The Observer, October 19, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 8
Mean people suck
The first time I rode the bus in Cleveland, I got slapped by the bus driver. Apparently, I was a little lackluster in the ticket insertion department, and, angered by my sloth-scanning, the driver whacked my naïve, innocent arm out of the way and snarled for me to sit down. This was a rude awakening for me, in more ways than one. I've taken hundreds of bus rides since that day, and have never had a similar experience, but I still haven't forgotten that day. Ever since then, I've bitterly carried the experience in my heart, and my new personal anthem, ripped from those bumper stickers from the 1990s, has become, "Mean People Suck."
Mean people really do suck. There you are, minding your own business, having a great day, and some snarky cashier, office person, or even a bus driver shreds your happy little bubble of a life into a million pieces. All you can remember is that one jerk who ruined your day. It's a serious bummer. There should be a way to not let the mean people overcome your life. In fact, I've thought of three possible methods. For your reading pleasure, they are as follows:
Don't get mad, get even. It's true that there is something satisfying about sending a stinging one-liner into the face of some brat during a heated altercation at the cash register, but the satisfaction can be pretty short-lived. Not to mention, it's almost impossible to have a cleverly biting wit when you're angry. When you find yourself stuttering through "yo' mama" insults just to save face in a verbal spat, it could be time to find a new strategy.
Just avoid them. Here's a good idea. You'll be a lot less irritated with mean people if you never interact with them. The problem is that they're everywhere. The more you try to avoid ornery people, the more you'll find yourself cut off from the world. No more calling your cell phone's service line. No more going to restaurants at any time. Certainly no more public transit! It's time to face reality. You have to leave your house eventually, and once you do, avoiding the mean is a lost cause.
Give them another chance. Hard as it is to imagine, sometimes people have a valid reason for being upset. Rather than getting mad when people are rude, discourteous, or unpleasant, it could be helpful to look at things from their standpoint. In this case, it might be valuable to smile, provide a compliment, or just be extra-friendly in dealing with them. At the very least, they won't be feeling cranky for the rest of the day because you were a mean person who sucked.
Ultimately, you have the power to decide whether or not mean people will ruin your day. In fact, you may even have the ability to convert them to your world of happy interaction. Don't give up just because mean people suck. Hundreds of people could think that you suck, but you still have at least a couple friends or family members who are obligated to like you. If you keep your cool in the face of mean people, the very most you can lose are a few harsh memories of the bus driver who made you mad two years ago.
