To think I met some of the nastiest people ever today?

[FloralTeacup]

I was at a shopping centre today with my mum and DP. As the escalator wasn’t working, the alternative was a large flight of steep stairs or the lift. As my mum suffers with a heart condition that leaves her breathless easily, we went in the lift.

As the doors of the lift began to close, a young couple with a pushchair hastily tried to get on. As DP put him arm up to stop the doors closing, the woman of the two angrily said “Why are you letting ‘t doors close on me! Fucking idiot,”. DP actually APOLOGISED (despite the fact he had tried to stop the doors from shutting). The woman went on, aggressively, “You shouldn’t even be in the lift, there’s stairs over there!”. My mum calmly said “I have a heart condition, I can’t manage the stairs,”. But the woman and her partner just kept on, insisting that we shouldn’t be in the lift, that we were idiots, blah blah. My mum turned to me and said that stress isn’t good for her either (she was getting really worked up by this abuse). The man overheard her and said “Yeah, stress doesn’t do me good, either!”. As if the absolute buffoon was the one who should be stressed.

On and on they went, the entire time we were in the lift (which felt like an eternity). They just wouldn’t stop. I just wanted them pack it in; it was upsetting me, it was upsetting my mum. I said “shut up,” exasperated, as we were about to get out the lift. They didn’t respond to that.

Ahh, just writing that all out again has me shaking and feeling upset. I just can’t understand how and why people like that exist. Just nastiness and aggression for no reason at all.

Feel free to share any similar stories! I know MNetters have a few.

I seem to have an inbuilt take no shit persona.
I look like the middle class lady from Surrey, which I am but when I come up against the passive aggressive, so called society of today, I open my mouth and let rip (with my very exaggerated Scouse accent, I've been left 35 years) the face change is enough!
It sometimes pays to come from the wrong side of town.

I am so sorry you and your mum met people of this type. That kind of behaviour is all too common these days. My usual response is "oh you really are having a bad day aren't you" then ignore them.

@Lulu49
@InTheHeatOfLisbon
I think people are talking about dangerous individuals with mental health conditions, who are not getting the care they need, not those with developmental additional needs.

How awful for you and your mum. I’m disabled. I don’t look disabled though. The stories of drivers mowing down people scare the hell out of me. Stay safe everyone.

Last year my mum (65 at the time), sister and brother were out shopping and as they got back to the car my mum realised she had picked up a bag of shopping that wasn't hers so was on her way back to the shop to get her bag of shopping and return the one she had accidentally picked up when a man ran up to her shouting that she had stolen his stuff and punched my mum knocking her to the floor. My mum decided not to press charges as the man had his daughter with him who had downs syndrome and was worried what would happen to his daughter.

I’m very wary of aggressive people. They are looking for a fight. Their kids will learn off them, I don’t like it. Keep away. I see this way too often, as I take public transport and out and about all over. You see some worrying behaviour.

Scuse me for being vulgar but you should have just farted. Medical condition caused by stress you know.

I hate people like that. It’s their problem though, not yours. Imagine being them! Awful!

@Brocks1981 Haha, what a clever move! How could your child sit on your knee in a lift, anyway? Surely you were all standing?! What a daft woman. As if you can control what space is in the lift - everyone is going to feel a bit cramped. It’s like when the guard shouts at everyone to “move down!” to make more room on a train, except you can’t shuffle an inch because some twat in the aisle takes no notice.

@PlinketyPlinketyPlonk I wouldn’t be surprised if it were the same woman! Foul temper and attitude match perfectly. How awful for you - she was the one who caused you to go toppling over, just missing her poor child! What a moron. You make a very good point - it is like they’re full of venom. Their reactions to strangers merely existing is just incredulous.

I kept replaying the bit where that imbecile woman called my DP an “idiot”. Gets me bubbling up all over again! Nasty, horrible piece of work. It’d be one thing if DP merely hadn’t noticed her try to get in the lift, but he actually tried to help her and she still continued with the abuse. I just can’t make sense of such hideous behaviour.

As they say... the more people I meet, the more I love my dog (or any other animal for that matter).

I could easily live without people and that includes most of my family.

Three times on this thread the word 'underclass' has been used. The definition of 'underclass' is that they are people who due to lack of employment, skills, income, wealth or property appear to stand outside ordinary society. Some of the rudest, most entitled and obnoxious people I've ever encountered do not fit that category at all and some of the kindest folk I've met would fit the 'underclass' definition. Poor does not equal rude.

@vintaneer

Here, here and so say all of us!
I've often said, I wouldnt care if I never seen another human again as long as I have a few dogs.

Not sure how realistic I'm being though!

Lind posters are clearly not referring to "poor" people in general, just the nasty little chavs that make life miserable for everyone else. I think you've completely misunderstood.

And yes, Vintanner I'm hearing that expression more and more, these days, and I think you have a point.

Apologies @vintanner.

It's excitement you know.

@nonopanetta Nope, I haven't misunderstood at all. Your post clarifies that for me.

I think that there is an element of ‘underclass’, of people who are feel let down in some ways by society and therefore reject societal norms and effectively think ‘fuck you’ to everyone. At the same time, there is a growing number of people, of all social classes, who ‘know their rights’ and are happy to ensure that those rights are enforced without having any reference to the responsibilities that come with those rights.

You see it on this site with some of the NHS threads ‘I have the right to use this service no matter what’ without any thought to whether there could be a better way. Or the people who consider it their right to new towels / sheets etc every day and sod their responsibility to not screw the planet any more than they have to.

I agree that there seems to be more aggression in people, just springing from nowhere with no apparent trigger, and despite all the smart retorts I think of afterwards, it leaves me very upset when I get a verbal assault from nowhere. My go to solution is to have an imaginery list of when I take over the world, and my list involves those who will be up against the wall.....

@InTheHeatofLisbon

I’m a support worker, I support people with special needs, we go out into the community and there are people who will be very verbal about the people I support so please don’t tell me you think it’s people who are a danger that people object to because I know different because I see it all the time 🙄🙄🙄🙄

Some people are just unreal. I hope your mum is alright.

I was queue on the Sainsbury’s canteen once with my tray on the rail thing, just pushing it along as the queue shorted. I had DS with me in a sling as he was 6months ish old. I was almost at the till when I picked up an apple from the fruit display in front of me, my tray was touching the tray ahead of me so I didn’t hold up the queue in any way. The lady behind me picks up her tray and tries to cut in front, I didn’t see her so when stepped forwards she ended up ramming her tray into my back. I squealed because it fucking hurt. She screamed at me “YOU WERE STILL DECIDING”. Everyone in the canteen stared as she continued scream at me while I paid. “IM IN A RUSH” “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE” etc. She was screaming like I’d just tried to murder her.

I’m quite happy to shout at people who are rude to me and i’d Say it’s 50/50. Sometimes I back off, sometimes they do...but it would annoy me even more if I said nothing.

The one I do remember though was telling a woman with a Sari on to watch herself on the escalator going down to the tube at Piccadilly Circus - she had a piece coming unravelled.

She started accusing me of being racist, then got stuck and i screamed for the emergency button to be pressed. We yanked it out and she was okay. It was all fine, but she’d just had a really bad day with loads of abuse. It was just after 7/11 and my boyfriend at the time was Sri Lankan and used to get stopped constantly if I wasn’t with him.

I’m sorry OP, it sounds very upsetting and I would have cried there and then.

Mr and Mrs Nasty were at the airport last week, 8.30am and jumped the queue for burgers (for DS). When pulled up on it, they had the audacity to make comments, sneery faces and draw in another person to make us look like my DH was in the wrong. Who has the energy and venom to be that nasty, especially in front of their kids, at 8.30am? Seriously, I just wanted a coffee and to catch my flight.

Sorry the last comment should have been addressed to Mummyoflittledragon

I don’t give a toss why people are aggressive and what class they are. I do think it’s horrible, nasty and scary.

Unfortunately I don’t think there’s anything that you can do in a public setting. If it’s a friend or family you might have influence. However I’ve been in some situations where I’ve politely stood up for myself and nearly got punched, while I was with my young children. So number one now I ignore, back off and go my merry way.

DP overheard me being called rude the other day in a shop - we'd taken the lift as we have a toddler who's unsteady on stairs, and stood back to let a lady with a walking stick and the woman with her get on the lift, then got on ourselves. When we got to the ground floor, I got out and shooed the children out, thinking that since we were in the way of the door it was sensible to get out of the way so the lady with the walking stick could leave.

According to what DP overheard, I was rude, because we should have all stood aside, inside the lift, to let the lady out first. Quite how the logistics work there I'm not sure - it wasn't a big lift!

Anything like that I would have quietly pressed help button in the lift and alerted security. People taking their sh** on others unnecessarily is right out of order. Hope you and your and your mum (and DP) are ok and can put it behind you

I was trying to exit a car park today, turning right onto a busy road with lights nearby. They were on red but no one left me space to pull out - fair enough, they don't have to but it would have cost nothing - so I started to pull out as the lights changed. The driver of the car coming towards me would have seen this play out as he was at the red light too so what does he do? Take off slowly so I join the traffic with no issue? Nope. Drives aggressively fast at me, beeps several times and gives me the finger. I despair of people!