# "Get outa my way" or Why I am more important than you: **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 11, 2010, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280 "2010-07-11T05:26:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/21 "2010-07-11T15:42:30Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Admittedly that’s a bit hyperbolic, but the point I’m making is all those little “delays” add-up to actual amounts of time, and if you’re on your lunch hour and can see the minutes ticking away it is frustrating to realise you’re going to be lucky to get something to eat, never mind getting to the post office as well to pay the phone bill. Uh huh. A bit hyperbolic indeed. FWIW, I’m pretty well never late for anything - I won’t say ‘never’ 'cus that’s just asking for trouble, but it happens with such infrequency as to be noteworthy. I will also point out it’s generally because I’m waiting for someone else. Know why? 'Cus I don’t try to do 18 things in my lunch hour and then have a shit-fit when some 94 year old granny is a bit slow checking out her groceries. Really, I don’t try to slow other people up. I try to be efficient when I’m moving through the world; however, I also recognize that there are people for whom regular, everyday tasks take a bit longer because they’re older, or slower, or dumber or whatever. And really, if you have 18 things to do during lunch then pack a sack and eat while you’re standing in line. Or bring some knitting. Or a book. Or your iPod. I will say, driving 95 in the fast lane and causing a huge backlog of cars behind you is fairly dickish. BTW - **AClockworkMelon** I thought you were unemployed - where do you need to be that your time is so valuable? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/22 "2010-07-11T15:45:55Z")
Any time some sort of queue has formed, everyone is now in the relationship of sharing a constrained resource, whether it’s ATM time, McDonald’s cashier time, or whatever. It’s rude to waste that shared resource for no better reason than you got there first and you have no need to be anywhere else. The longer the line, the greater the scarcity, the greater the rudeness. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/23 "2010-07-11T15:54:41Z")
> [@AqualungBats5th](#): > > It’s not really about who’s time is more important. If you’re knocking people over in a rush, then you’re an asshole. If you’re blocking up an entire aisle because you decided that was a good time to stop and look through your coupons, then you’re an asshole. Arguing about which person is more wrong probably means you’re out there being an asshole one way or another, and trying to justify it. > > If both the slow and the fast decided to be more considerate of others, then the whole thing wouldn’t be an issue, would it? BINGO IMO. For every chronic real dawdler out there, there is probably the unrealistically impatient asshole. The kind that honks the horn behind you in bumper to bumper traffic. Yeah, fucking right Mccarhornster, if you honk back there, somehow I will be able to magically go faster. Tough shit if you got behind me at the supermarket and I have a whole cart full of groceries. Its just going to take awhile even if I am prepared as humanly possible to complete the transaction as fast as possible. Not to say I condone the inconsiderate and unprepared dawdlers, but again, on the other end of the spectrum is another class of assholes as you say. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/24 "2010-07-11T15:58:53Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > It’s not up to you to determine how valuable my time is… Pot, meet kettle. In other words, that’s exactly the OP’s point. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/25 "2010-07-11T15:59:31Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > It’s not up to you to determine how valuable my time is. > [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > BTW - **AClockworkMelon** I thought you were unemployed - where do you need to be that your time is so valuable? Irony. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/26 "2010-07-11T16:22:27Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > **AClockworkMelon** I thought you were unemployed - where do you need to be that your time is so valuable? First of all, I was speaking in general, not just from my current situation. Second of all, even being unemployed it’s not up to you to determine how valuable my time is. > [@Digital\_Stimulus](#): > > Pot, meet kettle. In other words, that’s exactly the OP’s point. If I was responding directly to the OP I would have quoted the OP instead of **Alice**. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/27 "2010-07-11T16:23:29Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > Irony. Not sure if you think it’s ironic in the same way that I do. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/28 "2010-07-11T16:26:01Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > If I was responding directly to the OP I would have quoted the OP instead of **Alice**. Yeah, and…? What’s the substantive difference between their positions? ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/29 "2010-07-11T16:32:59Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Not sure if you think it’s ironic in the same way that I do. Actually, this time I think you’re in the right (and furthermore, said it the best). ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/30 "2010-07-11T16:33:44Z")
> [@Digital\_Stimulus](#): > > Yeah, and…? What’s the substantive difference between their positions? “I don’t have to hurry. You can’t stand to lose five minutes?! What’s going on in your life that’s so valuable?” “It’s not up to you to determine how valuable my time is.” And then you come in and say that we’re arguing the same thing? No. If you’re holding everyone else up, “Oh stfu, your time isn’t valuable anyway” is the response of a complete asshole. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/31 "2010-07-11T16:35:32Z")
There are two types of dawdlers: those who do so because they are mentally slow, affected by disease or drugs, or simply born with an inability to concentrate and process information at speeds common to the rest of their species. Then there are the intentional dawdlers who stall because it gives them a momentary feeling of control in their otherwise inconsequential, invisible lives—much as the infant learns to manipulate the world by withholding its feces or spitting strained squash onto its bib. In either case, they should be pitied rather than beaten into an unrecognizable mass of broken bones and tissue with a tire iron or aluminum bat. In situations where the former proves impossible, be mindful of security cameras and remember to carefully wipe down the corrective implement to remove fingerprints. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/32 "2010-07-11T16:40:24Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > BTW - **AClockworkMelon** I thought you were unemployed - where do you need to be that your time is so valuable? Really? That’s your response? Maybe he needs to be at job interviews. Maybe he needs to be at Kinkos getting copies of his resume together. Maybe he needs to be at some government office filling out his forms for unemployment benefits. And even if he doesn’t need to be anywhere, a selfish asshole holding up traffic or blocking the supermarket aisle doesn’t know that. None of us know exactly what time pressures everyone else has. All we can do is try to be as considerate as possible in the way that we move through the world, and this means not doing shit that holds everyone up. I’m not talking about unavoidable shit. If you have a big honking shopping cart full of groceries, i know it’s going to take a while. If you’re the car in front of me in bumper to bumper traffic, i know it’s not your fault that we’re moving slowly. But if you have a big honking shopping cart full of groceries, you’d better not make things any worse by fumbling for your wallet or your coupons _after_ the cashier has rung everything up. And if we’re in traffic, and you’re first at the red light, you’d better not daydream through the first 10 seconds of the green, or i will honk at your inconsiderate ass. Because while your inattention might only cost the car behind you ten seconds, in heavy traffic this sort of thing can have a cascade effect, whereby you cause two or three cars to miss a light they otherwise would have made, and so on back down the line. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/33 "2010-07-11T17:14:55Z")
> [@AqualungBats5th](#): > > It’s not really about who’s time is more important. If you’re knocking people over in a rush, then you’re an asshole. If you’re blocking up an entire aisle because you decided that was a good time to stop and look through your coupons, then you’re an asshole. Arguing about which person is more wrong probably means you’re out there being an asshole one way or another, and trying to justify it. > > If both the slow and the fast decided to be more considerate of others, then the whole thing wouldn’t be an issue, would it? Agreed. It bugs the shit out of me when people just don’t seem to realize that they’re sharing space with other people. Fast people assuming they can just zip around anyone and cut them off; slow people who create choke points when they don’t have to. Couples who think they own the sidewalk-- we have to hold hands, so you need to step in the street. We’re too important to give you room to walk around. The guy with the dog, too. You know who you are-- you tie your dog to a tree on the street side of the sidewalk, and he stretches it tight so he can see you in the store and we all have to step over the leash. Don’t hog the entire right-of-way!! ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/34 "2010-07-11T17:36:28Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > “I don’t have to hurry. You can’t stand to lose five minutes?! What’s going on in your life that’s so valuable?” > “It’s not up to you to determine how valuable my time is.” > And then you come in and say that we’re arguing the same thing? No, I said (well, implied, I suppose) that the OP and **alice\_in\_wonderland** are substantively arguing the same thing. Here, I’ll show my work: > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > …I am not “wasting your time” by “dawdling” (not that I dawdle, but nevertheless). > > Why do so many people think they have the right to move as fast as they **want** to move? > [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > …The best part is I think most of the people bitching and complaining about others being slow have no where in particular to be anyway, having perfectly normal lives that won’t be particularly impacted by having to wait an extra 7 minutes at an ATM. Again, the substantive point is that both parties are operating using their own priorities. It’s nothing more than egocentric self-importance that makes one more important than the other. > [@](#): > > If you’re holding everyone else up, “Oh stfu, your time isn’t valuable anyway” is the response of a complete asshole. No argument from me there. My point in posting is that the same sentiment applies to those with an overinflated sense of their own time’s worth relative to anyone else. Yes, whether you’ll acknowledge it or not, they’re _also_ complete assholes. I should know, I used to be one. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/35 "2010-07-11T17:42:21Z")
> [@AqualungBats5th](#): > > It’s not really about who’s time is more important. If you’re knocking people over in a rush, then you’re an asshole. If you’re blocking up an entire aisle because you decided that was a good time to stop and look through your coupons, then you’re an asshole. Agreed, but I am going to assume you realize there are people who\* aren’t\* knocking down Suzy Stupid for somehow being surprised that she’s going to be asked to pay for her groceries at some point, but have nonetheless concluded that she is retarded and/or a selfish bitch. I don’t really see the point of statements like “Such and such behavior is assholish, but do you know what else is assholish? Other types of behavior.” Yeah, so? > [@VinylTurnip](#): > > There are two types of dawdlers: those who do so because they are mentally slow, affected by disease or drugs, or simply born with an inability to concentrate and process information at speeds common to the rest of their species. Then there are the intentional dawdlers who stall because it gives them a momentary feeling of control in their otherwise inconsequential, invisible lives—much as the infant learns to manipulate the world by withholding its feces or spitting strained squash onto its bib. > > In either case, they should be pitied rather than beaten into an unrecognizable mass of broken bones and tissue with a tire iron or aluminum bat. In situations where the former proves impossible, be mindful of security cameras and remember to carefully wipe down the corrective implement to remove fingerprints. Pitied then beaten! > [@mhendo](#): > > Really? That’s your response? Allow me to translate: “I am going to take a cheap shot because I am full of shit.” ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/36 "2010-07-11T17:42:39Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > I know you; you stop at the top of escalators while people pile into you, you stand in the middle of the sidewalk in New York while throngs of people try and get by, you put your shopping cart in the middle of the aisle while you decide if you want Cocoa Puffs or Rice Crispies, you wait to look at the menu in McDonalds until you get to the head of the line (hint, it’s probably the same as last time you were there), you don’t get your checkbook out until your purchases are rung up, and you drive 55 in the left hand lane. Pretty much my reaction. There are other people in the world besides YOU. It is not your right to take as much time as you like and say to hell with other people, they can wait. You don’t have the right to drive 40 in the left lane of a 50 zone just because you feel self-righteous about doing so or because you’re too damned stupid to read the signs. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/37 "2010-07-11T17:49:43Z")
I have a great idea. Let’s gather up maybe three or four friends, and walk completely abreast on a busy sidewalk, and stop and chat as we feel like it. Sure, we’ll block everyone’s way, but they need to get over themselves if they think _we_ are being rude by doing that. It’s not illegal to create a human barrier in the middle of a crowd, so they should just take their self-importance, and shove it! ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/38 "2010-07-11T17:51:25Z")
Is this a good thread to recommend [_In Praise of Slowness_](http://www.amazon.com/Praise-Slowness-Worldwide-Movement-Challenging/dp/B000BPG2I8/ref=tmm_hrd_title_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1278870607&sr=8-2)? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/39 "2010-07-11T17:55:25Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Is this a good thread to recommend [_In Praise of Slowness_](http://www.amazon.com/Praise-Slowness-Worldwide-Movement-Challenging/dp/B000BPG2I8/ref=tmm_hrd_title_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1278870607&sr=8-2)? I was this close to putting you on My List, but from the summary, that book doesn’t seem to be encouraging taking 10 minutes at the ATM machine, or counting up 112 pennies at the grocery to pay for your beans. A slower lifestyle can do a lot of us good, but being an inconsiderate oaf should be punishable by slow, torturous murder. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280/40 "2010-07-11T18:09:10Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > …being an inconsiderate oaf should be punishable by slow, torturous murder. Who’s got time for that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/get-outa-my-way-or-why-i-am-more-important-than-you/546280.md?page=3)