Sunday, June 17, 2007

Two Memes Before I Go, part one

The 10 things I hate in other people

Not in order.

1) When they blame everyone but themselves for their problems. I'm sorry, but the solution to your obesity problem is not to ban MacDonalds, or even their advertising. The solution is for you to accept you have a problem, and take action. The issue is somewhat less clear when we're talking about children, and I think I do agree with a pre-watershed advertising ban here. However, even here, the issue largely lies with the parents... if they want the child to not become obese then perhaps they should not take them to MacDonalds so often?

2) When they drive badly. If you want to drive more slowly than the speed limit, then that's your prerogative. What is not acceptable is if you do so in the fast lane of a two-lane motorway, so I can't get past you legally. Pull into the slow lane, and I'll be on my way! Likewise, when making a left turn (right, outside the UK) it is not necessary to bring your vehicle to a near=-complete stop; it will swing around that arc just fine at a reasonable speed.

3) When they're bad at their jobs. Now, anyone can have a bad day, and I won't fault them for that. However, all too often it seems like everyone is having a bad day all the time. Come on, people! These are the things you do, and unless you're truly stupid you must be able to pick up the job if you're doing it all the time. So, if you haven't, and you aren't wearing a 'trainee' badge, I can only assume you haven't learned because you couldn't be bothered, and I hate the feeling that I'm drowning in a sea of slack-assed mediocrity.

4) When they say they'll do something, and then don't. If you can't help me out, then I'll accept that. It's not a problem. But if you tell me you're going to do X then chances are I'm going to assume you're going to do X. I may be relying on X being done. So, if you have no intention of doing X, or can't do X just tell me. Gah!

5) Passive-aggression. I do lots of things that are questionable, or that I know people won't like. Generally, I do these with very good reason, often reason that I have spelled out. Still, if you don't like what I'm doing, feel free to tell me. I won't be offended, and may even change what I'm doing to suit you better. Don't just accept it and then sabotage me behind my back, and don't play stupid political games to get rid of me. It's just not necessary.

6) The "wear once/take it back" thing. It's just dishonest.

7) Bad queue etiquette. If everyone is queueing, then you get to join the queue at the end. You might think your case is special and important... but so does everyone else there. Unless it's literally a matter of life and death, go to the end and wait. By the same token, when you get to the front of the queue, be ready with your order, your purchases, your money, and whatever else you need. Take the minimum amount of time to properly deal with whatever it is, so everyone else can get on with their days. Don't get to the front and then ask Little Joey what he wants for his lunch.

8) Telling me to cheer up. Like another blogger of note, if I'm not grinning like a madman then I probably look absolutely miserable. It's just the way the muscles in my face relax. So, don't bother telling me to cheer up. Conversely, if I actually am miserable, then you telling me to cheer up is about as welcome as a punch in the face. If you want me to demonstrate, just ask.

9) Small talk for the sake of filling silence. Yes, the weather sucks. Yes, I'm fine. And I know fine well that if I ask you, you'll say you're fine too. That's just the way it works - no-one actually wants to know the answer to that. No, I didn't see Big Brother/the match/that soap. Yes, kids today are terrible.

If you don't have something of substance to say, consider just saying nothing. If I have something to say, I'll say it... but the truth is I probably won't. I'm introverted by nature (really), and have to struggle really hard with people. So, if I'm not saying anything then I'm probably happy like that.

10) The way modern girls behave. Some time a few years ago (probably when Christina and Britney were battling it out to see how could be the bigger skank, a battle Britney won... and really really lost), something changed. Or perhaps it didn't, and I just noticed the way things had been for a while. But, suddenly we've reached a point where the average age at which a girl loses her virginity is 14 years and 10 months, and on average she will have had seven partners by the time she's 21. And it seems to have become the case that in order to sleep with a guy, a girl doesn't even have to like him at all, just fancy him a bit.

Now, I'm not going to tell you how you should act. That's a matter for you and your conscience. And, certainly, I can see that a person might rack up a number of partners in quick succession for a variety of reasons, without it necessarily reflecting on her character. But when those are the averages, I consider that something is badly wrong.

(Now, you may well ask why I've targetted this at girls. After all, boys are as bad if not worse, and have been for many years. Well, the reason for this is purely selfish. I'm not particularly interested in the behaviour of boys because I'm not looking for the boy of my dreams. Conversely, I'm really worried that the girl of my dreams may well have destroyed herself with copious amounts of drink, sex, and other self-destructive 'fun' before she even reaches an age where I would be interested in her.)

So, there it is, the ten things I hate in other people.

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