I get really fucking irritated when people bash the US for no good reason. A Starbucks opening in Australia doesn't mean that the Americans are coming to teach Australia how to make coffee.
I get really fucking tired of Americans whining about how much they hate the USA (never for any good reason) and how everything is so much better in [England|Australia|France|Canada]. Move! Go live there! Stop wasting my mother fucking time!
I get really fucking annoyed with people that post mindless claims without bothering to back them up. Which is why I love tw - I disagree with him on a number of things, but he backs all his shit up and it's always well researched. So mad props to him for that.
I get really fucking angry over asshole drivers. They offend me. But I have bitched about this before.
I get really fucking offended over bad customer service. Why should I buy your shit if you're going to treat me in an awful fashion? There are many places where I've been snapped at or subjected to other stupid management mistakes (a recent grocery store incident comes to mind), and it bothers the shit out of me. I tend to get what I want in these situations, because they inflame me so much that I don't stop until I walk out with more than what I originally intended.
Also, here's a good one: Do any of you guys go to MarketPro computer shows? Lots of times they have security guards at the door to check your bags to see if you're stealing. I get really tired of waiting in that line while some pokey "security guard" searches everyone's bags and looks at their receipts, carefully matching up items so that they can insure that no CD-R's were lifted. I've got places to go and things to do, thank you very much. Here's how I usually handle the situation:
Walk right out the door, bypassing the line. DO NOT make eye contact. Just walk out like it's nothing. Most of the times this works.
If they come after you and say "Uhm, Sir, I need to see your receipt." I say "Oh, no problem. Just go ahead and show me your search warrant and I'll get it right out."
Many times they stand perplexed, and I walk away. Probably 10 separate times though (I've been to probably 100+ computer shows), they've chased after me. "Sir! Get back here!" I keep walking. Once, a woman had the audacity to actually
grab my arm as I walked away. I pulled my arm away quickly, turned around to look at her, and said
very loudly, "Ma'm, that is ASSAULT and if you touch me again, I will call the police and have you arrested!" Needless to say, they are not allowed to detain you, no matter what they claim. They have no probable cause and you didn't sign anything waiving your Fourth Amendment rights when you walked in the door. They never even have notices up, but even if they do, you can claim illiteracy.
Besides, I seriously doubt that would hold up in court anyway. Police officer friends of my father have told us that they have no legal justification to hold you back. Twice (both at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg, Maryland), a security guard called his buddies to report that someone was "leaving the premesis without being searched." I prayed for them to actually try and stop me from driving off - man, what a lawsuit I could have had!
The trick is though, you can't look suspicious. So that's why you don't make eye contact. If they have probable cause (some of them are actual police officers that are rented on their Saturday off and whatnot), they *can* detain you.
But yeah. Another important thing to remember: if you get offended by everything offensive you see or every asshole that cuts you off, you're going to spend all day pissed off. So I try to keep a light mood when it comes to these things, though those are the ones that have a bad habit of really bugging the shit out of me.
--dave