My, what a !@#$%^&&* day!!!
Dudes and dudettes, I need to vent. I live right in the heart of "Bush Country", which is frusterating enough in itself, but today, I really envy people who can live wherever they want. I stay here because my whole family is here, and they help out with my kids (I'm a single mom of 2). so right at the moment, I feel I need to stay here, and I would probably find the same problems anywhere I went anyway......
Today, i went to my local HEB. I was leaving the store, pushin my cart toward my car, when a large SUV (damn those things!!!) pulled up right beside my car, and I didn't have room to push the cart to the driver's side. So I went around the other side of my car, and came to the driver's side via the long way. Anyway, as soon as I opened my car door, I accidentally bumped the back bumper of that large energy wasting hunk of junk, very lightly. A woman jumped out, and said, "you hit my car". I said "excuse me?" "you hit my car". I said, "well I just barely bumped it" "you still hit my car". At this point I said,, "you need to chill out, because I barely bumped it with my door" .
She went on to say, "you had plenty of room". I didn't say anything else, and she went back to the front of her car. Well, I put my cart directly behind her car. She came back and started mouthing off to me, which I didn't hear her, cos I was in my car, and I flipped her off and left. Dammit, if I hadn't had my 4 year old daughter with me, I would have said a few choice words to her. She didn't leave me enough room in the first place, and the nerve of her to confront me like that!!!! The only reason I'm posting this on here, is because I am a left wing liberal in the midst of a bunch of asshole conservatives who only care about thier stinkin SUVS!!!!!!!! I have a car, and I feel somewhat guilty of that everyday, however, I live in a town in which it is almost impossible to not get around without one. and it gets good gas mileage. If she had approached me a little differently, I don't think I would have felt so defensive. Thank you for at least reading this.......
I used to live there.....It was called Midland, and it sucked! Sorry you had such a crappy day. Feel better now though! ;)
sorry that happened. i live in the south, too, and i know how hard it can be. we're liberal in a sea of conservativism!! i'm pretty outspoken about my political views, and i get a lot of sh*t for it. the best thing to do is let it sliiiide... i try to wrap myself up in books and whatnot, it really helps. in fact, yesterday my 'granny' sent me all these articles about how great the atkins diet is! WTF!@?!@#$*)( I'm a skinny vegan!! Is that some kind of personal attack?! whatever.
OMG, you lived in Dudland too, eh? :o
I was just noticing how they edit things on here. Like when I type asshole, they put "not very nice person". How quaint. .....hehehehe!!! Asshole asshole asshole asshole.
Wow there are rednecks in Pennsylvania too?? Thanx for the replies. Sometimes I feel alone in the world.........however, now I'm listening to the "Carl Stalling Project". That and you guys have made me feel better. :-*
I'm sorry you had a bad day Ramabanana. We all do sometimes and it's nice to come here and know there are others who feel similar to us.
I don't get you though. I don't understand why you feel it is ok to insult and put down this site and the admin who run/edit it. This is an amazing site not only because of the amazing food, but because of the positive support and acceptance between the members. Even when we disagree on some issues, we treat each other with the respect each of us deserves. Are you lashing out at others now because you felt lashed out on earlier?
I'm curious if it ever occurred to you the other woman may have been having a horrible day, too. You never know- she may have just found out her child had cancer. She may have just lost her job or her mother just passed away. Maybe she had recently been involved in another accident that had left her injured or shaken and was reacting on the feelings of fear or vulnerability it brought back. In other words, she may have been having an even worse day than you. Personally, if someone even bumped my vehicle I would be alarmed at first, and if they then responded gracelessly or curtly- when they were the one in the wrong to begin with by causing the bump- it would be much more challenging to be courteous to them. Maybe your prejudgment of her for driving an SUV or parking too close to you came across in your original response to her. If you had acted a bit differently towards her, maybe she would have acted a bit different too. You never know, but then really- what's to lose by being the bigger person?
I really am sorry you had a bad day. It's one thing to vent; it's another thing to bite the hand that feeds you though, and that is what you do when you put down and sarcastically make fun of this site that you take part in when they only try to promote more positive ways. This is not the first time you've done it.
Or, she might have just been a jerk.
Or, she might have just been a jerk.
Cheers to that.
If anything, "we" are far too often willing to find excuses for other peoples horendous behavior.
Even though it's hard, very hard, having a bad day is no excuse to take it out on others.
We're not their personal welcome mats.
md
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Mahatma Gandhi:
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
Or, she might have just been a jerk.
Cheers to that.
If anything, "we" are far too often willing to find excuses for other peoples horendous behavior.
Even though it's hard, very hard, having a bad day is no excuse to take it out on others.
We're not their personal welcome mats.
s
Maybe she was just a jerk. ;D
I agree with you Yogaferret and I think you have a lot of great knowledge you share with us here at Vegweb. If I came across as "pro- doormat" that was not my intention. I do believe that we all have bad days though, and and we all have been jerks to others at times, ourselves. Being a welcome mat is different than simply showing a little compassion for someone else's upset feelings. It's easy to show it in the really obvious times, harder when we don't recognize it outright. That's exactly what some omnis feel about animals- they don't recognize animals have feelings so why care if they kill/eat them? So if we can show compassion for our animals why can't we be a little more patient/understanding with other humans (dumb as they may seem at times ;) )? And it doesn't mean we should continue to behave as jerks back just because it's the easier way out than accepting that sometimes there are things we did that contribute to the other person's negative attitude toward us.
Well, I too live in the south in "Dubya" country...Georgia, one of the only states that voted ALL "evil" during the last election. While the majority of the country moved to the left because they are tired of the lies and "hate" that have come from the current administration, the Talibangelicals made sure to vote for "values" once again in GA. Values like war, and hate of homosexuals, and intolerance of other's beliefs.
I have one more show left tonight here in Europe. After being here for a month, it has been a much needed break from the South. It's funny (well sad actually) to see how10 years ago when I would tour in Europe and other parts of the world, the US was so loved, as was our president at that time. Now we are hated. The Europeans don't hate the American people as much as they hate the ones running the US. They do NOT understand how the majority of voters put "Dubya" back in office during the last presidential election.
It's just funny to me that the ones that preach the most about being people of "god' and of having strong moral values are the ones that also preach the most hate and intolerance of those not like them. They don't care about the environment (why would they...hey the world is only 6000 years old and the "rapture" is coming anyday) and that is why they still embrace SUV's. They hate all other religions (god forbid you are a Muslim) and want their own religion shoved down the throats of others. Georgia has now passed legislation that will allow the bible to be taught in public schools....as so called "history"...! Georgia has the worst SAT scores in the country, and how do they propose to fix that? By teaching the bible in school...of course! Well when I get back home, I can only vote against that idea by not funding the purchase of bibles with the taxes I pay. The only way to do that is to leave the state. Too bad it's so pretty where I live in the Georgia mountains. But there are plenty of other pretty parts of the world to live in. I just choose not to live among hateful, mean, hypocrites any longer, and there are so many where I live. I know I will feel most sorry for all the strays there when I leave. I know none of my neighbors will do anything about them (except run them over in their SUV's if they are in the road). Maybe our country will move in the right direction (to the left), it looks like it is. The first thing that needs to stop is all the killing and hate.
Sorry to vent for so long!
-dave
To quote The Weekenders, "I guess if you take the moral high ground you'll never get stuck in traffic." Everything I need to know I learned from cartoons... ;D
To quote The Weekenders, "I guess if you take the moral high ground you'll never get stuck in traffic." Everything I need to know I learned from cartoons... ;D
Especially if you're travelling in Texas! ;D We have a 95% to 5% jerk to nice person ratio, I think, maybe 99% in the rural areas (where I am). I hope I'm in the nice % most of the time but I'm afraid that I don't always take that higher ground. There's a quote that I once saw that's becoming more and more my attitude. This is paraphased, "The older I get, the more I understand where Moe was coming from." Moe of the 3 Stooges, of course. Sometimes, I'd just love to poke these hunter jackasses in the eye! And the ladies driving the huge Ford 350s. Actually sometimes it funny to watch them fighting the steering wheel trying to turn into a little narrow parking space! They sure get an upper body workout.
"Hello, my name is K^2 and I drive a SUV"
There I said it...
It's a pig on gas... I'm sorry for that, but I have a list of reasons why I love it.
For the record... I carry an old face cloth with me. When I squeeze into all those tight parking spaces I put it between my door (well the kids doors as I'm hauling them out) and the car beside me so I don't scratch their paint... and I do get po'd when others don't take the same amount of care for me.
K^2
I'm one of those women who drives a Chevy 3/4 ton diesel truck, too. ;) Why? Because I need something big enough to haul my horses around in. I would hope you don't judge us all on stereotypes of a few. I drive a big truck, I ride my horses. You'll also find me rescuing slaughter-bound horses and after re-habbing them, giving them, not selling, them to responsible, loving people who will treat them as a member of their family. I always lose money on my horses, but I don't believe in selling my friends or selling souls. I find loving homes for them so I can rescue more. And yes, I drive a big truck. I work in a county known for having "soccer moms" and SUV's and although I think many of them certainly don't need to be driving them and it can be frustrating, I also know that many of these people are good-hearted people even if they aren't perfect like the rest of us here. ;) (I'm simply joking) We all have our downfalls. Just be careful of generalizing is all. Ultimately people have a right to their choices and acting nasty to them only turns them off to us opening their minds that we could be right and our alternatives are a better way to live. :)
Despite preferring to park farther out whenever I can and always opening my doors very carefully, I still have had my truck (that I try to take great care of since I work hard to pay for it, like most everyone else) dinged big-time by some jerk who wasn't careful with their vehicle door and then left. It can go both ways. ::)
Davedrum, I hate that you feel you have to leave such a beautiful place because of being stuck in the middle of so much prejudice and close-minded people. That just sucks. :(
Well it is obvious that some of you just don't like me, firefightress being one of you.......how do I put down this website???
Anyway, I would appreciate not being bashed. I have chilled out since I first became a member here. I know sometimes my opinions can rub people the wrong way, however, I am entitled to them.
Oh, and BTW, my bad day turned into a bad night: I broke my foot last night!!!! Sometimes I feel like me life could be made into a country song. Oh well thank everyone for the shoulder to cry on. I'm newly single too, new job, etc. I actually feel like a bit of a basket case, so just give me a break!!!! :-\
Oh, ha! I know I'm replying to myself, but I was just going to add: I didn't mean to put down any of you guys that drive SUVs. Some nice people who actually NEED them drive them. ANywho, yeah now it's just somethin dumb that happened in the past. For every jerk in the world, there are 100 nice people. Even with a broken foot, I have a pretty positive attitude today cos I got rid of my "not very nice person" boyfriend......yay!!!! A weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
Hey Rama, sorry for being a jerk myself. :-X It's obvious you have a lot of great qualities or you wouldn't be veg*n! ;) Congrats for having the strength and self-esteem to get rid of someone who could drag you down and and I'm sorry to hear about your tough go lately. Hang in there, I'm sure we'll all be thinking positive thoughts for you!
hey firefightress, there's nothing wrong with using a truck to transport horses (and I had no idea you rescued them as well...so thanks for doing that)!!!!! :) There are many that need trucks for work related issues. It's just that when SUV's started out-selling passenger cars, that is where the problem began. I drove them for years. I got rid of my SUV about 5 years ago. I have my "regular" everyday car, and I have a car for the dogs. Instead of an SUV, I traded it in years ago for a small wagon. It works fine, drives better, looks better, and gets double the gas mileage. I think most "soccer moms" would do fine driving a wagon. They can still pull up to the window at their favorite fast food joint to pick up the kids dinner while they yap on their cell phone.....
I drive an SUV too, but I choose one that gets relatively decent gas mileage and it is not 4wd, only 2wd so that makes a considerable difference in my gas mileage. I got it for my dog, she's a good size girl and would not be comfy squeezing in the back of the car. Plus, I take the light-rail to work every day and probably only drive 30 miles a week. More if I go to my parents house. Which is another reason I got an SUV, seems like they send me home with a TON of stuff! They are slowly trying to get all my crap out of their house! :D
I have the toyota prius...my baby :) I didnt get it orginally because of the gas mileage but thought at the time it was cool. Now after watching "Who killed the electric car?" I am really happy with my decision but bummed about our dependence on oil .
The prius is roomy and spacious and gets GREAT gas mileage and is incredibly quiet.
In NY almost every other car is a SUV usually with 1 person driving it. In my affluent district where I work almost ALL the cars are SUV's. I personally dont like them. I drove a wagoneer in college.
I can't see as well when there in front of me...when their parked on the street its hard to see the traffic on both sides and I really hate that as its so easy to get in a car accident here with all the aggressive drivers!