Tis the season to be...petty?

[Shoopy]

We were at the mall today which of course was packed and stressful.

We took a break to eat at the food court and finding a spot to sit took about 10 minutes. Once we were seated, my brother went to grab some food while FI and I waited. A woman asked if we were using the 3rd chair and we said yes, he was getting some food but then I told her that I thought the people next to us were leaving soon. Then FI gets up to help him out and the friend of the woman came by and asked her if she had asked me for the chairs. The friend said yes, she''s using both and the girl says "whatever, excuse me are you using these two chairs?"

I said yes, they''re coming with the food and she responds with "both of them?" This time I just gave a very short yes.

Can you believe that this turned into an argument? Like a full blown in my face argument! She told me I was an idiot, shouldn''t be allowed to hold seats, and something about "lucky I don''t punch you right now." I tried to keep the peace as much as possible because I was with my daughter. She finally backed off after a few choice words from me and when FI came over to tell her to sit down and relax.

It was by far the dumbest argument I have ever had ever. What is it about the holidays that makes people so tense? Next year-only online shopping for me

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

Ugh, I hate the mall. Especially around this time of year. I really wonder where people like that come from.

 

[Bliss]

OMG! This sounds like what I went through recently - must be the holiday stress.

I'm glad it ended with just words. It's just not even worth it to argue with crazy people.

DH and I were at a frozen yogurt place enjoying our yogurt at a table for two recently. We had just gotten started when he got up to get us some water. Well, a crazy lady immediately grabbed his seat. I said, "Oh, I'm sorry. My husband is sitting there - he just went to get us some water."

She yelled, "WELL, HE IS A MAN AND HE SHOULD BE STANDING WHEN THERE ARE WOMEN PRESENT!!! I AM A WOMAN SO THIS SEAT IS MINE!"

It was so bizarre, everyone stared. And there were lots of couples sitting at tables, why ours? And then she violently wrenched the seat away from the table, except there were other patrons seated near us with bags and she knocked over all of their bags. Everyone started laughing at her and saying they'd never seen anything like it. She had a wild eyed look and a bitterness that I just didn't want to tangle with. It was almost sad. If she had asked nicely and said she really wanted to sit, we would have given her the seat.

When DH got back and heard what happened, he was such a gentleman. He didn't even mind standing next to me. But he didn't like her attitude. She was not elderly by a long shot but not too young to know better either - she looked to be in her mid-late 40s. It was WEIRD! Her friend looked so embarrassed as everyone loudly discussed the rude behavior and how horrible she was.

I think people in general are having a tough time these days...I almost feel guilty being happy & smiling when I walk around NY because so many people are shoving each other around looking angry or stressed out of their minds. Sometimes I wonder, "Is this the world we live in?" Surely things will get better for people soon. It has to. So many people seem near their breaking points. Life is hard for many. DH and I had a discussion about this today and he thinks that when people are taxed too hard on different levels, they cease to act as decent human beings. It's like they're in survival mode: their ability to think about other human beings goes out the window and they only think about themselves bc they're desperate. It's sad when you think about it.

 

[lyra]

Oh my goodness. That is so awful, especially that someone would do that in front of a young child.

Can''t say I''ve personally experienced this, but recently at the movies a couple in front of us got into a big fight with the people sitting next to them as soon as the movie finished. I was worried that it was going to lead to a full-on smackdown or shots fired.

Maybe the woman was suffering from low blood sugar? It can lead to extreme moodiness, and it was the food court...you never know.

 

[that_someone_special]

Wow wow wow! I can''t believe your story or Bliss''s. I''ve never even witnessed anything like that!!

 

[kama_s]

I kid you not, almost the exact same thing happened to me this afternoon. It didn''t turn into an argument, but the same person asked me 3x if the seat was taken. Actually he didnt ask if it was taken, he just took it! And I had to yell after him that the seat''s not available, at which point he very rudely asks me who it''s for 3x! I HATE going to the mall in December, which is why I''m done all my gift buying by the end of Nov. Ofcourse, the hubby leaves his until the weekend before Christmas...so I tagged along with him.

Funny thing though, when I was looking around the a table (which is oh-so-hard to get this time of the year), atleast 20-30 other people were looking for a table as well. This girl comes up to me and says she''d like to give us her table. Apparently she ''held out'' (her words!) until she found someone she wanted to give her table to

I''m definitely not complaining, but it''s just so bizarre!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Ugh that''s awful guys. I can''t believe people.

I just had to come and share a GOOD seat story.

I was at B&N yesterday working and I forgot to bring my extension cord. There''s basically one table at the cafe that has access to the plug-in, and someone was sitting there. So I decided to use my charger, and just plugged in my computer and set it down on the floor so it could charge for a while, and I just read while it was charging.

Well the super nice lady at the table with access to the plug-in (who was working on her computer so she needed the outlet too), when she saw that my computer was on the floor, offered to move to another table so I could use it. I profusely thanked her (compared to the cutthroat competition for tables in Chicago''s bookstores, this is a huge first) but said it was ok since my cord wouldn''t be able to reach the outlet anyway. But I was really thankful and touched that she even offered - seriously that was a total first.

 

[swimmer]

BEG, those moments restore your faith in humanity!

What horrible stories! My mom is for some reason a magnet for people acting insanely near her (must be her pearls and sweater sets) so she has lately taken to saying "How very Christian of you!" Given the season, seems appropriate.

 

[HVVS]

I think that at Christmas, all of the kooks and psychos and mean people who normally are staying home and being massively antisocial or beating their wives are now out on the roads, in the shopping malls, and in the restaurants, acting like off-their-rocker kooks and psyhos and meanies, because that's what they are. In 8 to 10 days, they will all be holed up again, and the streets and malls and eating establishments and staff and patrons thereof will breathe a collective sigh of relief. Until next Christmas.

I had a similar experience. I was trying to hold a seat for a male friend of mine, whom I'll call "T." It was just the two of us, and he went to get the food while I grabbed the table. Just as some crazy man was threatening me with "I'm going to kick your ***" because I would not give up the table to him and his chick, along comes T. Now, T is 6'3" tall and he weighs 350 pounds, and he has a big booming voice to go with his huge frame. He walked up just in time to overhear all the rant from the guy who wanted the table. So, he goes into a My Cousin Vinney pose, and proceeds to taunt the crazy guy with a big grin and "Well, my friend here doesn't seem too interested, but ME, now I could sure USE a good *SS Kicking! Yeah, right here, come on... and then a few other things, said at PA-system booming volume, much to the amusement of surrounding tables. The crazy just kind of melted away, and the rest of us about died laughing.

 

[Mara]

yikes...those stories are horrible, so sorry to hear them. it really does make you wonder what kind of world we live in sometimes. makes me glad i am not doing any mall shopping anytime soon, online only for me. be careful everyone... i always tend to think that i have no idea what is happening in someone''s life and i don''t want to be the person they snap on!

 

[cnspotts]

My hubbs works in the ghetto (police officer) and he says things are strangely quiet compared to the stories of the Mall. Thank goodness for online shopping which I''ve been doing for 5 years now.

 

[Tuckins1]

People are rude and ignorant. Sorry you had to run into one of these fine human specimens....

 

[Smurfysmiles]

This is why I shop online or at walmart in the middle of the night lol.
I do agree that this time of year is particularly stressful on people already in stressful situations and they lose their sense of manners.
Sometimes I shout in my car when people cut me off in the parking lot but they can''t hear me anyways so I usually don''t feel too bad about that lol

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 12/20/2009 8:42:39 PM
Author: swimmer
BEG, those moments restore your faith in humanity!


What horrible stories! My mom is for some reason a magnet for people acting insanely near her (must be her pearls and sweater sets) so she has lately taken to saying ''How very Christian of you!'' Given the season, seems appropriate.

Definitely, Swimmer!

HVVS, My Cousin Vinny - what a great movie!

 

[kenny]

I'm surprised anyone expects humane behavior in a maul 6 days before Christmas.

 

[emeraldlover1]

I have a psyco story today. This actually was so bad it made me shiver. I went to brunch with a friend and afterwards we decided to do some christmas shopping in one of the New York city malls aka Soho. We were on the corner of Broadway and Prince and this really tall big guy starts yelling at his wife to jump in this cab. When she didn''t move fast enough another lady and her kid who was maybe 12 jumped in the open cab. This guy continues to yell at his wife about how it is her fault that their cab got stollen. He was so mad he ran up to the cab, opened the door and screamed at the lady that she was a ***** and slammed the door. There were a ton of people around and my friend and I were legitimatley scared. It was so wrong.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 12/20/2009 8:42:39 PM
Author: swimmer
BEG, those moments restore your faith in humanity!

What horrible stories! My mom is for some reason a magnet for people acting insanely near her (must be her pearls and sweater sets) so she has lately taken to saying ''How very Christian of you!'' Given the season, seems appropriate.

Ha, I love your mom''s line. I''m going to have to remember it if I''m unlucky enough to encounter any psychos!

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Fiery, I had a stupid run-in with a stranger in a mall at the weekend too. It was pointless, agressive and it annoyed me for hours after. She drove the wrong way round the one-way carpark and whined and bitched at me because I parked in ''her'' space. Yeah, whatever. Agressive, brainless woman made herself ugly and small over a carpark space. Merry Christmas, huh?!

 

[noelwr]

how pathetic!

you wonder if people make such a freakin'' big deal about a few empty chairs how they must react to the real problems life throws at them.

 

[Shoopy]

These stories are crazy!

Bliss-I can''t believe that lady! I mean I would understand if you were on a bus or something

. Your DH is a gentleman but I didn''t doubt that for one second

Kama-I''m usually done by November too because of the same exact reason! This year I don''t know what happened to us. I hear you on holding out the tables. We had a family ask us if they could have our table next and we hadn''t even begun eating. I felt so bad for them.

BEG-That was really nice of that lady.

Swimmer-I love your mom''s response and will think about using it when I get to the mall today AGAIN.

HVVS-I can''t believe you got threatened too. What is it with people and seats lol

EM1-We had something similar happen to us when we were visiting NY but were trying to figure out which train to get into. We got yelled at big time by a man in suit but we didn''t get upset because it was the middle of the work week and I could only imagine where he was headed to

Sorry everyone has had such awful experiences too. This is definitely not the time of year to go to the mall. Funny considering that''s where Santa usually is too

 

[radiantquest]

The crazies should be the ones ordering online and us regular people should be able to go out and enjoy the decorations, Christmas music and shopping. I have not ran into anything like this, then again I have not been to the maul. I was at WalMart (I know, I know-but it is so close to my work) and it seems like people lost all consideration for others. I don''t understand it! When I am out Christmas shopping I am in one of my best moods. I laugh and talk and have a good time. If any of these things ever happens to me I would be uber-pissed that some inconsiderate, crotchety sociopath has ruined my mood.

*rant over*

 

[Keepingthefaith21]

These stories are exactly the reason why I always wear my headphones while shopping and another reason why I shop alone. I can stay in my own little world and not listen to the ignorant comments I often hear in public places. When I shop alone I get in and out of the store - no browsing - except I did spend over an hour at the jewlery store when I went to get my mom her gift

 

[monarch64]

I don''t do malls, either.

In fact, I will avoid them at all costs, and honestly no matter what the time of year is, I will have a meltdown if I am forced to go in one and stay for longer than 30 minutes. Not kidding.

 

[bee*]

I was shopping today and some girl literally shoved me out of the way to get into the changing rooms-there was about six empty rooms so there wasn''t even a rush! I don''t know how people get so stressed about shopping! Sorry to hear about that woman Fiery!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 12/21/2009 11:37:57 AM
Author: bee*
I was shopping today and some girl literally shoved me out of the way to get into the changing rooms-there was about six empty rooms so there wasn''t even a rush! I don''t know how people get so stressed about shopping! Sorry to hear about that woman Fiery!

LOL I agree Bee* - shopping should be fun, not stressful!

I am so sorry for everyone who has witnessed such bizaare behavior. I have to say, I don''t think its restricted to Christmas, just more prevalent. A big eye-opener for me was when I spent almost 3 months on crutches in college after a car accident. People were so incredibly inconsiderate - I can''t tell you how many people let doors slam in my face, or almost knocked me over trying to get to something, or were otherwise rude and/or inconsiderate. It got worse in shopping centers, and worse as the holidays approached for sure.

I try to do my shopping online so I can avoid the crazy crowds this time of year, and when I do go out, I try to remember that we never know what others are going through, and so I try to be empathetic whenever I can, but behavior like what you all witnessed above really crosses a line...

 

[HollyS]

Where the heck was mall security? That wouldn''t have happened here; or if it did, the gal with the mouth would have been escorted right on out the door into the hands of the local police.

Some HS age kid merely ran into me one day, and failed to apologize or even acknowledge me, and mall security hurried up and asked if I was fine while detaining the kid. What would they have done if I had wanted to be a jerk about it? I''ve always wondered . . .

 

[Bia]

Date: 12/21/2009 11:05:27 AM
Author: monarch64
I don''t do malls, either.

In fact, I will avoid them at all costs, and honestly no matter what the time of year is, I will have a meltdown if I am forced to go in one and stay for longer than 30 minutes. Not kidding.

+ 1

I had a parking ''experience'' in a NY mall (Palisades anyone?

) and I learned my lesson well. No, no, no! No malls for me.

IMO, that''s the best thing about online shopping!

 

[Haven]

That''s shocking! I''ve never seen people behave like that in real life. (It sounds like something off a daytime talk show.)

Our local mall is actually very calm. People look you up and down, but everyone is so dressed up it''s a great place to see some impressive bling. There are a lot of older people around here, maybe that''s why.