What are your top pet peeves?

[jff]

I understood your statement to mean that shouting out passive-aggressive declarations would be more effective in the case of a packed escalator than a simple excuse me.

 

In the case of a jam-packed escalator, does the pet peeve of not standing to the right even apply? Likely you're in a crowded venue, not an empty building with a bunch of asshats packed like sardines on an escalator. It's not like you'd be able to move any swifter through the crowd of people once you got off the escalator.

 

The crowded escalator experiences I refer to take place in transit stations and airports. Typically there is a wide open and not particularly crowded area at the end of the escalator. Often there is a crowd waiting to get on the escalator, which is probably why people stand on both sides once they get their chance to step onto it. But it's still highly inconsiderate, considering people are trying to make time-sensitive travel connections.

[jff]

People ride escalators side-by-side? I'm saving that one for a future pet peeve.

 

 

Yes. It might be an Atlanta thing. "Southern Hospitality," in practical reality, has become nothing more than a free pass to be selfish and walk all over people, because nobody would DARE say anything.

 

I rarely see escalator infractions when I travel to other cities, and I NEVER see them in DC or anywhere outside the USA.

[Guest Speed Racer]

But it's still highly inconsiderate, considering people are trying to make time-sensitive travel connections.

 

Oooh, another pet peeve: people sprinting to catch a train/bus that God himself could not catch. Especially in DC or Chicago, people scrambling down/up into the stations are laughably rude, trying to catch a train two city blocks away that's had its doors open for 10 seconds already. That's the one case where I will blame someone for trying.

 

I NEVER take the moving walkways in airports if I'm actually trying to make a connection. People either stand or SPRINT, and I'm never of the opinion that I can sprint on one of those without decking someone with a bag.

[cryptique]

I rarely see escalator infractions when I travel to other cities, and I NEVER see them in DC or anywhere outside the USA.

In my experience, the only people who clog up the escalators in the London Underground are clueless American tourists.

[The High Heat]

"Southern Hospitality," in practical reality, has become nothing more than a free pass to be selfish and walk all over people, because nobody would DARE say anything.

Has become?

Southern hospitality has always been a lie. It was born unto slavery so all involved could avoid facing the 800 pound evil elephant in the room.

[embiggen]

that whistling noise that some people make when they breathe through their nose. terrible.

[jff]

Has become?

Southern hospitality has always been a lie. It was born unto slavery so all involved could avoid facing the 800 pound evil elephant in the room.

 

True. Poor choice of words on my part.

 

I'm not a natural born southerner (I was born near Boston), so the southern hospitality thing has always felt counter-productive and a little creepy to me.

[bjorn_skurj]

I always just stand in the same place and let the escalator do the work. Stop and smell the roses, people.

[jff]

I always just stand in the same place and let the escalator do the work. Stop and smell the roses, people.

 

I'm usually in a hurry to get off the escalator because that gives me more time to stop and smell actual roses rather than the B.O. of the obese person in front of me on the escalator.

[cryptique]

the B.O. of the obese person in front of me

This was unnecessary. So, what, skinny people don't have B.O.?

[Guest Speed Racer]

This was unnecessary. So, what, skinny people don't have B.O.?

 

Yep. I'm far from obese and, without necessary precautions, manufacture stank on par with NFL MVPs.

 

And so we have another pet-peeve: double-standards for obese/overweight people. My old roommate was really, really prejudiced about even moderately overweight people, actually talking slower and louder in some cases.

[bjorn_skurj]

Oh, and Seinfeld can blow me. That show sucked. I hated all those people, both their characters and in real life, and I hate Larry David too. I mean, no wonder people think New York is full of assholes.

[lamradio]

no wonder people think New York is full of assholes.

 

 

Because it is.

 

Just kidding... Just retaliation for the southern hospitality comments....

 

I know I'm generalizing, but I have lived in both the northernest of northern cities, and the southernest of southern. In my experience, if you walk down the streets of.. lets say Boston and say hello to someone, they will give you a look like "what the fuck are you looking at?"... In a southern city, they will kindly say hello back. I made the mistake of asking for directions one time in Jersey, and the guy told me to fuck off...

 

I know I'm just generalizing, but southern hospitality does exist. At least for me it does.

[jff]

This was unnecessary. So, what, skinny people don't have B.O.?

 

I don't know. I've never been stuck behind a skinny person on an escalator.

[Guest Speed Racer]

If you have ever been on a completely full escalator, odds are that you have been stuck behind a skinny person.

[embiggen]

Oh, and Seinfeld can blow me. That show sucked. I hated all those people, both their characters and in real life, and I hate Larry David too. I mean, no wonder people think New York is full of assholes.

 

 

I hate to say this but...New York is full of assholes...not everyone, but there are lots of them running rampant.

[jff]

If you have ever been on a completely full escalator, odds are that you have been stuck behind a skinny person.

 

Perhaps the BO from all the obese people (which is almost everyone around here) was masking the BO from all the skinny people.

[Central Scrutinizer]

I know I'm generalizing, but I have lived in both the northernest of northern cities, and the southernest of southern. In my experience, if you walk down the streets of.. lets say Boston and say hello to someone, they will give you a look like "what the fuck are you looking at?"... In a southern city, they will kindly say hello back. I made the mistake of asking for directions one time in Jersey, and the guy told me to fuck off...

 

I know I'm just generalizing, but southern hospitality does exist. At least for me it does.

My experience in the south has not been the same. To me the difference is that guy in Jersey will tell you to intercourse off, "southern hospitality" would be to completely ignore you and to describe to someone nearby how such a person should intercourse off.

 

I think Faulkner and Flannery O'Conner had it right. Southerners are twisted in taking pride in the lie, in perceived class functions, and downright dishonesty and disrespect. I have lived North and South as well, and I'd rather people be upfront for better or worse.

[Guest Speed Racer]

Yesterday, some woman went apeshit because she thought I was stealing the parking space she was saving. First, I was signalling into the turn-lane, not parking; second, she was waiting for the spot from behind, even though she was parallel parking; third, she nearly struck my car in an attempt to block me from taking the spot I wasn't trying to take; fourth and finally, while she was parking (by pulling forward into a space that required parallel parking, but nevermind that), she rolled down the window and proceeded to tell me to intercourse off, in front of her small child, who was unbuckled in the front seat. Yes, I sure do prefer Minnesota nice!

[Moss]

Man, people sure get touchy about parking spaces. I have seen people come to blows more than once over that.

 

I hate when I have a mutant hair on the end of my nose that I can see out of the corner of my eye.

[sonicshoulder]

Southern hospitality is not a myth. I live as close to Ohio(the North) as you can live and still be in Kentucky(the South). Some stereotypes exist for a reason. I could drive 10 miles north, ask for directions and be told to fuck off. 10 miles south and they'll jump in their truck and say "follow me". I was in NYC once, it's a toilet. A really neat, impressively huge and busy toilet but a toilet none the less when it comes to common courtesy. Boston seemed no better. Chicago seems to have enough midwestern influence to out weigh the assholes. I guess I'm going to get blasted by any New Yorkers but save it, odds are your not the bad part of the apple.

[Guest Speed Racer]

There are many rude people everywhere. There are also many nice people. That is not a myth.

[Sir Stewart]

Which comes first, being an asshole or living in Boston?

[Lammycat]

What kind of n asshole asks a question like that?

 

One of my pet peeves is geting stabbed. This has only happened when I lived in the south, though.

[The High Heat]

Because it is.

 

Just kidding... Just retaliation for the southern hospitality comments....

 

I know I'm generalizing, but I have lived in both the northernest of northern cities, and the southernest of southern. In my experience, if you walk down the streets of.. lets say Boston and say hello to someone, they will give you a look like "what the fuck are you looking at?"... In a southern city, they will kindly say hello back. I made the mistake of asking for directions one time in Jersey, and the guy told me to fuck off...

 

I know I'm just generalizing, but southern hospitality does exist. At least for me it does.

I was born near Philly, have lived in the midwest, but I've spent most of my life in rural eastern NC. While it's refreshing to have people being helpful and nice to stranagers and neighbors, there is a flip-side to the niceness on display. There is a constant underbelly of judgement, backstabbing and dogpiling of people. It is the accepted norm for people, who sometimes don't even like each other, to carry on pleasant conversation, invite each other over to visit, etc, and not mean one word of it. Then they walk away, immediately degrading the person they just invited to dinner. The bitch of it is that they each know that they're pretending to like each other and they also both know that the dogpiling will begin on both sides immediately. It's accepted. And ridiculous. Then there's the classes and the ever-present racism. There is a certain niceness on the surface, but the South still is psychologically crippled by the patriarchial social system. It is a complete dysfunction that was born to bury the obvious total oppression that slavery brought about. Nobody wanted to admit that it was evil, so a social system of pretend-or-else went into effect. If the South can drop the self-oppression and still be kind to one another - and mean it - that I'm all for it. Right now there's still too much false pride in being vindictive while wearing a smile.