Not Sure If I Should Be Proud Or Not, But ...

[Kennah]

... earlier today I was in the Post Office sending off an Express Mail package.

I was waiting in line, ensuring I had everything filled out, when I became aware of an idiot at the counter, whom I'll call Mr. Asshole, verbally abusing a postal worker. I guess Mr. Asshole didn't know that the Post Office gets busy in late December, and he wanted faster service.

I was still trying to tune it out, then I heard Mr. Asshole's very snarky, loud comments, "Congratulations. You managed to insult the customer inside of 30 seconds. Very professional."

"You dick", I thought to myself of Mr. Asshole.

The female employee walked away from the counter, and a supervisor took over to conclude the transaction with Mr. Asshole. I thought it was over.

The woman in line behind Mr. Asshole said something about being a little nicer. He snapped at her that this was not her business, and that he wanted to conduct his business there. As she went by to the next available postal worker, she called Mr. Asshole an asshole, and thus I credit her quick thinking in naming Mr. Asshole.

He barked at her some more asking, "Did you just call me an asshole?" Now I'm paying complete attention.

He repeated his question, and the man in front of me said aloud, "Well, let's take a poll by a show of hands." About five or six of us raised our hands, and Mister Asshole flips us off and tells us, "I'll shut your pieholes."

I shot back, "Try it", and stared right at him. He responds, "Oh, tough guy." I repeated the challenge as "Try me" and kept staring at him. He turned back towards the counter and said, somewhat more softly, "OK"--perhaps accepting my challenge.

A brief conversation ensued between me, and two men in front of me in line about decency, civility, and how the tough guys of the world often end up the one's with their backsides kicked. Once or twice we remarked about the Post Office being crowded this time of year, and sarcastically adding, "Who woulda thought?"

As Mr. Asshole leaves, he makes a point of flipping me off specifically, as he walks by on the other side of the counter. I wave and tell him, "Take care, princess."

I got to the counter, with a different postal worker, and got my package mailed. She actually saved me about $5 on Express Mail by using a different envelope. She told me for Washington, Oregon, and sometimes a few other states in the northwest, it's cheaper to use this other envelope. I thanked her for being so nice. While neither she nor any of the other postal workers thanked any of us for taking on Mr. Asshole, I sorta saw this happy glow in their faces that said "Thank you for doing what we could not do."

OK, maybe I pushed too hard and escalated the situation too much, and I accept that criticism in advance. However, there is at times a serious degradation in civility and common decency in public. I find it all too common for the Mr. Assholes of the world to verbally abuse front line workers, mostly because they can get away with it. The workers don't get to push back, and maybe they have the benefit of a supervisor who will step in to deal with difficult people.

When I left the Post Office, I did keep my eyes open in case Mr. Asshole thought he might wait for me outside. I saw neither hide nor hair of him. However, as I thought about it later, I might possibly have recognized him as a semi-regular fellow commuter on the Sounder Train. If he is, it should prove interesting tonight to see if he's still wearing his tough guy britches.

[KT2000]

1. No criticism from me

I am glad you stood up to that bully. Especially liked the show of hands.
You are so right about the workers not being able to do anything about that kind of abuse.
Labor and Industries in Olympia finally had to get state patrol troopers to be security for their office hours mainly because of the no tax/no id nuts.
They come up behind the person, really close and quietly tell them to calm down. If they have to, they take them out of the building.

[crim son]

2. Behavior like Mr. Asshole's has been tolerated too long

and should not be. You did the right thing and I wish more people were willing/able to "escalate" in the name of common decency.

[Taverner]

12. It's the Tea Party way : if you aren't getting what you want, yell louder

[bemildred]

3. Priceless.

:thumbsup:

[BeFree]

4. Bravo!

Mele Kalikimaka.

[Old Codger]

5. Good on ya

Way to go for sure...

[Booster]

6. Good for you. I hope if I'm ever in that kind of situation I have the

guts to do what you did.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. The princess line is priceless

and leaves him no effective response

[WillyT]

8. HUGE K & R !!!

:yourock:

:hi:

:kick:

[butterfly77]

9. I wonder if he was a teabagger..

I'm looking forward to seeing some of them get their asses kicked,for the New Year.

[Raine]

10. Cheers!

:yourock:

[tblue37]

11. While I agree that someone needs to push back against a**holes, I also now worry that any one of

them might pull a weapon on whoever does. People do some pretty crazy things these days, so in the words of the duty sergeant on Hill Street Blues, "Be careful out there!"

[guitar man]

13. That's always a concern

There's always the possibility of such an assbite pulling a weapon. Then of course there's also the possibility they could wind up with said weapon stuck up their ass too. :evilgrin:

[Poll_Blind]

14. We shape society by our interaction with it. He shaped it one way, and you helped shape it back.

Just remember there are some people out there, especially now, who are under, or put themselves under, enormous pressure. It's not a defense of their behavior at all. It's a reminder to be aware of the environment you're in and that you don't know the person you're dealing with. Be safe!

PB

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Found this interesting post office story on Facebook last night:

t the Westport Post Office this morning, notable area small-government conservative columnist for Ingram's Magazine, Jack Cashill, heard complaining that only one window was open on the busiest mailing day of the year. The manager told him of all the layoffs and that he had no one to staff a second window. I said, "Jack, this is your small government. You get the government you pay for."

[Bonobo]

16. You actually have no idea what prompted the man to complain...

You did not hear what preceded him telling the postal worker that he/she had offended him.

You, like many Americans, seem to have an under-developed sense of how professionals should work.

I think you should have kept your own big mouth shut and maybe you should also be thankful that you did not instigate a bigger problem.

Sometimes "Asshole" is in the eyes of the beholder and it is hard to tell who will get their ass kicked when a fight starts.

Sometimes violence escalates out of control and you should be aware that your own actions may have contributed to a situation getting worse.

[Kennah]

18. I very much understand and appreciate professionalism ...

... whether it's the Post Office, a cashier anywhere, a retail sales employee, or whatever.

While there are unprofessional employees who work with the public, it has been my experience the vast majority of disputes stem from the large number of princesses in the world who lack a tiara--many of whom wreak of tea.

[SheilaT]

17. Too many people think it's perfectly

okay to abuse those who wait on them, be they restaurant servers, airline ticket agents, clerks in department stores, or postal workers. The truth is, many of those asshole abusers need to be confronted about their behavior, but the ones they abuse can't do it. So thank you for what you said. Plus, in response to the person who actually defended this asshole's behavior, I'm noting that you were by no means the only one at the post office who noticed how badly behaved this man was.