What Are Your Pet Peeves?

[henrik]

I don't see why internet freedom needs to be pit against feeding people.
Btw, I know of at least one country in Europe where access to the Internet as a universal right is already written into law.

[jennypenny]

I don't see why internet freedom needs to be pit against feeding people.

Nah, I wasn't pitting internet access/freedom against feeding people. I'm a big believer in educating people, especially women, and the internet is obviously a key part of that.

Maybe it's just a US thing, but I'm a little tired of the overuse of the word "right" in describing anything that we think is a good idea. To my mind, it's similar to the overuse of the phrase "war on" in describing anything we think is bad. I'd rather see it reserved for things lower down Maslow's hierarchy. (another pet peeve of mine, I suppose)

The internet will never be free, or free from the powers that be, until Musk's rebel alliance gets that satellite program going and people can use them to connect outside of normal channels. Free internet speech will only be possible in a ham radio type of way with people individually connecting to free satellites.

I obviously haven't taken off my tinfoil hat off yet. It looks good on me.

[IlliniDave]

JP touched on one of my minor ones: "war on [pick your abstraction]". Previously she hit on one of my bigger ones these days, the general notion that a person having a modest degree of financial success is lucky, privileged, has an unfair advantage, or is otherwise undeserving when compared to "ordinary" people. It's even worse if they are a male of European descent. Too often glossed over is the fact that the primary path for the typical person that achieves some amount of wealth is one of hard work, sacrifice, and patience. The whole 99% versus 1% dichotomy the politicians have used to sow unrest really frosts me (and I'm not close to the 1%), as well as the idea that the people who already get taxed the highest still aren't "paying their fair share" (always tossed out there without any attempt at a definition of "fair").

Another is people in the various service industries who do not show up when they say they will and make no attempt to apprise you of that ahead of time, especially annoying when you've got to arrange time off work to meet them.

[7Wannabe5]

IlliniDave said: It's even worse if they are a male of European descent. Too often glossed over is the fact that the primary path for the typical person that achieves some amount of wealth is one of hard work, sacrifice, and patience.

I don't totally disagree with you but here is a simple economic thought experiment for your consideration.

1) You wake up tomorrow morning and everything is the same except you have suffered permanent and total erectile dysfunction and your stock market account has been wiped out.

2) You wake up tomorrow morning and everything is the same except you are now African-American, female and lesbian (with-highly-functional-sexual-organs) (changing your gender but holding your sexual orientation constant) and your stock market account balance has tripled.

Did you have to think about it?

[Scrubby]

Did you have to think about it?

Yes, I'm not so sure I would want to become an American.

[jennypenny]

I got bored sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office this morning and thought of this thread (overbooking is another pet peeve of mine). I started to jot down some other pet peeves. The list got long.

Here's my list in no particular order The first couple I've already mentioned.

-- Hyperbolic rhetoric, including calling everything a "right" or declaring a "war on" everything.

-- People who think you’re “lucky” instead of hard working

-- People who think introverted = anti-social, serial killer potential

-- Women who pretend to be dumb

-- People who can’t do math and are proud of it

-- People who equate low spending with low class

-- People who think everything new is better. Also, people who think everything was better in the old days.

-- Helicopter parents

-- People who tell me I’m too old to do something—surf, skimboard, ride roller coasters, listen to loud music, go to concerts, get a tattoo, play laser tag or manhunt with my kids, etc.

-- Cosmetic surgery, botox, and other medical preening

-- Guys who wear red shirts and black slacks on the golf course. Also, guys who insist I use the "ladies tee." Guys who wear a red shirt and black slacks and insist I use the ladies tee limp home from the course.

-- Bad drivers (I’m this close to putting a bullhorn on the top of my car like in the Blues Brothers because I’m tired of shouting out my window at them ). Bonus points for not using a turn signal or speeding up when I try and pass.

-- Women’s sporting equipment that only comes in pink, purple, or electric blue.

-- People who drive around the gym parking lot for 10 minutes looking for a close parking spot just so they can go inside to run a few miles on the treadmill.

-- People who park right next to me in an otherwise empty parking lot.

-- Everyone gets a trophy

-- The pressure to over-celebrate every little milestone (kindergarten graduation comes to mind)

-- And anyone who uses one of the following phrases gets kicked off of the christmas card list

At your age ...
But this is how we always do it.
Have your husband give me a call.
What will people think?
That isn't ladylike.
Don't you want 'nice' things?

[GandK]

-- People who park right next to me in an otherwise empty parking lot.

And ladies who take the bathroom stall right next to you when there are several others available! I don't care if you have a paralyzing fear of running out of loo roll mid shit: skip a freaking stall.

[7Wannabe5]

Scrubby said: Yes, I'm not so sure I would want to become an American.

Point. I've always thought that it was a lucky break that I can pass for Canadian due to heavy exposure to CBC children's programming in my toddler years. The very young recent-immigrants-from-many-lands I teach believe that I am either American, Russian or from the mythical land Disney created in the movie "Frozen." I have had to break up more than one scuffle in which children accused each other of being racist and I must admit with some degree of chagrin that using my best voice of authority, I have pronounced something like "In this school we are all INDIVIDUALS who are learning how to be GOOD citizens of the United States of America!" and found it to be rather effective. The children pretty much nod in affirmation of what I said and stop their bickering.

JennyPenny said: -- People who think you’re “lucky” instead of hard working

...but what about people who think that they are lucky instead of hard working?

-- Women who pretend to be dumb

I do this sometimes with mean-spirited intent. Sometimes for fun. It can be quite amusing. You should give it a whirl.

-- People who can’t do math and are proud of it

With you on this one. I became so frustrated with a group of students the other day, I was finally brought to the point of gesticulating while almost shouting "Don't you even want to be somebody who knows how much carpeting you need when you go to the store when you grow up? Are you just going to say 'This much.' and march around in a rectangle?"

-- People who equate low spending with low class

Cosign. Especially the horrendous variation on this theme I have experienced recently which is men who wish to date me assuming that because I currently choose not to own a car I am in need of rescue and then whipping out the first person plural under conditions of virtually no acquaintance. As in, "That's okay, hon, we will work it out."

-- People who tell me I’m too old to do something—surf, skimboard, ride roller coasters, listen to loud music, go to concerts, get a tattoo, play laser tag or manhunt with my kids, etc.

Triple Ditto. The fact that my recent ex once said "We need to take some of the young people if we want to go tubing." was a contributory factor to our break-up.

[theanimal]

-- Guys who wear red shirts and black slacks on the golf course. Also, guys who insist I use the "ladies tee." Guys who wear a red shirt and black slacks and insist I use the ladies tee limp home from the course.

Ha! I'm guessing you're no Tiger fan. I have a long list of pet peeves when it comes to golf.

Even worse are the people who dress in the neon, one color outfits with flat billed caps like Rickie Fowler.

[jacob]

This thread is kinda funny in that I now know that some of my idiosyncratic behavior would annoy some of you guys.

[EdithKeeler]

I agree with most of the peeves listed.

Here's one of mine: spouses who CONSTANTLY bitch about their wife/husband. CONSTANTLY. If it's so freakin' bad, call it quits already. Do you have nothing good to say about this person? I appreciate the need to vent OCCASIONALLY but if it gets to the point where every day is another trial and tribulation, call a divorce lawyer and divide up your crap.

(yes, I get tired of being the supportive friend sometimes...)

[Dragline]

This thread is kinda funny in that I now know that some of my idiosyncratic behavior would annoy some of you guys.

Guess its time for you to stop being a woman pretending to be dumb while wearing black pants and a red shirt on a golf course. Hope it doesn't cramp your style too much.

[C40]

What's wrong with a guy wearing a red shirt and black pants?

[jacob]

@Dragline - Forsooth, the entire universe itself cramps my style!

@C40 - Not quite sure either ... maybe this?

[theanimal]

C40 and Jacob- In every golf tournament, Tiger Woods' always wears a red shirt and black pants on Sundays. This is widely known by those in the golf community. So anyone who dresses like that is usually trying to dress or pretend like they are him. I've found its usually best to avoid those type of people.

[JohnnyH]

Fake Amazon reviews, especially sophisticated ones (more fake reviews by reviewing account, dozens or hundreds of fakes on same book).

[black_son_of_gray]

Preface:
The main doors to the building I work in have a switch on the wall with the International Symbol of Access (AKA the handicap symbol) that automatically opens the doors. There are two sets of doors, with a small vestibule, and each set of doors has a switch. Because of the layout, someone that wants to press the switch has to move about 6 feet to the side of the doors to press it.

Peeve:
About half of the people I see going through those doors use the switch. 99%+ are able bodied people. It actually takes more effort to side-step to the switch, push it, then wait the 5 seconds for the door to open than to ACTUALLY PUSH THE DOOR OPEN. They do this for BOTH sets of doors. I've been right behind someone before- they went to go for the switch, but I had the door open before they even got to it (it was a weird look on their face when I held the door open for them). Also, the other day I saw a man with some degree of disability in his legs. He could walk ok, but there was clearly an underlying condition. He just pushed the door open (then took the stairs!).

This blows my mind.

[vexed87]

Raising threads back from the dead (j/k ;-P)
Crumbs in the bed, its for sleeping in for gods sake!
As soon as I dress in smart/formal attire the dog jumps on me with dusty/dirty paws. (A real pet peeve)
SO hangs up washing to dry inefficiently so they take twice as long to dry and 3x the space required so I cannot get more washing done without rearranging it all.
Someone using the wrong tool for the job (no not improvising, just plain wrong).

[fiby41]

73% reservation in all education and government jobs for 'nomadic' and 'backward' 'tribes' and 'castes' instead of admission by merit when their situation is no different than anyone else's in the remaining minority.

Broken/unadjusted sprinkler systems that water the sidewalks. Bonus points if the sprinkler system is on during or shortly after a rain.

Worse when they are on during midday when the sun is the brightest than in the morning/evening. More evaporation takes place than absorption by the soil/grass.

[cmonkey]

Lawn mowers. Every other day. Never ending.