Nuzzolese
06-23-2009, 09:34 AM
Every once in a while, in my daily life of convenience and quickly moving through routines, I stumble through a situation that is rude or out of the ordinary, and the mere oddness of it basically renders me an idiot who is incapable of logical thinking on the spot. So I get bitchslapped by life. I feel like the jerk for even causing a fuss, and it doesn't even occur to me until later that any injustice was dealt. I hate this. It makes me want to stop going out in public.
Like the time I got a phone call from the Blockbuster online telling me I had to return a video before a certain date to avoid a fee. Then when I did return it on time, the cashier at the store still made me pay a fee and was all like "Well, I didn't make the phone call, I have no control over it. It's just a glitch in the system I guess, you still have to pay."
Or when I went through the drive through at a fast food restaurant and I handed the lady a coupon which she took, threw away, and didn't give me the discount. Then refused to refund me any money claiming "we can't do that, we just can't. I already ran your card." And I don't even like fast food, ever, which makes it even worse! I just consent to go sometimes if other people want to.
It was like when the police towed my car without leaving a warning ticket or trying to contact me. Then retrieval of it had nothing to do with right or wrong, justice or judgement. It just became a step in the bureaucracy of sign this, release that, pay here, cash only...
I just get so confounded by these kinds of situations. What kind of robotic world are we living in that these people seem to function as helpless button-mashers who claim that the machinery is in charge and we can't make exceptions. If the machine makes a mistake, or the company makes a mistake, we just have to take it?! If we let the machinery and the machine-like aspect of big companies (or even government institutions) dictate our lives to such a degree that we even have to accept their mistakes, then aren't we just slaves to a mindless and soulless invention of our own hands? Isn't this what satirists and sci-fi authors have been warning us about for years?
The most disappointing aspect of these situations is my own mindless drone-like acceptance of it. The oddness of some stumbling block in my convenient routine makes me more worried about inconveniencing the overall smoothness of the way the society is functioning around me (the line of customers, the unspoken expectations in that kind of transaction) that I just take it and get out of the way rather than stand there and demand justice and humanity. Of course, later I might call the manager and come back for a refund or whatever. But what the hell? I should take my stand and react more quickly. I shouldn't trade humanity for convenience.
Do you remember that stupid commercial that glorified the way everyone would ideally use a check card instead of cash? The commercial made everyone run smoothly along through buying things like products on an assembly line until one guy tries to buy a donut with cash and change, and everything stops and they all stare at him like he just let his dog pee on the floor or something. I hated that commercial. We should not be slaves to the convenience of machinery or corporate streamlining!
I say, be like old people! The next time you go somewhere to buy something, you demand quality and humanity! If someone screws up your order or someone makes a mistake, don't just take it. I know that it's not always the fault of the person in front of you or on the phone but that's how they get to us! They, the people making your life miserable, put an innocent punching bag in front of them like a shield and expect you to accept that. I say, be nice to the minimum wage slave just like you who's forced to take the abuse, but don't give up and don't let them make you into a chump.
Like the time I got a phone call from the Blockbuster online telling me I had to return a video before a certain date to avoid a fee. Then when I did return it on time, the cashier at the store still made me pay a fee and was all like "Well, I didn't make the phone call, I have no control over it. It's just a glitch in the system I guess, you still have to pay."
Or when I went through the drive through at a fast food restaurant and I handed the lady a coupon which she took, threw away, and didn't give me the discount. Then refused to refund me any money claiming "we can't do that, we just can't. I already ran your card." And I don't even like fast food, ever, which makes it even worse! I just consent to go sometimes if other people want to.
It was like when the police towed my car without leaving a warning ticket or trying to contact me. Then retrieval of it had nothing to do with right or wrong, justice or judgement. It just became a step in the bureaucracy of sign this, release that, pay here, cash only...
I just get so confounded by these kinds of situations. What kind of robotic world are we living in that these people seem to function as helpless button-mashers who claim that the machinery is in charge and we can't make exceptions. If the machine makes a mistake, or the company makes a mistake, we just have to take it?! If we let the machinery and the machine-like aspect of big companies (or even government institutions) dictate our lives to such a degree that we even have to accept their mistakes, then aren't we just slaves to a mindless and soulless invention of our own hands? Isn't this what satirists and sci-fi authors have been warning us about for years?
The most disappointing aspect of these situations is my own mindless drone-like acceptance of it. The oddness of some stumbling block in my convenient routine makes me more worried about inconveniencing the overall smoothness of the way the society is functioning around me (the line of customers, the unspoken expectations in that kind of transaction) that I just take it and get out of the way rather than stand there and demand justice and humanity. Of course, later I might call the manager and come back for a refund or whatever. But what the hell? I should take my stand and react more quickly. I shouldn't trade humanity for convenience.
Do you remember that stupid commercial that glorified the way everyone would ideally use a check card instead of cash? The commercial made everyone run smoothly along through buying things like products on an assembly line until one guy tries to buy a donut with cash and change, and everything stops and they all stare at him like he just let his dog pee on the floor or something. I hated that commercial. We should not be slaves to the convenience of machinery or corporate streamlining!
I say, be like old people! The next time you go somewhere to buy something, you demand quality and humanity! If someone screws up your order or someone makes a mistake, don't just take it. I know that it's not always the fault of the person in front of you or on the phone but that's how they get to us! They, the people making your life miserable, put an innocent punching bag in front of them like a shield and expect you to accept that. I say, be nice to the minimum wage slave just like you who's forced to take the abuse, but don't give up and don't let them make you into a chump.