Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Outrage, for recreational purposes

She's going to pay for this
If you think the general level of stress and anger is more highly elevated than it used to be, you're 100% right.
I have no scientific evidence to back that up, nor any idea how you would even compile that data, but it sure feels that way. So yeah.
We're less patient and there are more things that annoy us and that's a dangerous equation. Road rage is just something we live with now. Along with "to avoid an accident, please use your signal to indicate your intention to turn", we now have "to avoid being shot in the face, please don't flip off the guy who almost sideswiped you because he was texting" as a standard safety tip. People are acting up on airplanes. Fast food workers are too busy capturing murderers to do their job of getting our orders wrong. Starbucks is forcing us under threat of legal prosecution to buy Technicolor-flavored glop. Everybody wants all of our money. These things are the unavoidable nonsense we face in the course of normal daily life.
Which makes it harder to understand the mindsets of people who go out of their way to immerse themselves in it.

For instance, my friend Walt was at the store the other day and his car was damaged in the parking lot. Here's his account of that from Facebook:


Sucks, right? Sure it does. Here's a comment on it from somebody else (I've edited the name, and I'm immature):


First of all, Publix baggers DO offer to take your groceries out for you. I don't know which one this guy shops at, but I hit four different ones on a fairly regular basis and they make that offer every single time.
Secondly, that's his "biggest pet peeve ever"? Ever? In all of his life, nothing bothers him more than inattentive grocery baggers? Sorry, pal. But based on my experience with Publix, your "biggest pet peeve ever" is rooted in falsehood, but congrats on somehow avoiding actual, serious things to worry about.
Third, where does somebody get off criticizing someone else for being lazy because they aren't there to carry their groceries?


Okay, now this is simply absurd. There's no way this guy bags his own groceries "most of the time". Once in a while, maybe when the baggers are outside retrieving shopping carts, I can see that possibly happening. But the situation as stated here, is outright bullshit.

Meanwhile, Walt himself chimed in again:

Seems like Walt, as the actual victim of the accident, is okay with how it all shook out. Again, it sucks, but it's being dealt with and there's noting to be gained from freaking out over it. Walt is resigned to accepting it as something unfortunate that happened without malicious intent on someone else's part.
However, Jack, who has no stake in the matter, has a problem with that:


Well, there you go. Based on what the person drives, Jack has decided (among other things, apparently) that she's a menace.
Anybody else think Jack is waaaaay too heavily invested in this? He's either already wired so tight that everything sets him off and he's one middle finger from shooting someone in the face during rush hour OR he's not sufficiently outraged enough by all the aggravating nonsense that we already have to deal with, so he has to seek out more of it just for something to do.

Jack's out there and that frightens me a little bit.

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