Is being an asshole contagious?

[nytemare]

Poll question: Is being an asshole contagious?

I was just reading sniffa's post about people parking in his spot, and I got to thinking.

It seems assholiness is just pervasive in society. People can't even walk around a fucking grocery store with any kind of competence or courtesy. People won't hold doors. They block or hog the aisles, cut in line.

People will drive 25 MPH up an entrance ramp so they can focus on their cell phone conversation. They will ride up your ass when there is a car right in front of you. They will lag 15 car lengths behind the car in front of them, going 15 below the speed limit when the light is green ahead, just to be the last one to get through the light and leave you and the line of 8 cars behind you stuck at the light. They will just change lanes without looking, let alone using their signal.

So, do you believe that being an asshole is nature, nurture, or a virus that can be picked up by normally non-asshole people?

[Xipe Totec]

1. 1% of all humanity are assholes by weight

and 30% by disposition.

[nytemare]

2. Good way to put it.

:D

[liberaltrucker]

3. You forgot one

Yes, in GDP

:rofl:

[Sebastian Doyle]

14. Or worse yet

I/P :scared:

[liberaltrucker]

18. Lest we forget

:scared:

[sarge43]

4. Yes it is. The Republican Party and Free Republic. n/t

[crimsonblue]

5. No, but the shit they spread sure is. n/t

[GOPisEvil]

6. Were you born an asshole...?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i6OrOZwtmA&feature=related

Poor spelling by the video poster. Sorry.

[nytemare]

7. LOL!

I'm not sure if the song was funnier, or that a song about assholes had the spelling "yesturday" in it.

[Skittles]

8. I WILL KICK YOUR ASS AND LET YOU KNOW

yes INDEED

[flvegan]

9. It's not contagious, it's just prevalent.

And becoming more so as time marches on.

[Guava Jelly]

10. Dangerously Amused said it best.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=7170400

Hey people, guess what?

There are assholes in the world. There just are. Always have been, always will be. And they’re everywhere. They’re going to cut you off in traffic and then give you the finger, they’re going to jump ahead of you in line, they’re going lie to your face and gossip about you behind your back, they’re going to make asinine remarks about your political party, your religion or your gender, they’re going to recklessly and anonymously leave dings in your car door, they’re going to say mean things about your mother, criticize your taste in art, insult the unique aspects of your lifestyle, and manipulate you to their benefit any way they can. There are assholes in the world and they WILL push your buttons.

Some people don’t even know they are assholes. But some of them do. Some people are assholes because they have mental health issues. But most of them are assholes by default; because they were raised by assholes, it is the only way they know how to be. And now nobody else will hang out with them except other assholes. Or asshole-enablers. As firmly entrenched as most assholes are in their comprehensive asshole subculture, there is little hope that they will change, much less contemplate the counterproductivity of their assholism.

Yes, there are assholes in the world, and there’s not a goddamn thing you can do about it. You can’t wish them away, you can’t cuss them away, you can’t argue them away and you can’t kill them off. And it wouldn’t matter if you did, because just like taking a bucket of water from the ocean, there is a constant and endless supply of assholes immediately moving in to fill the void.

You can’t control the fact that there are assholes in the world. The only thing you can control is the way you react to them. You can allow their assholishness to enrage you, to devour your time and attention and energy to the point where your adrenaline spikes and your blood pressure skyrockets and three hours after the encounter stress hormones continue to flood your system, taking a toll on both the quantity and the quality of your life while you are still ranting to anyone who will listen about your latest rendezvous with an asshole. (Frankly, a lot of assholes would get a real kick out of knowing that they have that level of control over you.) Or you can acknowledge the fact that your heretofore sublime world has collided with that of an asshole, handle the situation as efficiently as possible, and then let it go. Either way, odds are that the random assholes you encounter are going to go about their asshole business without giving their excursion into your irrelevant life a second thought.

One thing is for sure, though. People who are assholes are not happy people. They are, generally speaking, the end result of ongoing and overwhelming ignorance, fear, guilt, low self-esteem and loneliness. And given an educated choice, every asshole you encounter would undoubtedly rather be free of all the negativity fueling their assholism, and have your life instead.

Just a little something to ponder the next time you encounter an asshole.

I was so impressed that I bookmarked it. :thumbsup: D_A

[nytemare]

12. That was better than the Dennis Leary song.

It would seem there are multiple causes of assholism.

:D

I like the sort of Buddhist view in the post.

[Guava Jelly]

13. Yeah..She nailed it.

:)

[Fire Walk With Me]

16. I agree with that up until the very end.

Assholes who enjoy it, turn into predators and sadists. And down from there.

[datasuspect]

11. i'm a complete asshole

i haul ass, get paid and kick ass and take names.

You might not see me in person but i'll see you just the same.

You don't have to worry 'cause takin care of business is my name.

i'll just go around someone.

i'm southbound on the side, 10-4

[madeline_con]

15. Call an asshole out.

Too many are never challenged on their assholish behavior. Stopping the cycle has to begin somewhere.

[Mudoria]

17. As a friend of mine remarked many years ago..

"God must love assholes, because he sure made plenty of them".

[FloridaJudy]

19. Assholery is contagious.

But numerous studies have shown that decency is as well. If just one person stands up and publicly refuses to act like a jerk, other folks will line up behind him or her.

I just finished a quick grocery run, and on my way into the store, I spotted a shopping cart left smack dab in the middle of a handicapped spot. It's one of my pet peeves, so I rushed over to move the thing, and wound up colliding with a guy bent on the same errand. After we brushed ourselves off and quit laughing, I remarked "That drives me nuts!" He answered "Me too!" Then after a pause he added "Too bad there's more of them than there are of us".

But as I left, I noticed a few more people were picking up abandoned carts and wheeling them into the store.

[nytemare]

20. Group behavior is interesting.

I love reading about studies that have been done on that subject. They would put a person alone in a room, and have someone pretend to fall and call out in the next room. Then, they would have 2 or more people in the room. The lone person was more likely to act, and in the groups where one or more acted, they would always take example from one in the group who actually made the decision to help. I tried to google it to get the actual article, but I can't find it.

Stanley Milgram's experiment was interesting, as well.

[LynzM]

21. Yep.

I think it is. It's also cultural to a large extent, I think.

[AirmensMom]

22. It's definitely contagious.

Like harleydad always told the kids, you become like the people you hang around with. Sweet daughter married an asshole. She was a great student for him -- now she's an asshole too. Except when she's not with him. Then she's sweet again. :shrug: