Is it Arrogance or Outright Disrespect?
In day-to-day discourse, we inevitably encounter people who are rude in their behavior towards others. As a child growing up in poverty I learned that some people can be cruel.
I often thought that looking down upon other people is a character flaw unique to humans. For example, my English Mastiff, Fonzie, gets alongs well with Fuzzy the cat. For sure there is a pecking order in the animal world, which often involves some dominant, even aggressive behavior, but I seriously doubt pet animals care about the socio-economic status of their owners.
Like the store clerk who completely ignores you at the checkout counter because of your casual attire.
And, why are there so many drivers on the road who behave as if they are in a road race every single day of their working lives?
Let’s face it. In the words of President Obama, “It’s a boy eat dog” world out there. Most people sort these things out as they grow older, or they learn to tolerate the occasional rudeness just long enough to get out of the way and move on.
But sometimes ignoring a jerk doesn’t work, and neither does trying to be nice. Sometimes, in fact, you do have to stop, stare in the face of the jerk and ask, “Why can’t you just do what’s right and try not to ruin other people’s day?”
There is almost no way to avoid encountering a jerk in the ordinary act of being you. The best you can hope for is to learn to cope.
At the local Von’s grocery store recently I noticed a long line at the checkout counter when I entered. “Oh well,” I thought, “they will open up new checkout lanes by the time I am finished with my shopping.” But that is not what happened. The line was twice as long by the time I came up to the checkout lane. Que’ Sera’ Sera’!
If a 260 pound dog can be friends with a 20 pound cat, why is that a small group of humans cannot gather without someone being an arrogant jerk and/or disrespectful?
