# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/21 "2010-10-23T02:03:49Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > People standing in doorways after they walk into a store. > > People blocking aisles while they chat. > > People blocking sidewalks while they bullshit. > > People blocking. . .oh hell, you get the picture. You and me both, **Chefguy**. You and me both! In fact, a couple of weeks ago, I was in another supermarket with my sister. She was going down the aisle that has the magazines and paperback novels. Two women were standing there, blocking the aisle, and my sister waited politely for a moment, cleared her throat for a moment more, then finally said “Uh, excuse me” and one of the women looked at her and had the _nerve_ to say “We haven’t seen each other in months, and we’re catching up! Can’t you go up the _next_ aisle?” at which point, the woman the rude bitch was talking _to_ said “Well, it is good to see you again, but maybe we can meet up front at the coffee shop” and moved out of the way. Now, don’t get me wrong. I, certainly, have inadvertently blocked someone else’s path. But when it comes to my attention that I’ve done so, I move the blockage immediately, _and_ apologize. We all get distracted when we’re shopping, so if I have to say “excuse me” to someone, it doesn’t bother me too much. But _if_ I say “excuse me” and am ignored or greeted with rudeness, yeah, that pisses me off. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/22 "2010-10-23T02:05:31Z")
People riding the L who sit in the Priority Seating seats designated for elderly/disabled people who look the other way or stare inot space when someone who needs those seats gets on the train. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/23 "2010-10-23T02:21:37Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Most likely Mom was a jerk. But it’s also possible that, like Celtling, the little girl has now decided that all public bathrooms are better than the National History museum. It’s also possible that they just had lunch and that three times during lunch, including just as the food finally arrived, the child insisted that she needed to go to the bathroom, dragged Mommy in there, then began playing with the paper towels and refused to even enter the stall. > > It’s a trying time, trust me. . . Oh, I know it’s a trying time. I have a 23YO, a 19YO and a 10YO. Been there, done that. But as part of the package, I accepted the idea that public bathrooms are fascinating at a certain age, and either sucked it up and took them, or found a way to leave them at home with someone else while I went shopping! Plus, if the little girl was as young as she looked, chances are excellent she’s been potty trained less than six months. It really does take at least that long to get good control of themselves. When a child who is just a few months out of potty training says they need to go, it’s better to take them! ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/24 "2010-10-23T02:26:34Z")
> [@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. Hold onto it long enough to reach a trash can, yes. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/25 "2010-10-23T02:39:52Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > People who get on a bus and decide to sit on one of the aisle-facing seats just inside the door, then slump down with their asses on the edge of the seat and their legs stretched out into the aisle, so that everyone getting on the bus has to edge past them. Ooh, that’s one of my favorites! I ALWAYS “trip” over them! Followed by an “OH! So Sorry, your feet were in the aisle!” It’s one of the best ways to be an ass where the other guy really can’t say anything. They know they’re wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/26 "2010-10-23T02:52:56Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Where I live, it’s only illegal in a specific part of the city centre. In this part, there are ashtrays on all the litter bins. Anywhere else, drop it on the floor, don’t set fire to the bin! Seems obvious really. I’ll bet you a doughnut you’re wrong about the littering laws where you live. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/27 "2010-10-23T04:10:04Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I’ll bet you a doughnut you’re wrong about the littering laws where you live. It’s certainly only enforced in one area, and only has been for a few years. I’ve not looked up the letter of the law. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/28 "2010-10-23T04:31:34Z")
I just want to find the suckahs who let their big dogs take a dump every day at my kids’ bus stop. The neighborhood is full of dog owners, and there are special dog-shit baggies and receptacles all over. There’s a posted county ordinance. There’s plenty of green space. Yet that little strip of grass is wall-to-wall dog shit. And no, I’m not going to clean it up, unless I find out who left it and I can return it to the owner in a suitable fashion. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/29 "2010-10-23T04:34:45Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > It’s certainly only enforced in one area, and only has been for a few years. I’ve not looked up the letter of the law. Perhaps you should look up the word “illegal” before you use it again. You seem to have misconstrued “not enforced” with “legal”. Now my only question is: will you admit that you were wrong, and that throwing a cigarette butt on the ground is, in fact, littering? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/30 "2010-10-23T04:42:57Z")
And whether it’s legal or not, it’s a jackass thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/31 "2010-10-23T04:59:17Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Perhaps you should look up the word “illegal” before you use it again. You seem to have misconstrued “not enforced” with “legal”. Now my only question is: will you admit that you were wrong, and that throwing a cigarette butt on the ground is, in fact, littering? I know what “illegal” means, and I’m under the impression that, in general, here in the UK, it’s only illegal to drop cigarette ends in specific places. But, as I said, I could be wrong. As to whether one should do it or not, if there’s an ashtray use it. If not, the ground is safer than a litter bin as _it won’t catch on fire_. Certainly everyone I know who smokes wouldn’t think twice about doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/32 "2010-10-23T05:04:47Z")
So I guess there really is someone out there who will defend even the most indefensible. And here I thought we could all agree on, “Don’t litter.” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/33 "2010-10-23T05:08:42Z")
I agree with you 100%, **Steophan** - I don’t think smokers think twice about where they throw their butts, either. If they did, they would realize that my front yard is not an ashtray. What smokers need is a paradigm shift - if you smoke a cigarette, YOU need to be prepared to dispose of the butt in an appropriate, non-littering, non-setting-things-on-fire way, not expect the world to magically provide it for you. The behaviour I noticed today is speeding in parking lots. Remember five seconds ago when YOU were a pedestrian walking in this parking lot? Did you want to jump out of the way of assholes going three times the limit then? So why are you driving like this is a freeway now? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/34 "2010-10-23T05:14:29Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > So I guess there really is someone out there who will defend even the most indefensible. And here I thought we could all agree on, “Don’t litter.” Dropping a cigarette end is “the most indefensible”? Your priorities confuse me. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/35 "2010-10-23T05:28:16Z")
Well, it’s something that I can’t believe anyone would defend. It’s easy to avoid littering and it’s incredibly gross. What good reason, other than laziness, is there to do it? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/36 "2010-10-23T05:42:24Z")
Well, as I said earlier it’s not really littering. I can see it being slightly annoying, but “incredibly gross”? I’ll assume you are over-fond of hyperbole, and leave this thread, I’m repeating myself too much. ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/37 "2010-10-23T05:46:09Z")
There are people, many people, who don’t pick up after their dog. But even worse, they make their dog crap right in the middle of the sidewalk. The _exact middle_ I swear (as if they located it with a tape ruler), where it reaches the highest probability to be an annoyance/stepped on :mad: ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/38 "2010-10-23T05:53:10Z")
As for the whole “the bin will catch on fire!!!” thing–PUT THE FUCKING CIGARETTE OUT BEFORE YOU THROW IT AWAY. God, it’s just not rocket science, people! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/39 "2010-10-23T06:06:57Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Well, as I said earlier it’s not really littering. I can see it being slightly annoying, but “incredibly gross”? I’ll assume you are over-fond of hyperbole, and leave this thread, I’m repeating myself too much. Well now you can repeat yourself [in the Pit](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=582824). ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2010, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052/40 "2010-10-23T12:12:47Z")
When I was smoking, I always field stripped the cigarette. That’s where you roll the biodegradable bits, the remaining ash, tobacco and paper, off the end of the filter, then put the filter in your pocket. My Dad taught me that, I’m pretty sure it has something to do with preventing the VietCong being able to track you by the filters. . . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-behavior-that-just-pisses-you-off-not-ranty-enough-for-the-pit/558052.md?page=3)