It's hard to say how "nice" any of us would be if we had our hands tied behind our backs and our heads on a chopping block. As this is the condition that many, many Americans in the corporate world find themselves in, it's to be expected that all manner of civility at work or on the subway, or anywhere where you're likely to find more than one human being, is going to erode fast.
Ever heard of "white-collar rage"? Details magazine did a story on this last month and it states that men are especially freaked out by the economic crisis and that they are lashing out in the sissy-est of ways. Printer slamming, shoving, cursing - causing scenes at Starbucks when they're cut in line - the corporate A-hole whose swagger made up for his jerk ways is now a PMS-ing, rage-a-holic bitch.
Truth: last night a young lady told me about how a middle-aged man, dressed in a suit and tie, literally ran up behind her on the subway, SHOVED HER, and said "you did that to me at the top of the stairs, now I'm doing it to you." And seeing as New York women don't put up with ish, my homegirl shoved the dude back, only to have him LUNGE FOR HER THROAT.
Suits and ties, lunging for throats, shoving and screaming.
Yes, people, times are getting harder.
Now, seeing as I work in PR I'm used to bitchy behavior, it can be the up-and-down assessment of your outfit when you walk into a meeting or the thud of a PowerPoint presentation being dropped on your desk as someone mumbles the words "fix it" at you. But now I'm noticing straight up rage coming from pansies who are way overpaid to update their Twitter and Facebook accounts - just a few weeks ago some (very senior) dude cursed me out when I asked for a document that only he had access to! Now, if this were (what's left) of Lehman Brothers, or some other testosterone-driven environment, I'd laugh it off, but I work in the business of "girl, I love those shoes" and "yeah, I'm doing pilates now," so you can imagine my shock when someone tried to butch up at me.
To make matters worse, the "Power Suit" is making a comeback. So now you can expect whatever freakshow who's harboring homicidal tendencies to come at you full-force in his best Alex P. Keaton regalia. I'm rolling my eyes packing a blade (and my shoulder pads).
White Collar rage? Sounds to me like you're describing typican NY asshole snowbirds who come here to Florida during the season.
ReplyDeleteThey push & shove in stores, they get between me and the product I'm considering purchasing, they don't tip worth a shit (IF they tip at all), they eat a whole meal and then bitch about it trying for a freebie, "No sharing" is clearly printed in every restaraunt but they do it anyway, you hold the door open for them and they look at you like you're about to stick them up, they drive 30 MPH in the left lane of the interstate and have the audacity to give you the finger when you pass them on the right, when you're slowing for a traffic light, they cut in front of you causing you to brake even more, they turn on their left signal to turn right etc.etc.etc.
I don't see where the "White Collar Rage" is. Maybe somebody visiting NYC, who's never experienced what big assholes New Yorkers are, coined the phrase.
It's another example of a diagnosis as an excuse.
I supposed I'd be angry all the time if I had to eat Malt-O-Meal, instead of grits and biscuits, too. That and the fact that nobody north of the Mason-Dixon has a clue what sweet tea is.