People are so rude and nasty in the world today, dawg. And it's honestly a shame because there’s really no reason for us to be walking around treating each other like shit.
Life is already hard enough.
Like, why the hell do you wake up, leave your house, and decide that today is the day you’re going to be difficult with everybody you come across?
I don't understand it.
Maybe I'm just getting to the point where my patience for unnecessary bullshit is getting shorter, because some of this shit really be happening for no reason.
So boom. I'm at Staples doing an Amazon return.
I already knew it was gon' be SOMETHING just because of the city I was living in. It's always something going on over there.
I get in line, and I'm standing at the checkout counter waiting on the lady in front of me to finish whatever she was doing.
Now, the last time I came into this particular Staples, where I was standing is where the arrows pointed you to stand. So that's where I'm standing.
Simple, right?
Apparently not.
IT'S TOO EARLY FOR THIS
So I get up to the counter and tell the lady I want to return something.
She immediately hits me with,
You're supposed to be over there. You're over here. You're supposed to be over there.
I'm like…
Okay, but did you have to be so nasty?
I don't know if every Staples is set up the same way, but at this particular Staples, the registers are literally in the same little cubicle, back-to-back.
So when she yells that I'm supposed to be at the other register, I'm thinking, you could literally just turn around...
That's it.
You don't have to walk anywhere. You don't have to send me through the maze in Staples. You really didn't even have to say anything to me if you weren't in a good mood, 'cause I'm not a morning person either. I would've been perfectly fine with you turning around, grabbing your scanner, scanning what needed to be scanned, and sending me on my way.
OR—and hear me out—you could've just said:
“Hey, you're at the wrong register. Can you come around to this one?”
I'm standing there thinking, Bro, it's too early in my day for this. I thought customer service reps were supposed to be friendly?
AND THEN HERE COMES SOMEBODY ELSE
Now here's where the morning got even more irritating.
There's a guy behind me. Then there's another guy walking up to get in line. So me and the guy behind me start backing out of the line to go to the other register... and this man walks right to the front of the line like he about to get in front of us!
Like…?
Granted, yeah, we were at the wrong register, but we clearly had already been standing in line so what in your right mind would make you think it's okay to walk up and get in front of TWO people who were already there?
And before you ask....... yes he was.
You don't just magically become first in line because somebody told us to move three feet over.
Maybe somebody else would've just shrugged it off. But me? Nah. Because now we're getting into that whole basic human courtesy thing.
IT'S NOT EVEN ABOUT THE REGISTER
It's about how comfortable people are with being rude. Like being considerate is somehow too much work now. I don't understand it.
You don't know what kind of morning somebody is having. You don't know if that person just lost somebody, got bad news, is stressed about money, didn't sleep, or is simply trying to get through the day without losing their damn mind.
So why make somebody's day harder than it needs to be?
I know somebody will probably read this and say, “Shamar, you doing too much. It's only a few feet.”
And you're right. It is only a few feet. But that's exactly my point. If something is this small, why make it difficult? It costs you absolutely nothing to be decent.
She could've turned around. She could've spoken differently. He could've asked if we were already in line or moving. None of that would've cost you a damn thing.
THIS IS ONE REASON I DON'T LIKE BIG CITIES
I'm so glad I moved. I love being secluded, away from the noise and drama.
I don't want to have to interact with twenty-five strangers before noon and somehow end up arguing with three of them because nobody knows how to act.
I like my peace.
I don't want to wake up, go somewhere to handle a simple errand, and immediately have to decide whether I'm going to be the bigger person or end up on the 5:00 news.
I never go places looking for beef or confrontation. I like to hang out, have a few beers, relax, and go home.
But somehow... someway... It's always some bullshit.
PLEASE DON'T START WITH ME TODAY
I'm not saying everybody needs to walk around smiling and holding hands and singing “Kumbaya.”
That's not realistic. We're going to have bad days. Sometimes people are going to piss us off. I get it.
But damn! Can we at least try not to make regular life harder for each other?
You can say something without being nasty. You can correct somebody without embarrassing them. You can wait your turn. You can scroll on when you know you need to keep scrolling.
Just… be considerate.
That little Staples situation reminded me of something I already know but apparently need reminding of every now and then:
People are going to be people.
Some are going to be kind. Some are going to be rude as AF. Some are going to go out of their way to help you. And some will make you wonder how the hell they made it through the morning without somebody cussing them out.
As for me?
I'm all peace & love until you try me.
So please don't start with me today.
The Public Note
Everything's Worth noting
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