Overly talkative people, especially when on the phone. When the other person is doing 99% of the actual talking, it’s no longer a conversation, and it’s boring as hell.
Arrogrant people. People who think they are so damn important and expect everyone else to respect them for being so self-important.
Overly cheerful and optimistic people. These one-dimensional nimrods make me wonder what kind of substance they’re on to always be so damn HAPPY all the time.
Late people (GGGGGRRRR!!!) I shudder to think of how many weeks, or perhaps months I have lost over the course of my life to waiting for people who have no respect for my own time.
People who try to pry into my personal life or try to get me to speak my opinions. I tend to withhold such information since I am not one to get into a pointless, mind-numbing debate over politics, religion, etc.
People who can’t handle their money wisely. I really wish personal finance were a mandatory class taught in our schools.
I can’t stand people who seem to consistently have a similar story, or one better than the one you’re telling. Even if the story might be true (which in the cases I’m thinking about it’s usually exaggerated), at least have the decency to appreciate someone elses story without always trying to have one better.
People who are unteachable - aka know-it-alls. Nothing worse than trying to show somebody something they obviously have no clue about, and the say, “uh-huh, I know… yeah…I know…” Silly, stupid people.
People who say they’ll call you back, but never do. My recently ex-girlfriend would do that. It would annoy the hell out of me. If you don’t want to talk to me, say so. Or just say, “I’m busy” and leave out the “I’ll call you back.”
Once you say “I’ll call you back” I will then be waiting for your call. I may have something important to say that needs to be said. I’d rather you not call than say “I’ll call you back” and not call.
People who can’t seem to grasp the fact that the world does not actually revolve around them, and that there are other people in existence in the vicinity. The people who will talk as loudly as possible on their cellphones on the train, and could care less that some people are reading, relaxing or (like me) sleeping. The people who will walk four abreast down a busy sidewalk at about 2 steps a minute, completely mindless of the fact that people behind them might actually want to get somewhere sometime today.
People who think I want to know every single detail of their lives. Especially the ones telling me stuff about themselves that I don’t even want to know about myself. I have no problem with being comfortable and open, but FFS I do not want to know about the various anomalies you’ve discovered on your body, or what your sex life has been like over the last four months, or every detail about your diet and the effect it is having on your intestinal tract.
People that cough, gag, or choke a lot, especially when I am trying to eat. People that are clumsy, always spilling things and running in to things. People that poke you every time they are just about to say something. Women that feel I’m such a nice guy they can talk about the malfunctions of their female body parts in great detail with me. Ick, OK?
People that window-shop from their moving car. People that make right turns at red lights without stopping, or even giving the right of way. People that pass you, then slow down. People that ride your ass, then you pull over to let them pass, and they don’t.
Inconsiderate people. People that are totally unaware of their surroundings. People that take up the whole isle in the grocery store. People that have conversations in doorways. People that hold the elevator door while they finish their conversation. People that are slobs in public places just because they don’t have to clean it up. People that don’t get out of the way for someone carrying a heavy load.
People that don’t tip, or they pull a hand full of pennies and nickles out of their pocket and toss them on the table. People that go to a restaurant famous for one or two great dishes they serve, then they order the most obscure thing on the menu and complain afterwards that it wasn’t all that great.
Control freaks and guilt mongers. People that try to make you feel guilty for not doing something they want to do. People that want you to feel bad because your life is going better than theirs. People that continually make bad decisions in their life and then blame everyone else for their misfortune.
Sorry, that was unnecessarily snarky – if you want to deny yourself the pleasure of my company, that’s strictly your business.
But there are people out there who, beyond being just rubbed the wrong way by it, treat me as though I’m subhuman for having wrists that are made to bend. I can’t stand it from anyone, least of all gay people who you would foolishly hope would know better. In general, people who are obsessed with maintaining proper gender roles, and cannot acknowledge that they are, piss me off and I tend to back away from them slowly.
matt_mcl, judging by the timbre of your posts (which I’ve always enjoyed), I seriously doubt you’re the kind of person I’m talking about. I mean loud, shrill uber-queens who dress like bad stereotypes, exaggerate their mannerisms to the max, and shriek and squeal and generally do everything in their power to make sure all attention is on them at all times, even in the most inappropriate of settings. But then if anyone actually does dare to look at them, they shout “I’m here, I’m queer, get used to it!” And if their gay friends criticize them or express any discomfort, they say “I have a right to be me, I don’t have to change for anybody, you’re ashamed of your sexuality.”
matt, if you’re ever in DC (or even New York, it’s a short train ride) I’ll buy you a drink.
I have an acquaintance who is 35 who still seems to interact with the world like she’s in Sociology 101 Freshman year of college. You can’t say, “I’m going to the baseball game with the guys from the office” or “I don’t think women would like that movie too much” without getting some lecture about gender roles. Drives me nuts.
I just can’t stand softies, I guess. I prefer people bold and aggressive, but that don’t take it personally. My family was like jennyrosity’s. . .we get all our shit out in the open all the time. No one broods. No one acts passive/aggressive. You got something to say? Fuckin’ say it.
People who are “fake happy” all the time. I met a lot of these people when I was visiting a fundamentalist baptist church, but you could probably find one or two of them everywhere. By fake-happy, I mean the people who are constantly smiling with their mouth, but not the rest of their face (no eye crinkling etc.). They wander around grinning all day and talking in a semi-excited voice, as if they’ll die if they show their true feelings.
People who overstay their welcome. It’s cool if you want to drop by, and hang out, but don’t stay all day long (more then four hours). If you’re here for lunch, you shouldn’t still be here at dinner time unless you’ve been invited to spend the night.
The Perma-Victim and the ** One-Upper**.
The Perma-Victim is never responsible for their own bad choices-it’s always someone else’s fault.
Hook up with an asshole?
Not your responsibility for selecting him or her as partner-you were preyed upon.
Not getting promoted at work?
Upper management must have it in for you personally.
The One-upper always has a worse- and lets’ you know it.
Got a headache?
They’ve got a brain tumor.
Had a bad day?
Well, they’ve had a bad week, month, year or life.
People who cannot get to the point. I used to have a coworker like this - her messages were ALWAYS at least a minimum of 5 minutes long. Even if all she was telling me was that she was running late. GRRRRR
People who repeat things a lot. I answer phones at work and I get a lot of calls that go: Hi, this is Jane, Jane Smith, that’s S-M-I-T-H, and I’m calling about such and such. It’s really important.
Me: Okay, Jane, got it. I’ll take care of that for you.
Jane: Good, cause you know, it’s really important. The doctor has really been chewing my ass and the patient’s calling, and I really need it to be done.
Me: No problem. In fact, I’ll give you a call back and let you know as soon as it’s done. What’s your number?
Jane: It’s 123-4567. One…two…three…four…five…six…seven. And my name’s Jane.
Me: 123-4567, got it. Have a nice…
Jane: It’s super that you can do this, cause Dr. Turd’s been really anxious about it. I mean, you have no idea. So give me a call back at 123-4567, okay?
Me: Cool, I’m going to do it right now.
Jane: Oh thank goodness. This is like really important. And I’m Jane.
Me: Jane, if you don’t shut the fuck up, it’ll never get done, because we’re still on the phone!
I blow my top at people who ask me a question then start to answer it themselves. If you want me to answer the effing question, then shut up so I can!!
I think her personality is best classified as “dumb as a bag of hammers”. In fact I just googled “dumb as” and the third hit is a little game called “Are you as Dumb as Jessica Simpson”.
I also agree with you, I can’t stand people who are just plain stupid either. Note: stupid has nothing to do with the level of education you might have had, it has everything to do with your willingness and ability to learn from life in general.
Really intelligent (but no common sense) people who have to always ARGUE. Why does everything have to be an argument? Why do you always have to have the “right” answer? Why do you talk over me? Yes, I know you’re very intelligent. That does NOT mean you know everything. Sometimes experience can be more revealing than something you read somewhere.
Then, you can’t abide me. I really dislike effeminate men (I mean really effeminate, with the archetypal, caricatural, effeminate tone of voice, gestures, etc…). It seems it used to be more common in the past, since I met a number of older homosexuals “acting” in this way, while it seems to be quite rare amongst the younger ones. It always seems to me they’re acting, making a show. I’ve a hard time believing they can be naturally like that, rather than having cultivated this attitude. I just want to shout : “Stop your show! Behave normally!”. It irritates me.
For that matter, transvestites, and even men dressing up like women for say, a party, unease me. I’m not sure about transexuals, since I don’t know any. I don’t have any issue with women dressing up like men.
There’s no particular reason for this I can think of. I’ve no issue with homosexuality (*), so it’s unrelated. I’m not sure why it bothers me.
(*) and yes, I truly don’t. I can’t remember a time when I was aware of the existence of homosexuality and had an issue with it. When I was a teenager, I was occasionnally attracted to boys too and believed I was bisexual. It became rarer and rarer with time passing, but it still, very rarely, can happen. Weirdly enough, people I’m attracted to usually have a “feminine side” but aren’t effeminate, if you understand the difference.
I fear I may be, at least in part, the kind of person you are talking about. I identify as genderqueer. I can’t say I’m a particularly flashy dresser, though I’ve been known to wear sarongs and sparkly things in public. I’ve been accused of being shrill and in-your-face, and while I don’t accuse people who don’t cotton to me of being ashamed of their sexuality, I agree with the other two clauses of the quotation above. Beyond which, I worship Margaret Cho, dance with my hands, entertain idle fantasies of doing drag, and speak fluent kvetch. It’s a femme thang.
Nevertheless, I apologize again for the snark, and I’d like to take you up on that drink. I like me some butches. And maybe I can show you we can be fun to be around.
clairobscur, suffice it to say this is how I am normally; it’s not an act and I’m forever dismayed by the assumption that non-gender-normative behaviour must be. And yes, disapproval of homosexuality and disapproval of the non-gender-normative are separate issues, though I regard the second as serious.
I can’t stand people who are mean - just plain mean, for no reason, or for any reason. There’s no call for meanness - if somebody’s bugging you, let them know why, or leave - no need to make someone else feel small. I don’t like practical jokes for this reason, too - they almost always seem mean to me.
I also have trouble with martyrs, especially of their own making. I have a sister like this. Do you suppose she thinks I don’t get all her little “digs” at how easy my life is, and how lucky I am to not have to do what she has chosen to do? I’ve started just agreeing with her - yes, I am lucky to have a nice, quiet house and a nice, quiet life. It’s great!
I also have no patience for people who complain constantly, but make no effort to change anything. You can complain for a short while, then it’s time to start doing something about it. All complaint, no action, means I stop listening sympathetically.
I hate people who feel its their right to dish out ‘attitude’ to everyone they deal with, regardless of culture. I hate the people who cheer them on even more.
I hate people who discuss an honest difference of opinion with hands on hips, wiggling their head from side to side like a Bobble-head linked to a 2-stroke engine, while moving their face within 6 inces of yours. Personally, I think thats why it was a farmer who first decided to Deep-Fry a chicken.
And maybe I can show you we can be fun to be around.