The Audacity of an Asshole
Yesterday I took my dogs for a walk in the evening, and I was verbally attacked by some prissy woman one street down from my own. She thought she saw Maggie do her business, but in reality Mags was marking- as she does to EVERYTHING, even if she has almost no urine left. This girl started walking toward me and told me that there was a stand with dog bags right in front of me (as if I didn't know, I was trying to untangle Trixie from the bars), and that I should clean up after my dog. Wow. The audacity. I told her I knew where it was, but that I carry dog bags in my pocket for that very reason- and produced my last one as proof. She then started to yell at me more aggressively about how I needed to clean up what my dog just left. I guess I could dig wet, urine-soaked dirt or grass from the ground, but it seems unnecessary to me. I was walking with Kara, who is very pregnant and was trying to handle very bad contractions- and she started yelling back at this girl. I thought for a few seconds that we might rumble over some non-existent dog poo, but luckily my life is much too even-keeled for such nonsense. We walked away with the girl trying to yell nasty remarks, but she just sounded confused and pathetic. So even though I should not be bothered by this, I am still annoyed by the incident. It makes me so eager to move away from... Americans who act like assholes.
Earlier on the woman's street, at a trash dump (where incidentally I was throwing away a bag with Maggie's unmentionables), I was faced with an example of the things I loathe most in people. Someone had probably just moved in, from the looks of the scene. Instead of being respectful and responsible and following the clearly-posted guidelines for discarding massive amounts of cardboard or bulk trash, they just left their boxes, trash, and bigger items in a huge heaps all around the trash and recycling bins. The German garbage and recycling people will probably leave them there because it is not their job to remove them outside of contracted times. Now these people will leave the burden of their incompetence or laziness on the people who have to see and smell that eyesore. Quite possibly a building leader will have to clean up even if they were completely uninvolved. I loathe that type of inconsiderate, thoughtless and selfish action.
Quickly thereafter, I was faced with a person who feels the need to aggressively, threateningly micro-manage the lives of their neighbors despite their lack of facts or knowledge of the truth. To see the two extremes so close together made me feel uncomfortable, frustrated and embarrassed. No wonder people think poorly of Americans. If they met either of those two types, which I found within a few hundred feet of each other, they would be disgusted. There is still a bitter taste in my mouth, and I'm supposed to be proud to be of this ilk.
Earlier on the woman's street, at a trash dump (where incidentally I was throwing away a bag with Maggie's unmentionables), I was faced with an example of the things I loathe most in people. Someone had probably just moved in, from the looks of the scene. Instead of being respectful and responsible and following the clearly-posted guidelines for discarding massive amounts of cardboard or bulk trash, they just left their boxes, trash, and bigger items in a huge heaps all around the trash and recycling bins. The German garbage and recycling people will probably leave them there because it is not their job to remove them outside of contracted times. Now these people will leave the burden of their incompetence or laziness on the people who have to see and smell that eyesore. Quite possibly a building leader will have to clean up even if they were completely uninvolved. I loathe that type of inconsiderate, thoughtless and selfish action.
Quickly thereafter, I was faced with a person who feels the need to aggressively, threateningly micro-manage the lives of their neighbors despite their lack of facts or knowledge of the truth. To see the two extremes so close together made me feel uncomfortable, frustrated and embarrassed. No wonder people think poorly of Americans. If they met either of those two types, which I found within a few hundred feet of each other, they would be disgusted. There is still a bitter taste in my mouth, and I'm supposed to be proud to be of this ilk.