The Soapbox Archives:
These days, it's all "me-me-me!".
I had to drop off some stuff for my parents this morning. They live across from an elementary school. Since it's cold, the school kids' parents will drive up the single lane street and stop to drop off their kid. Some people will pull off in front of other people's houses and block the drive. This morning I had to knock on the window of some woman who was blocking my parents' driveway with her van; she got bent of out shape and yelled at *me*. I got confused because she was blocking the driveway and *she* was mad at *me*.
I wonder why she felt entitled to infringe on other people. Maybe I'm the one who's different. While I might consider stopping in a no parking zone to wait for someone for a few seconds, I would never consider blocking someone's driveway, even if no one was home. That's just wrong and rude; ask any homeowner how they'd feel about it. The right thing to do would be to park somewhere else and walk to the school. Of course, I'm the one who walked two miles to school in a blinding snow storm in the third grade so it wouldn't bother me (yeah, that really happened. Saugeen Valley Public School in Durham, Ontario, 1970). It's Christmas; why can't people just take a break from being selfish and just be nice to other people?
I'm wondering if I've been spoiled. I grew up in Canada and everyone knows their reputation for being nice. However, no one's born being an asshole. Everyone has a choice: They can be nice or they can be mean. No amount of sophistry can cover up or justify a mean streak.
Now, if I can just get my relatives to pay me back the money they owe me instead of taking vacations in Florida or Iceland....