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5 Types of Obnoxious People You See Everyday
And how to not let them ruin your day
I was at the subway station this morning, going through one of my favorite parts of my whole day.
I was dropping my nearly four-year-old son off at school along with my wife before we both headed to our respective offices.
It is a delightful thing to see a little kid explore and learn small new things every day. Subways or the metro rail in Hong Kong has a smart card like most others, and you tap the thing at entry and exit for the little gate to open and let you through.
Under three years old, your travel is free, and so my son is only starting to learn to tap the card on his own.
There are four parallel exits, and each passenger is allowed to use any of them. This morning, as we were about to exit the station, my son was trying to figure it out as usual — and taking a second or two longer than an adult.
An old local man was queuing up behind us (when the exit right next to us was vacant). He impatiently fidgeted for a second or two before angrily stepping to the next exit (mind you, this exit is absolutely adjacent, so all you need to do is take one side-step — not a long walk) and banging his card hard on the sensor in frustration.
Seriously? You make a daft decision of queueing behind a little kid, and presumably two people, as I was going to follow my son through the same exit, and then get frustrated at a kid who is learning some simple things?
I am not proud of it, but in that moment, I did in a low tone say “He’s a little kid” as he walked off — but he was a local who didn’t probably speak English so he didn’t look back as he walked off waving his arms in further frustration.
But, as I walked away from it all, I reminded myself not to let that random person ruin my day, but also realized, that in the “rush” and craziness of our lives, how often can we display obnoxious behaviors like these where there’s absolutely no need for it.
What I reminded myself: He may have had a bad morning or might have an aversion to children – for a variety if reasons. Giving him the benefit of doubt helped me get over his behavior.
