What is the reasonable response to unreasonable impatience?

Does it matter that it is something I have only done twice in my life in response to stupendously assholish behavior?

As I said, by forcing a driver to slow down (but still be speeding) for a few minutes, I don't think I am actually making their life worse, just that they will think I am making their life worse.

Will you tell me that you've never been driving on the long boring stretch of I-5 (or some other two lane freeway) and been passing traffic on the left only to have some guy come speeding up in the right lane to try and squeeze in between you and the car you are passing? You've never sped up just a little bit to make sure he won't make it?

And if we're both (me and the othe driver) are being jerks, then why are you so bothered by my side of it?

Maybe it's how I'm wired, but I never felt the need for speed as a driver.

Even as a teenager.

Drunk or sober.

That's because the Justy couldn't make it past 60 mph. ;)

The Justy made it over the Grapevine to San Francisco packed with belongings and two sedated cats. It reached speeds of nearly 75 in the flats. In San Francisco, it easily (ok, eventually) made it up almost every hill. Most importantly, it was never broken into.

The Duster was what I mostly drove in high school, then later, the Volare wagon. The Duster rattled violently when it got to around 85, and it overheated frequently.

What makes you think your driving record matters to me at all? You brought the subject up when you broadened the topic of this tread from “Hey people please pay attention” to “What annoys me”. OK, you don’t like aggressive drivers. Check. I won’t bother to take a poll to see how many people support that view.

And, No. I’m not fixated on lines at grocery stores. I was just giving an example most people could relate to in order to make my point. I could as easily have used ordering at fast food chains (decide before you get to the counter), ticket booths at theme parks, ATM’s, or a thousand other similar situations. I am also not really expecting 289,000,000 people to read this thread, slap their heads and say “Doh! Of course I should pay more attention”. And one more time, No. This is not a thread of earth shaking importance like some we have had here. I’m not expressing darkly repressed feeling or ultimate truths. I’m not trying to bend you or the rest of society to my will, I’m just trying to make people think a bit about what they are doing and it looks like I’ve done that. At least in one case.

I think Alex's point is that when it comes to making the world a better place, you'll have much more luck focusing on your own behavior than worrying about the behavior of others. i.e., instead of hoping and praying that the annoying people who can't decide until they're standinga the McDonald's register will change their ways...try just not being annoyed by it. Instead of hoping that everyone who drives slower than you vanish from the road, just try not being annoyed by slow drivers. I strive to follow such a philosophy. If it's not in the realm of my control, there's no sense in being annoyed by it. And, when it comes to the kind of "I'm completely unaware of my surroundings" annoyances you describe, pointing them out to the offender rarely accomplishes a thing since, by and large, a certain lack of the ability to be self-aware (and thus alter their behavior) is what leads them to be fumbling for their ATM card to begin with.

I think you all overestimate the ability of people to function in society. I pick up prescriptions at Long's on a regular basis for asthma and allergies. I am usually in line behind the elderly and those on the edge. Every single one of these people has a problem with their prescription, their insurance, etc. I also spend a lot of time in Kinko's and at the post office. My nightmare day will be to see the same old lady hogging a machine while she seeks help with copying a letter and then wind up behind her in line at the post office while she ruminates over which stamp to buy.

That said, I don't think we should too readily concede the propriety of living in a fast paced society. The absolute worst drivers on the road are people who drive for a living, be they cab drivers, plumbers or bike messengers. They drive like that because s*** flows downhill, and they need the money for necessities or, perhaps, tattooes and ass waxing. I hesitate to say that someone's hamster wheel is not spinning fast enough. It also goes without saying that if people didn't buy half the crap in their baskets, everyone would be out of the store in half the time. I'm resigned to gobbling my lunch at my desk like a dog, but any day that winds up at McDonald's is a failure.

I'm excessively impatient. And stupid people annoy the heck out of me. But I do reailze that most people aren't doing it on purpose just to destroy my day.

That said, the people who make me the most bonkers are the inconsiderate ones. If you forgot to pick up something and you're already checking out then put the groceries in your car and go back for the missing item. Don't hold up the whole line. If you realize at the last minute you need to make a left on Elm instead of a right, don't try to cut across 4 lanes of traffic and block two. Go down and make a U-turn and go back. And if you're doing 45 in the fast lane get the he-double-hockey-sticks out of my way!

Yes, GD said it better than me but that was the point of my first post in this thread.

The rest that followed and led us down a horrible, emotionally painful path, was just meandering ponderings on unreasonable impatience and how frequently impatience just makes things even worse, both perceptually (just ask MouseAdventurers just how awkward and slow the crowd seems when hurrying for a quest versus the rest of the time) and realisically (by inspiring obstinance in those you're trying conform to your preferences).

So, Monorails advice to an increasingly crowded society was to be more aware of how you can make the the cogs of social interactions work faster. I can agree with that, and in all the things he mentioned I am confident he would find me a model citizen. But I think the more valuable advice is that when a person doesn't do that, learn how to go with the flow without stressing on it.

SING IT SISTER!

That behavior drives me freaking BATTY! Come on Mr/Ms Bonehead, an extra block isn't going to kill you, but your dip-shït maneuver just might kill someone else!