I Know You Saw Me

A common theme on the blog is me telling people to just be who they are. I have a very low tolerance for people who I think are acting a certain way just to get more people to like them, especially athletes like Alex Rodriguez and Kobe Bryant. I'll respect you more if you are true to yourself, even if that true self is an asshole. Going hand in hand with that is not trying to act like you didn't know what you were doing when you get caught being an asshole. I'm not saying you have to come right out and admit you were trying to be rude or anything, but just don't try and backtrack like you weren't. All that does is make me like you even less than I already do.

This came up yesterday when I went to buy lunch. I went to the deli near my house and went inside. (Yes, the same deli where my truck died last week. I even parked in the same spot. But, because this time it wasn't raining and I brought my phone, my vehicle started without any problems.) It appears I had shown up during the lunch lull, as there was only one guy inside. I was followed in by three yuppie-looking people, two women and a man. I took my place behind the guy who was in front of the counter, assuming we were forming a line. One of the women in the group which came in behind me saddled up on my left, just slightly forward of where I was standing. Clearly, she was trying to cut me in line. I knew it and she knew it.

When the woman behind the counter asked who was next the woman tried to jump in with her order. Normally, I would have let it go because 'ladies first' and all, but she was holding a piece of paper, which made me think she was ordering for the office. No way was I going to sit behind her while she order 10 sandwiches for her office full of people working on mindless sales reports (I'm assuming) when all I wanted was two subs which would take a grand total of one minute to make. Fortunately, I didn't have to say anything because the other woman who had walked in with her pointed me out and said I was next. That was when the first woman looked at me and said, "Oh, sorry. I didn't see you."

For some reason, this blatant lie bothered the hell out of me. I was more annoyed with that comment than her trying to jump me in line. I mean, there were so many other lies she could have gone with that would have been less-bitchy and I would have been fine with. Maybe she thought by standing behind the first guy I was with him and he was ordering for me. Or that since I was a couple feet from the counter I was not sure what I wanted to order. Perhaps she is knew to this country and doesn't understand how lines and common courtesy work. Those would have been perfectly acceptable excuses for not waiting your turn. But, there was no way the reason she tried to go ahead of me was that she didn't see me.

Alright. Let's ignore for a second that I'm not a small man, even though I am repeatedly reminded throughout the day that most things in life are not made for guys my size. (I'm simply not a ninja capable of sneaking around corner - I make my presence felt.) But, putting that aside, the main reason I knew she was lying is that as we were walking in, I held the door for this woman. I was wearing a dark shirt at the time, but even if you have the worst eyesight in the history of humanity you should see someone held a damn door open for you. Then, she had to step around me to get to the side of the counter. My interactions with her lasted longer than with the person who was making my food. There was no way on Earth she didn't see me.

In situations like this, just don't say anything. You were unsuccessful in your attempt to cut the line. While the very act of trying in and of itself already makes you a jerk, it's not that bad. It is going back and attempting to justify the act which makes it worse. Instead, just stand there in your wrongness and be wrong. I'll still think you're a jerk, but at least I won't have the urge to hit you in the face with a sub and make you go back to work with lettuce in your hair. And, really, what lie are you going to come up with to explain that?