing will change their minds. I just feel for them. The anger and hostility that infects their hearts prevents them from seeing the world as it really is and no doubt affects their health and well-being.

Yeah, I agree. I just wish that people who feel this way would be honest. I am sick of seeing them exercise their elaborately choreographed mental gymnastics to avoid this very basic source of their ire, and I am tired of seeing that mental choreography so often expressed as their mere dismissal of their opponents' stupidity. Why lie about it?

[Zimbochick]

Originally Posted by diva360

Yeah, I agree. I just wish that people who feel this way would be honest. I am sick of seeing them exercise their elaborately choreographed mental gymnastics to avoid this very basic source of their ire, and I am tired of seeing that mental choreography so often expressed as their mere dismissal of their opponents' stupidity. Why lie about it?

I was horrified in the last few days to read one of the more prolific posters admit that people who shared her particular opinions had been "directed" to cause havoc on message boards such as these by being inflammatory and provocative, and inflicting verbal assault. Extraordinary isn't it. Some people must be so filled with anger and hatred that they cannot intellectually function without it's influence. I do hope that those who share idealogiclal opinion with posters such as these, on all sides of the debates, but are not so inclined to add the vitriol to their posts, start stepping forward and calling them on their tactics and infantile behaviour. If enough people step forward one would hope it would stop.

I have been trying to do this myself, and have been attacked for it, but so be it. The threads having to do with life and death issues are particularly prone to extreme emotional outbursts and trivializations. I maintain my position that it is possible to have reasonable exchange of ideas on these topics without character assassinations or hysteria.

[Frank_Carbonni]

I work in customer service and the biggest douchebags are virtually all born between 1945-1979. The older customers and the youngest customers are usually much more polite or at least just angry about the situation while stressing that it is nothing personal. But f--k those pricks between 30-60, they are the biggest criers, screamers, and whiners of all. They are ungrateful and abrasive and a few times I have lost my temper back at them. F--king Generation X and hypocritical former hippies...

[Nomander]

Originally Posted by Ron.

Another example was just this morning I went to my neighborhood bakery and as usual it's always busy. When you walk in you have to grab a number, sorta like the soup line when you visit the Soup Nazi( for you Seinfeld fans)

I was standing in line and a young kid was standing in front of me, he turned to me and said "go ahead, you can go". I said thanks, as I was about to approach the counter, I noticed a young lady that was running in the store in a rush because she was double parked, I told her to go and place her order so she would not get a ticket.

Well, the lady behind me started pouting and sighing like a big baby. She started making grumbling noises and just acting like a big kid. She had to be in her 30's.

You were wrong.

You were not a generous person, you were an accomplice to poor behavior.

Double parking normally is illegal, hence her "being in a rush", so what you did was facilitate a continuance of someone doing wrong, by aiding her.

Also, you spoke for all of those involved to which you did not have the authority to do. You could have given up your position in line, that is within your authority (which would have been an act of generosity), yet you arrogantly assumed control of the entire line and chose for everyone else who were in the line by adding to it. It was not a big loss for you, as it was merely one person to wait on but others had much longer to wait and you ignored their position when they were doing what should have been done by properly waiting in line.

People are tired of being pushed around by inconsiderate people who think the world revolves around them and disregard proper social accord. The problem today is the fact that others ignore their authority and attempt to impose their opinion on others.

The numbers for a line exist to avoid these occurrences, awarding those who properly follow the rules a means to correctly obtain their task without conflict or dispute. Those who ignore lines and the numbers, usurp the purpose of them, and arrogantly assume that these do not apply to them.

The woman was wrong for double parking, you were wrong for adding to the front of the line when you had no authority to do so.

edit:

You could have turned to the rest of the line and "asked" if they minded you adding someone before you, but you did not. You gave them little say and spoke for them. You had no right.