Do you confront jerks or ignore them?
 

I was leaving Trader Joe's today and needed to call my wife before pulling out of my parking spot. A guy in a BMW X5 pulled up at an angle with the nose of the vehicle in the ramp people use to exit the store, and the right rear blocking a handicapped parking place. He puts on his flashers and hurries into the store. My first thought was, I hope everything's ok... I actually wondered if maybe his wife was having some health issues or something.

As I'm finishing up on the phone with my wife, the guy comes out with a bottle of wine. If you were parked 10 yards away woul you:

a) Write him off as a jerk and go about your business?
b) Engage the driver in a discussion about his lack of concern for the dozens who have been inconvenienced by his actions?

you saw me?


KT

I got other name for people like that.

As much as that would irritate me, I would definitely mind my own business. The world is full of inconsiderate people, you have to choose your battles.

While I haven't done this and most likely won't, I have alway thought that an old oil can, (the kind that can shoot a stream) filled w/ old brake fluid would be useful in a situation like that.

Most every time I drive through a shopping center parking lot I see something that really pisses me off so I try to stay away from them, especially during the T'Giving to Xmas period. You know, when folks are being most hospitable.

Most times I don't confront people, that is unless they are allowing their dog to poop on my lawn, that's where I draw the line.

Confront...and if things go to far, I pull out my badge...and peoples always feel VERY relax afterword.

I like to think that it will work itself out 'down the road' without my help.


But, that doesn't stop me from thinking maybe someday I'll buy a big early '80s Chebby pickup with an Mad-Max-style pushbar and go to town on some people though.

Guy did that in Minnesota last summer. Guy he got into it with didn't know he was a cop. Civilian wearing swim suit, surrounded by his friends, thinks he's being attacked by some self-appointed keeper of the peace and puts the cop in a wrestling move, gets him down on the ground and waits for the cop to stop struggling. Once he does the swim suit guy figures the confrontation is over and lets the guy up. Cop guy comes up shooting and kills an unarmed civilian, wearing only a swim suit, in front of several of his friends, all of whom say cop guy butted in on swim suit guy because he thought swim suit guy had done something impolite. I can't remember what it was that swim suit guy had done.

If an off duty cop got into it with me and later pulled his badge as a trump card, he might find an ex-prosecutor speaking to him who would put an end to such petty corruption by the cop with a few well-placed phone calls. You want people to respect cops, then cops have to act like they deserve respect. And that means not using the badge, gun or uniform to settle personal scores or engage in personal missions of justice.

And to answer the original uestion, no, I would never confront someone like the parking lot guy. What good can come of it? t best you create a hassle for everyone; at worst it creates a bad scene for everyone. Life's too short. In five minutes everyone is own the road and the incident is over. My time is too valuable to be taken up hassling with someone who insists in making himself a jerk in public.

If I confronted or even concerned myself with all of the jerks out there I would never get anything done.

In my line of work, we typically park at the front entrances to medical buildings when there is no dock or it is more convenient.

I try my darndest to not block handicapped spaces or at least leave as many available as possible. Unless your truck is bigger than mine(doubtful), you are not going to move it.

I did have words with a guy recently who had parked his BMW(5series) across a handicapped space with no plate or sticker. I pulled up and he was just coming out. I must have been in a pi$$y mood as I suggested that he shouldn't park there unless he needs it. He gave me a look of disdain to which I replied, "I have a 911 so I like to park AWAY from the front door so that people don't come out and see it parked right there. Some clown might decide to do something to get revenge."

"Really. You have a Porsh?"

We had a short conversation about cars and he actually seemed like a pretty cool guy. I don't know if he got the message but at least it didn't get ugly.

If he pulls up to the curb with his flashers, just pull right behind him and put on your flashers. Fair, right?

Near the entrance to the hospital where I work are four well marked parking spaces reserved for "Emergency Physicians Only". This is not near the emergency room. It's for physicians heading to the operating room or the delivery room. I saw a man in a very nice Porsche use one of the emergency spaces. I said nothing. The next day all the spaces were taken and he was once again parked in a spot reserved for physicians. I parked directly behind him, blocking him in.

After I finished my surgery I went back to my car and the guy was waiting. He was enraged. Turns out he was an insurance company rep working on a contract with the hospital. Screw him.

+1000000000000000000000000

I'd give the guy a break, clearly he was late for a date, needed wine to make up for other "shortcomings" in his dating life (the drives a BMW to make up for something right?",,
He probably knew exactly where the Two Buck Chuck was in the store and paid cash so he was in and out in 30 seconds ( as he hoped to be later that night as well)..

Whether or not i confront someone depends on the jerk in question.

Mwahahahaha says the guy driving a 930!!!

B.

The problem is : the society if full of respectless and idiot peoples.....What you do in face of a jerk like this...?...I confront and let him know (someone has to do it) that cop or not...he need to have respect for the peoples who live in the same world than him. I have a badge, I'm not a cop... ! And it's not personal mission...it's the overall society's one. And I have to add that all off duty cops have responsabilities concerning this, and why a cop would have to get into it with you...?..you're not a Jerk...!

I thought needing a bottle of wine was an emergency situation.:)

A 6`6'' tall and 285 lbs jerk has some good arguments on his side....:D

Yeah, if the guy or gal is alot bigger than me, they get a free pass.


Honestly, I used to let this type of thing get to me. I don't anymore. I figure that someone, somewhere will step up and they will see the error of their ways.

Park ranger?

Hall monitor?

Meter maid?

cub scout merit badge?

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Related story but on a freeway.

I was in the 911 yesterday on I75, just enjoying the weather. Coming up to an entrance ramp I see a new GTO merging in. I noticed it had pretty fat wheels/tires and I could hear the exhaust. I almost expected the driver to do something to "impress" me as his buddies were pointing at me.

I gave him a nod to indicate "nice car" and he must have taken that gesture to mean that I wanted to race. No, uh-uh.

For the next couple of miles he would drop back, rev his engine and all bob their heads as in, "c'mon, let's go". I stayed far away from them as they would roar up to bumpers and then have to fall back. I got off at the next exit and took some side streets to give them time to get far ahead. I didn't need anything bad happening to which another motorist could even think I was involved with them.

The car would have shut mine down with no trouble.

Have you seen the size of Zef?!!!! He is not a small feller.

Two incidents here recently involving firemen who flashed their badges during traffic altercations. Both fired.

I had a guy flash a fake(?) badge at me during a road-rage event (he was raging, not me). I started to follow him and it turned into a full-on road chase. He got away, but I turned in his license plate. Never heard anything, but he would have been arrested for impersonating a police officer had I caught him.

Ah, so then "flash my badge" is actually slang for "whip out my shlong" :cool:


seriously, why does a big guy need A badge to 'win' a stupid confrontation?

There is no upside to a confrontation other than to make yourself feel better by occupying some imagined moral high ground. You will not change the behavior of the other person, and odds are the confrontation will escalate. I have had this happen a few times with the last one being when a jerk did an illegal u-turn to take a parking spot I was obviously waiting for. I pulled up next to him as he got out of the car, rolled down the passenger window and said, "thanks for taking the spot I was waiting for." He responded with expletives, I called him an arsehole, and he started towards my car screaming "you f'ing punk I'm going to kill you" (he was in his 50's). I drove off and he kept running. He was insane.

There is no upside. Jerks persist in the world and there are too many people wound tight waiting to unleash some violence. Just drive on and depend on karma do to its thing. It always does...

I suspect the badge is used to de-fuse a confrontation that is heading in a physical direction... rather than backing down.

No, actually I envisioned you asking Zef to his face to explain what type of badge he has.

Guess it was funnier in my mind than in print.

Depends on the jerk. I probably wouldn't have confronted this guy, but I did the guy sitting next to me on the plane with two phones on, texting during take-off.

I usually just point out that they have taken a handicap parking space. Most people know it is wrong and move. The few that like to try and justify their actions, get ignored. I usually say something along the lines of "Well just though you would like to have known" and I walk off. If they are that narrow minded and self centered Karma usually gets them.
It does tick me off, but I don't let it stay with me.

hmm... well fwiw, I don't go by size of the guy, on determining whether I engage. ...It's more about the "crazy/nothing to lose " quotient.

One of the things I enjoyed about being Fire Chief was the ability to write fire lane and hydrant tickets. Nothing pissed me off more ( and still does) is lazy azz people who cant park in a regular spot to go into a store. Instead they have pull right up to the front door. I could go out on a Sat or Sun morning, pull in front of one of the supermarkets or bagel stores and write a bunch of tickets. Another good spot was one of the dry cleaners. But before someone calls me a prick, I ALWAYS hit my siren and air horns to let them know ahead of time. I always gave them a chance to move their vehicles. I'd do that a few times before they got written up. Now i'm not talking about someone sitting in there car. I'm talking about parking it and getting out.
Of course there was always the defiant ones who would tell me I cant ticket them, or tell me they would be out in a few minutes, so I would just say " OK, no problem. I should be done writing the ticket by time you come out of the store"

Other times , if we had a fire call at a store and a vehicle was parked in the fire lane in front of the store, I would purposely have my trucks block the vehicle in so they cant get. Oh well too bad, you shouldnt have been there.

You got it...Club scout merit's one....:D

Fed.

Who talked about wining...?

People that are 6'6", 285 rarely ever act like asshats. They're usually quite laid back simply because no one messes with them to begin with.

Here in philly if you park in front of a hydrant and a fire truck needs it they smash out your windows and run the hose through your car. Even if there's room to run the hose under or around it.

LOL, i think it's great.

Haaa...now:) you gotta point Bill...!