# Public behavior that just \*pisses you off\* (not ranty enough for The Pit) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 22, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052 "2010-10-22T23:34:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/201 "2010-10-27T22:41:18Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Not one but _two_ people decided to bring their purse dogs. The poor creatures were trapped in a confined space crowded with noisy strangers, with no food for them, no water, no fresh air, and nowhere to take a dump. Some people just don’t think. Oh, they had someplace to whizz and dump. Ewww. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/202 "2010-10-27T22:43:42Z")
> [@LilyoftheField](#): > > i can’t say anything because, these family functions are few and far between for me so i have to keep my priorities in order. pissing off my relatives is not a good idea… > > but it still pissed me off… Are you kidding? Pissing off relatives is the main objective of family functions! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/203 "2010-10-28T02:47:14Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > I really think I’d have said something anyway. The way you do this and keep the peace is by taking all of the blame onto yourself. Screw that. “If it’s at the table and it ain’t human, it’s gonna get et. Govern yourself accordingly.” ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/204 "2010-10-28T02:54:27Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I am by no means expecting a toddler (or even a child for that matter) to be a perfect gentle(wo)men at all times, and I understand this point; but there is a happy median between having a superchild who is calm collected at all times (doesn’t exist) or a flying banshee of a kid who get’s everywhere (the one in the earlier story). Yes, there is a happy medium. For the most part, my daughter was a pretty good kid. But having her in a harness, and either I held the other end of the leash, or she was securely fastened in the grocery cart, helped prevent her occasional flying banshee moments. Because EVERY toddler is going to have a moment when s/he’s obsessed with The Shiny, and Must Have It. It also helps to get the kid used to the idea that s/he must stay close to the parent at all times, and not wander off. And it helps the parent to know just what is likely to attract his/her pwecious widdle angel. I had a well-mannered toddler. Partly this is because I was lucky enough to have a good-natured child, but partly it was because I paid attention to her, and took precautions. She only had to tell me ONCE that she needed to use the bathroom, and I’d take her to the bathroom, I wouldn’t tell her to hold it. Little kids are doing well if they can tell you they need to go now, they don’t have the control or the bladder capacity to hold it yet. I expected her to act like a kid, not a miniature adult. Both of us were less frustrated that way. Oh, by the way…I had just injected my insulin, and put my needles in my purse in that scenario. I’m pretty sure that’s what the kid was going after. I don’t have any infectious diseases, but those needles are quite sharp, and can inflict a painful jab or slash. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/205 "2010-10-28T03:11:56Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > Behavior one: A car in a good parking spot (when I’m alone, I don’t care how far out I have to park, but my cancer-patient sister was with me, and she tires easily) loaded all her groceries in her car, turned her engine on, and. . .sat there. Clearly, I was behind her (leaving her plenty of space), waiting for the space. Heaven only knows what she was doing in there; giving herself a manicure, making a few phone calls, whatever. Ugh. Or waiting for someone, taking some medication, etc. She’s entitled to leave when it’s convenient for her. There’s an easy way to make sure that physically impaired passengers don’t have to walk far to get to a store - pull up in front, let the passenger out, then find a parking space. Saves time, keeps blood pressure down and eliminates the problem of vulturing over a parking space which the occupant may be _dreadfully_ slow to vacate. 🙂 > [@Lynn Bodoni](#): > > For the most part, my daughter was a pretty good kid. But having her in a harness, and either I held the other end of the leash, or she was securely fastened in the grocery cart, helped prevent her occasional flying banshee moments. A pronged collar also works wonders. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/206 "2010-10-28T08:51:48Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Or waiting for someone, taking some medication, etc. She’s entitled to leave when it’s convenient for her. > > There’s an easy way to make sure that physically impaired passengers don’t have to walk far to get to a store - pull up in front, let the passenger out, then find a parking space. Saves time, keeps blood pressure down and eliminates the problem of vulturing over a parking space which the occupant may be _dreadfully_ slow to vacate. Well, there was a reason that I parked instead of dropping my sister off at the front door (which I do often); it was a beautiful day, and sis has discovered that she feels better when she gets what little exercise she can, so she had asked if I could find a spot close to the door so we could walk up to the store. OTOH, you are absolutely correct that the woman _not_ pulling out of the spot could have had a perfectly good reason for it. As I said in the OP, I could have just been having one of those afternoons where the mere fact that people are _breathing_ piss me off, y’know? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/207 "2010-10-28T08:58:34Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > Justin\_Bailey, here is the thing: Almost everyone pulls into the space, then backs out. In fact there are some municipalities that have actually codified that this is how parking must be done. I poked around my own city and find reference to this for angle parking, though not specifically perpendicular parking. > > If you think about it, it makes sense that this is the right way. When you back into a parking space you have a greater chance of jamming up the flow of traffic than you do when you back out. Simply stated in the vast number of instances you are going to be faster pulling out because you have more room. > > So what this means is that pulling in and backing out is something that is expected in an parking lot whereas people pulling through is not. I suppose that if we were meant to pull through the line between spots would be a dotted line, not a solid one. > > I think that I know why a lot of people do this and why it bugs me so much. See, I think that people do this because when you back up you have a lot tighter turning radius and can get into a tighter spot. This is usually necessary for vehicles that (IMHO) are too large for the urban environment. So my experience with the person that backs in is that they tend to make it harder for the cars next to them and that they also tend to (as a rule) be sort of sloppy about it. > > I realize that this is one of those issues that will never, ever sink in to the people that back in and pull through. Things are exactly opposite here. You are expected to back in, driver out forwards. Because its safer and you block less traffic that way. Most hallfway competent drivers can back into a parking lot faster than they can back out anyway, because they have less traffic to worry about ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/208 "2010-10-28T09:02:23Z")
> [@LilyoftheField](#): > > now, i like my cousin and i like her daughter (first cousin once removed? second cousin? not sure how that works…) First cousin once removed. Second cousin would mean that they are the same generation (in the family-tree sense, not the year of birth sense) as you and that your nearest common ancestor is a great-grandparent (or pair thereof); third cousin, the common ancestor(s) are at the great-great-grandparent level, etc. Her own kids would be your first cousins twice removed. The “removed” indicates how many generations away from yours this person is, and the “nth cousin” indicates what is your relationship with the person’s ancestor who is in your generation. And I love your line about how the behavior would totally be Pit-worthy if it didn’t happen to be family. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/209 "2010-10-28T12:16:02Z")
> [@LilyoftheField](#): > > in fact, i’m a little appalled - who does that?!! who invites their dog into their lap when others at the table are still eating? who allows said dog to stretch his neck out and sniff at another person’s plate?!! :eek: i have a dog, not small enough to be a lap dog, but not big - and he would never be allowed to poke his nose into a person’s plate! he has manners! he can sit there and look pitiful and beseeching but he totally knows better than to poke his nose into someone’s plate! > > but, of course, my dog has been taught these manners and obviously my cousin and her daughter did not do this for their little lap dog. Total dog person here, and I’m not too squeamish about animals joining me at the table – I sometimes share a sandwich with the parrots. But I share your reaction. It’s bad for the dog’s pack discipline even if the humans don’t mind, and it’s presumptuous in the extreme to assume they don’t in fact mind. Our dogs have occasionally expressed interest in a guest’s plate when it’s at coffee-table level, but they know that’s off-limits, and grounds for a quick “LEAVE IT!” command. So they usually stand far back from the plate and sniff and roll their eyes comically toward it. But we don’t share human food with them, and we don’t feed them when we’re eating. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/210 "2010-10-28T12:38:59Z")
Gah, our dogs are not that well-trained, but even they know not to get into people’s plates. We’d never pick them up to let them get close enough in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/211 "2010-10-28T13:26:42Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Mothers who use those oversized, big-wheeled child carriers as urban assault vehicles, and expect you to get the hell out of the way because they were able to procreate. > > People who walk abreast on the sidewalk and expect YOU to get out of their way. I can’t link it, because Youtube is blocked at my workplace, but you should check out the song “Pregnant women are smug” on Youtube. It cracked me up, at least. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/212 "2010-10-28T13:45:12Z")
Lots of parking lot behavior pisses me off, speeders, leavers of abandoned carts, litterers of cigs and gum… ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/213 "2010-10-28T13:47:04Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Things are exactly opposite here. You are expected to back in, driver out forwards. Because its safer and you block less traffic that way. Most hallfway competent drivers can back into a parking lot faster than they can back out anyway, because they have less traffic to worry about Well, if I ever find myself in an area where backing in was the norm, I would do so. Otherwise I would be being a dick. The bottom line is that the “right” way to drive is to do so in a manner that is predictable to other drivers. That is the single most safe and important thing that you can do. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/214 "2010-10-28T14:03:49Z")
> [@chela](#): > > Lots of parking lot behavior pisses me off, speeders, leavers of abandoned carts, litterers of cigs and gum… Oh, boy, and don’t _even_ get me started on the asshats that empty their freakin’ car ashtrays into the parking lot! Of course, that’s not as bad as the mega-asshats who change their baby’s diaper on the back seat of the car and leave the dirty diaper in the parking lot! :eek::mad: Here’s a clue for those dickheads: I’ve never been in the parking lot of a public store where there were not public _trash receptacles_ available! ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/215 "2010-10-28T14:24:48Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > This. For me, it really boils down to "people who think they are the only people in the universe and who think they and they alone are entitled use of public space. Like a corridor in the mall or an airport concourse. Hey man, we’re all trying to get some place and we all have to use the same walk way. If you’ve got to stop and chat, consult your map, tie your shoe, scratch your ass, fine. Move. the. fuck. out. of. the. way. so that the rest of us can keep moving. > > Oh, and the stroller people. Make your kid walk more or at least try to be aware that your Land Rover of a stroller is blocking passage for anyone who would also like to use the public sidewalk. Yeah, that annoys the living crap outta me too. A week or so ago I was trying to exit the parking lot of a convenience store and some jackass was blocking my way with his car…because he was on the fucking phone! Dude, move your ass outta the way?! People can’t leave or enter the parking lot with you in the way! I’ll admit I sat there for a few moments fully expecting this jerk to realize he was in the way and move, but he was completely oblivious to anything but his conversation…until I blew the horn. And so did another car, that was trying to get INTO the lot. To be honest anyone using a cell phone while driving w/o a hands free device is a moron. I’ve had several near collisions on the road and even when I’m on foot because of this. Why do people do that? Do you REALLY need to talk to whoever that badly RIGHT.FUCKIN’. NOW that you can’t pull over or wait? …and I will have to continue on my crusade against people with super loud stereos in their cars. The way I see it, common courtesy is one thing that makes living around others bearable. If you feel the need to subject me to your fantastically loud stereo in public you obviously don’t give a rats ass about anyone else, thus you’re an asshole. Theres no reason to even blast a stereo that loud. Are the rest of us supposed to be impressed or something? Its loud we get it. I don’t care if its my favorite song, turn it the hell down. I understand cranking it up a bit when you’re driving and a song you like is playing…but i’m talking about people who crank it up to where you can literally hear it a block away. To where the bass is actually shaking the car to pieces. WTF? It can’t possibly be enjoyable inside of the car…why do people…I mean jackasses…do that? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/216 "2010-10-28T14:32:19Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > To where the bass is actually shaking the car to pieces. WTF? It can’t possibly be enjoyable inside of the car…why do people…I mean jackasses…do that? Because they’ve never heard of vibrators? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/217 "2010-10-28T15:08:49Z")
I commute into the city, so my freak-outs mostly involve pedestrians. 1. People who stand in the street five feet from the corner waiting for the signal to change, rather than standing on the goddamn corner where they won’t get hit. I love going through a green-light at 35pmh (or whatever the speed limit is) to have some random pedestrian start barreling toward my car and stop about a foot from my fender to wait for me to pass. People who do this _with their children_ elicit primal rage. 2. People who stand in the middle of the goddamn road during rush hour begging for change. I mean right in the middle of the road, walking up and down the center line, while cars whiz past. It’s only a matter of time before you’re roadkill, buddy. 3. Cyclists. It’s not your fault. You guys are good at following rules, stay in your own little lane and everything. But jesus christ you give me the willies every time I pass you. You are inches away from death, don’t you realize that? Inches!!! You all give me a fucking heart attack about 20 times a day. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@Captain\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/218 "2010-10-28T15:37:13Z")
I used to work for a chain bookstore in a strip mall. They had tables outside and sometimes I would eat my dinner out there on break. One night sitting at my table, an ambulance shows up and parks in the fire lane next to the store. There was no sirens and there was no emergency. Two or three people jump out and go in the store to shop. What pissed me off was that they left the engine of the ambulance on, so I can smell their exhust while eating my Wendy’s hamburgers. Pricks. This happened in the 1990’s before the advent of mobile phones or I would have complained. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/219 "2010-10-28T15:39:33Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > …and I will have to continue on my crusade against people with super loud stereos in their cars. The way I see it, common courtesy is one thing that makes living around others bearable. If you feel the need to subject me to your fantastically loud stereo in public you obviously don’t give a rats ass about anyone else, thus you’re an asshole. Theres no reason to even blast a stereo that loud. Are the rest of us supposed to be impressed or something? Its loud we get it. I don’t care if its my favorite song, turn it the hell down. I understand cranking it up a bit when you’re driving and a song you like is playing…but i’m talking about people who crank it up to where you can literally hear it a block away. To where the bass is actually shaking the car to pieces. WTF? It can’t possibly be enjoyable inside of the car…why do people…I mean jackasses…do that? Right. There. With. Ya. I handle this with one of two things. 1. Depending on what kind of music the blaster is blasting, I may blast something that’s the polar opposite right back. I have one country song in my iPod expressly for this purpose; it’s a good counterblast to hip hop and rap. Speed metal is also really offensive but reserved for streetcorner preachers and gospel blasters. 2. Given the opportunity, I will say, very nicely and with a smile on my face, “Cranking up the bass on a bad song doesn’t _actually_ make the music any better.” ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/220 "2010-10-28T16:20:15Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > It really, really isn’t - you expect people to hold on to a cigarette stub? Oh, and I don’t even smoke anymore, I just respect other people’s right to. Especially outside, where it harms no-one. I did, when I smoked. Always. Because it _is_ littering. I’d ash is out first, of course, didn’t wanna set myself on fire, but I’d stick the butt in my pocket til I found a trash can. Strangely enough, it’s a habit I picked up from Boy Scouts. I didn’t smoke at the time of course, but I had a scout master that did. And while smoking on a camping trip, and having no convient place to toss his butt, and having too much respect for the nature we were in, he’d stick it in his pocket and save it til he got home. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052.md?page=12)