I have a confession to make: I don’t like most a lot of people.
Admittedly, it’s often a me problem. I’m a bit judgy and I can be kind of a hater. For example, I’m particularly perturbed by:
- Loud chewers
- Loud breathers
- Slow drivers (this applies to shopping cart drivers, too)
- Fast drivers (this only applies when I’m out walking)
- Smokers/vapers
- Mansplainers
- Millennial girls who uptalk or speak with vocal fry
- Grown people obsessed with all things Disney, Harry Potter, or Star Wars
- Gym bros who don’t wipe down equipment
- People who decorate their cars in winter with antlers and a Rudolph nose
- Anyone with vanity plates
- Groups of people who walk two- or three-across, hogging the sidewalk
- Women who leave a mess in public bathrooms
- Men who leave the toilet seat up
- People who don’t return shopping carts to the stall
- People who don’t hold doors
- People who speak harshly to servers
- People who clap when the plane lands
- People in the back of the plane who push to get off first
- Anyone who talks on speakerphone in public
- Anyone who uses ‘Reply All’ in group emails
- Anyone who invades my personal space
This isn’t a complete list, by the way. I’m sure if I thought about it longer, I’d come up with more people who annoy me.
And while my husband would say I’m hypercritical of people, sometimes I’m justified being a hater, especially when it comes to:
- Anyone who is racist, sexist and misogynistic, classist, antisemitic, Islamophobic, homophobic, and/or xenophobic
- People with wealth and privilege who act like they’re better than everyone else
- Ignorant people with no self-awareness
For these people, I have zero tolerance. Rightfully so, IMO.
I know I should be more accepting. I try (at least with that first group of irritating people, not the -ists and -phobes). But sometimes, I just don’t have it in me — which is why I don’t have many friends. I guess it’s a good thing I like my own company.
—LJDT
