Attack of the Wal-Mart People

[storytimewithjoe]

After much thought and soul-searching, I have come to a conclusion – I really HAVE developed a prejudice.  Not against any particular religion, culture, or race.  But against ignorant asses who betray through their deeds or actions their inability to think about anybody but themselves.  Take, for instance, the fuktard who walks down the street gorging on a Big Mac and a soda, only to finish his cheap lunch and then throw his empty napkins, soda cup, and lunchback into the bushes next to him because he just can’t or won’t be bothered to hang on to them until he finds a trashcan. 

 

BULLET to the brain!!!!

 

Then there are the people who believe that open space is not public space, but their space and their space alone.  These are the types that I refer to as the Wal-Mart people.  Ya know when you walk into a Wal-Mart or a Target or a Kmart, or any other U.S. chain store known for cheap prices, and you see people walking right down the center of a big aisle, zig-zagging back and forth without regard to anyone who may be trying to get by them, around them, or away from them?  There is the mother with six kids who run around like thieving little bandits, ripping open packages because they have pretty things in them.  They take things off the shelves, play with them, and then leave them on the floor, as if it is all their personal property.  Somebody ELSE will have to clean up, right?  The mother, clearly taking a carefree walk through the store, ignores the fact that her children act like terrorists.  She just cares about her purchases or that her children are distracted by something other than her efforts.  GAK!

 

STOMP to the foot!!!!

 

At the Villa this weekend, I saw more than a few examples of the Wal-Mart people in action.  Wandering into one room, I would patiently wait behind the throng of people standing in front of a kiosk.  Just like everyone else, I would LOVE to have the museum all to myself so that I can see what I want, when I want, and read the information before me.  But alas, I have to wait my turn just like everyone else.  Each room tends to have a flow.  Groups of people tend to migrate in a pattern from one object to the other.  You can see the flow when you walk in, like the human-snake in a Chinese New Year parade.  Waiting until people move along one by one, I would find myself getting closer and closer to a kiosk to read the information… only to have a Wal-Mart person charge in from the other side of the room and barge in front of me while I am reading – sometimes even with a slight bodycheck.  FUKTARD!!!!  More than a few times, I would utter a polite, but sternly exasperated, “ExCUSE me?!!” to the selfish goober who shows little to no regard.  Sometimes it would result in the fuktard actually moving on to his or her next offense.  Other times, I refused to budge, and on one occasion pushed the intruder back out of the way until I was done.  I don’t care what the excuse – there is NO acceptable reason for someone to try to body-check himself into an exhibit. 

 

THUMB to the eye!

 

Wandering into another exhibit, the stillness of the room was broken only by the shrill yelling of a toddler who wanted out of her stroller.  Actually, she was technically not IN her stroller, as she was standing up in it, to the defiance of her aunt or grandmother who stopped pushing her while she admired one of the items in another kiosk.  Tired of being ignored, the toddler leaned against the kiosk and began shaking it while shrieking, annoying the relative, but not enough for her to do anything.  As I stood there in shock at the fact that the idiotic family would bring a toddler to a world-class museum that she could not yet understand, much less that they had no interest in disciplining her, I shot my long-distance-jagged-shards-of-flying-glass look at the 70 year old guard who was also watching what was happening, until he finally decided to step forward and say something to the relative of the little girl who was shaking the kiosk.  (Um… guard guy – why ARE you here if it is not to protect the antiquities?)  And to add insult to injury, the relative looked annoyed that she had to actually take action on her relative.  FUKTARD! 

 

SWAT to the back of the head!!!

 

My patience for inconsiderate people finally reached its pinnacle as we readied to leave.  As we descended along a beautiful flight of marble stairs, a lovely woman stood under an archway before the central garden.  Her husband or um-friend stood in the middle of the stairs in front of us, blocking our way, to get the picture.  “No problem,” I thought.  “I can wait a moment for them to have a quick photo op.”  But it wasn’t a moment.  He had to keep fiddling with the camera… and fiddling… and fiddling… as if he was the only person in the world.  Soon, a bottleneck appeared on the stairs, as we were all backed up an entire flight while fuktard-photographer-wannabe tried to snap a picture.  Did the woman who was staring right at us say a word?  Nope.  “Oh, I’ve had e-NUFF of this!” I said loud enough for the goober to hear, as I by-passed him, freeing up the bottleneck.  Sorry if his photo op got ruined – NOT!

 

I am not, by nature, a social person.  I’d be fine in a log cabin in the woods away from people.  But the fact is, I live in an overly populated area and the reality is, we all have to share and we all have to get along. If I have to do it, so does everybody else.  A little courtesy and consideration goes a long way.  Opening the door, or holding it for others shows respect for other people and their space.  Moving along quickly shows respect for other people’s time and interests. 

 

To the Wal-Mart people out there – show some respect for other people, learn some manners, or staythefuck home!

Comments

[florentinescot.livejournal.com]

After much thought and soul-searching, I have come to a conclusion – I really HAVE developed a prejudice. Not against any particular religion, culture, or race. But against ignorant asses who betray through their deeds or actions their inability to think about anybody but themselves. Take, for instance, the fuktard who walks down the street gorging on a Big Mac and a soda, only to finish his cheap lunch and then throw his empty napkins, soda cup, and lunchback into the bushes next to him because he just can’t or won’t be bothered to hang on to them until he finds a trashcan.

I wish I could find the entry -- apparently, I tagged it with something that was very obvious at the time ...

See there was this fellow that dumped his trash (IIRC including a MickeyD's bag) in a public parking lot. We'll call him Trashy. Mr. Clean Guy decided to do him a real favor and put it in the garbage can for him. Except that in the process of said good deed, he happened to notice more than one envelope with Trashy's Name and Address on it.

So CleanGuy, took the trash home, packaged it all up very nicely and included a note that said "I believe that you left this in the 42nnd street parking lot. Thought you might want it back." And dropped it in the mail .....

[joeguppy.livejournal.com]

SWEET!!!

[florentinescot.livejournal.com]

nods. And don't you know, you'd like to have been a fly on the wall when he got that box?

[the-celestia.livejournal.com]

I used to think this way.

Then I started working in Rancho Santa Fe.

The WalMart people don't bother me anymore, because really really rich people are FAR worse than what you describe above. FAR worse.

And their children are even brattier.

Welcome to my world

[bookbaroness.livejournal.com]

Honey. I work in a bookstore. Routinely my job is to clean up after people. The kids section is routinely looks like a bomb hit it because children make a mess and their parents do nothing. But it is not just toddlers. Teenagers stay in the manga section read the books, steal the books and those they don't steal they leave haphazardly around. Also people lay down in the aisles without thinking that other people might want to look in at the books.

On the other hand some people are lovely just not enough of them. (well there are days.

[chindora.livejournal.com]

"I shot my long-distance-jagged-shards-of-flying-glass look"

I am still laughing over that one. I think I need to perfect this look myself.

:)