…when I deal with stupid people, which, in my job, is a daily thing.
Imagine you’re inside your house and the lights are down and the shades are drawn. You are at peace and nothing can possibly bother you. Unfortunately, you have to outside for some mundane reason. It’s noon and the sun is sitting high in the clear blue sky. You go out and look directly into the sun and you instantly squint your eyes so tightly that blood threatens to shoot from them. You then get a piercing headache behind one of your eyes that could kill a charging rhinoceros.
THAT’S what it feels like to me when I realize that I am dealing with a stupid person.
I can’t describe my stupid-person feeling. However, the thought that popped into my head upon seeing your thread title was “There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west and my spirit is crying for leaving…”
It usually starts with disbelief (this person can’t possibly be this… aww crap), then turns to resignation (this person will shut up and go away soon) to teeth-gritting overly measured patience (let. me. explain. this. again.) while inside I’m screaming (gahhh! You #%^@ moron, leave me the %^@#$ alone!!!).
All of this (disbelief, resignation, teeth-gritting patience, and internal screaming) is accomplished in less than 5 seconds with a correlating increase in blood pressure.
All right, who didn’t think of Led Zeppelin when they saw the title?
When I’m dealing with stupidity a little whirrr *click in my brain tells me I’m dealing with stupidity and at that point I cease all attempts to be witty or make conversation and try to complete my transaction with as few syllables as possible.
When I deal with stupid people, they usually take me by surprise. I just assume everyone is reasonably smart to begin with.
But when they expose their idiocy I start mentally backpedaling, hoping I haven’t already said something to make them feel stupid, while simultaneously trying to change my approach without suddenly sounding condescending.
I’m way too nice to people. And it’s not even part of my job.
See, I didn’t even know that the title of the thread might possibly have anything to do with Led Zeppelin (as in a song title, I assume??) Simple creature that I am, I take things at face value.
In my job, I deal with stupid people EVERY day. Several times a day. Generally, I just zone out, start saying things like, “okay”, and “oh”, and usually “I’ll call my manager, and you can explain it to them.” Then I continue to zone out and fantasize about a life that doesn’t so closely resemble hell.
