Just what the fuck does ISIS have to do with this?
Try wearing a uniform. Everyone wants to talk. Everyone.
Sigh.
This. Living with it is even worse.
But-but that response is both (a) logical, and (b) evidence of adult who is willing to convey if not the truth then at least engage in some polite pretense. There are very few of those people around. Most folks would rather (at best) pretend X doesn’t bother them, and later complain and expect the person they’ve explicitly PEGGED as oblivious to know what they want or don’t want, like or dislike. 
Seriously, there are a fuckton of cowards in the world who willingly suffer for it most of the time rather than educate themselves and address their interpersonal deficiencies. I’ve concluded that their comfort zone is misery and/or irritation … until/unless they wake the fuck up and see it’s more about them than the other person … and the preference to complain about X-Y-Z or some thing or person “making” them miserable, or “making” them do X-Y-Z or “won’t let me” or “[insert whatever nonsense here].”
I have a coworker who can’t stand silence. She’ll sit and make animal noises if all else fails. Or worse, just say my name when she sees me. And then, since I’ve been trained to tune out everything coming out of her mouth, on the occasions when she actually needs to talk to me, suddenly it’s just silly that I’m not listening to her. Drives me up the wall.
Its like the waiting room at a car dealership. There’s always some bloviating pin-head spouting about how Obama made his car break down. Its him if you stay vs swarms of mosquito-like salesmen all over you if you walk away and onto the sales floor.
I do my best to ignore the waiting room bloviators, but like bad AM radio, they just get LOUDER. Then they start gesturing with their hands. I’m more than reasonble; they can gesture their hands up to a foot from me before I engage.
“Hi. I’m listening to a book here. Do you mind?
If its a problem, just have the Service Manager come over & tell me to stop listening through earphones and I will. His office is right… over there… through that door.
OK? Thanks!” :dubious:
Where I live in Redstateistan, it’s always ALWAYS Fox News in the waiting rooms. All the waiting rooms. How can anyone have a normal blood pressure reading while absorbing that crap, whether they agree with it or not?
I will never understand people who treat silence like a disease that has to be overcome. What is the psychology behind being freaked out by silence? I was in a waiting room the other day that was full of people who had lengthy waits because the practice had recently had a doctor leave and the other doctors were covering his patients, and a lady walked in and decided to start telling jokes and stories to the whole room! That was a first.
Were the jokes and stories at least entertaining?
Living with a television?
Some people have this superpower called, “Tuning it out” or “Ignoring it”. I know liberals have this need to pay attention to Fox News as much as possible so they can get all mad and then go tell someone they were all mad because of Fox News but it’s really not that hard to not pay attention.
I’m not a liberal, thanks for playing, and I never said I couldnt personally tune it out. It’s designed to pound on the viewers anxiety button regardless of whether they agree with the content or not and that’s not a great way to provide a relaxing atmosphere in a waiting room, especially at a doctors office.
I remember when waiting rooms used to have fish…
Back on topic…
Not in the least. She came in with her husband who was in a wheelchair and I kept watching him but he had no reaction. I guess the poor man was used to it. Most uncomfortable waiting room experience I ever had.
I got a fortune cookie with this exact same message at dinner last night.
True story.
Oh my God! I know. I’ve been trained to be incredibly patient in public (largely due to being in customer service for so very, very long). But some of these people…
When I have to wait, I’m prepared. I have my 3DS, with the sound turned down. I have Sudoku. Sometimes I even have a book to read or a craft to do. It’s like some people cannot fathom that their appointment may not start on time, despite the fact that appointments in general **rarely **start when they’re supposed to. Are they that frickin’ optimistic, or just clueless?
Or maybe they just assume there’ll be someone they can talk with to pass the time? I can totally be that person; I just may have to go take a nap afterwards. :rolleyes:
Heh. To be fair, when I lived alone, I didn’t have one; I looked at dvds and stuff on my computer.
It drives me nuts when I have to compete with a TV for someone’s attention – not if I’ve watching a film or whatever with them, but, for example, when I’d phone up a particular friend long distance, she’d snap on the TV to watch at the same time.
When I eat a meal, I’d rather read a book; if I’m with someone then converse with my companion, not instantly have to have a repeat of a TV show on that I dislike and he or she has seen a million times.
Living with someone who can’t be around their own thoughts; my dad was that way, so it was incessant growing up. I was trapped living in an apartment over someone who had to have on a blaring TV or radio from about 10am through to 4am every, single day. My husband keeps on a radio/Radio 4, TV, spoken word, &c all the time, as he prefers something on at all times. Now there’s some idiot on my hallway at the uni who has to have music/talk playing through what must either be crap computer speakers or her phone every day. It never stops 
Try wearing a tshirt with anything Star Wars, Trek, or anything sci fi and see how many people are experts.
Hope you dont mind me throwing this in.
Occasionally I’m at Home Depot and see someone trying to figure something out like a project or understand some tools and I’ll take it on myself to drop some points in.
I’m always careful not to be an arrogant ass about it and quite frankly I get the sense by listening they are hoping some expert might help out but they are too ashamed to ask for help. Ex. I do puppets and I was overhearing a guy wanting to build a puppet stage. I knew the way he was describing wouldnt work so I told him how I built mine. He later came over and thanked me. Another time I was in an area where these Mexicans were looking at screwdrivers. But they were just looking at the Kline tools which are the most expensive ones and they seemed bewildered by the high prices. I in my poor Spanish, pointed to another part of the store which had cheaper tools. I got gracious, gracious. Last time, I was picking out a new faucet head and I overheard these 2 guys talking on their cell phones about choosing a shower head and they seemed very confused. I pointed out a couple of things that would save them some money and hassle later on and they seemed grateful.
I think making a few polite and relevant helpful suggestions to strangers is a hugely different thing from repeatedly trying to strike up conversations with strangers who’ve made it clear they don’t really want to talk to you. Carry on.
Oh, and if we could also expand the “Shut the fuck up” mandate to people persistently trying to get the attention of strangers they evidently find attractive, even though said strangers are giving no indication that the attraction is reciprocated, that would be nice too.
He punched her fucking lights out, beat the kid with a wooden pole and then headed off to the stadium for team practice.
I laughed. (But not too loud.)
It’s not often you see Mexicans looking at screwdrivers.
/Coen Bros.
That is bizarre. Did she pass the hat afterwards? This would be typical in a New York subway car, but in a waiting room? Weird. Was this a psych ward, may I ask?