Today I’ve been pondering this question as I earn my tech support money by doing things that a 5 year old should be able to comprehend. After burning off the irritation of having to do such simple tasks, I really began to think about why people act the way they do.
Clients who refuse to learn anything at all about what’s going on, yet want to call you daily (for free, natch). “Webmasters” who haven’t a clue about how email works. People who cut you off for no reason. People who run red lights. People who are too busy chatting on the cell to take the turn signal. The crackhead who scratched up the whole side of my car with tree cuttings because he couldn’t wait until the car was moved. People who work in a customer service capacity, yet seem to know absolutely nothing about the service they support. The guy who ties up a whole city’s traffic for an afternoon then wants to sue the city for his injuries when he FALLS off the fucking bridge he was threatening to JUMP off of for 2 hours before.
Is it possible that all these people are really morons? I suppose it’s possible, but if that’s the case, then the US is in bigger trouble than I thought! I mean, really!
Again, I’m forced to point out that if everyone would simply DO his/her part as a sane adult and not expect everyone else to do everything for him/her, it’d be a waaaaay different world out there, wouldn’t it?
If people would simply take a few hours and learn the basics of how their computer works and how their applications work, then they’d have a clue about how to prevent/fix problems when they arise. I mean you don’t have to be a techie to understand how email works, right? You don’t have to be a genius to remember or write down your passwords, right?
If everyone behaved themselves on the road and did NOT do the things that piss them off when someone else does them (cutting off, running lights, cell phone use) then nobody would be acting like assholes, would they?
If everyone took pride in whatever job they had (even if they hated it) then we wouldn’t have the dismal attitudes we’ve all been victim of. If everyone would just be fucking adults instead of whiney, sniveling self centered little babies who just want someone else to take the blame for their fucked up/boring/whatever lives we’d not have these issues, would we?
Well, would we?
I thought not.
Personal responsibility is not automatic. Especially not in this age of blaming everyone else for your problems. Personal responsibility takes energy and diligence which are two things that I rarely see in the lazy. But if you rule out stupidity, that leaves laziness. And if laziness is the root of the tendency to whine and snivel, then I think we’re sunk.
