6 ms·

> Yes, yes, isn't so unreasonable the way those "flunkies" expect to be treated like worthwhile human beings? It is unreasonable for them to use their power to

• snowwrestler 14y ago
  Why is it mistaken to expect to be treated nicely? When did it become ok to be an asshole to fellow citizens? When I go to the convenience store to buy a donut, I am nice to the clerk behind the counter. When I go through customs, I am nice to the agent behind the counter. How are those mistakes?
  • jlgreco 14y ago
    Expecting that is absolutely fine. Feeling entitled to that is not. You don't get to fuck over other people's days when they fail to extend you a courtesy. Well I mean, clearly they do get to do that, but that is a problem, not excusable behavior. I treat clerks nicely because I am a decent person. I treat government officials in positions of power over me nicely because, aside from being a decent person, I understand the score. Frankly I wish American culture were such that I could just give people $50s instead of putting on the song and dance. Either one is bribery, neither particularly morally superior to the other.
    • snowwrestler 14y ago
      You think you understand the score, but to me it seems more like a persecution complex. The irony is that in Arrington's situation the border agent tried to educate Mike that this was a rule that could be safely bent in the interest of expedience, but it was Mike himself who insisted on perfect procedure.
      • jlgreco 14y ago
        If you are dealing with the burrito vendor outside your office and keep it straight business ("super burrito, with steak"), perhaps because it has been a long day and you are tired as hell, there is no retribution. The quality of your burrito service is not compromised just because you failed to be his 5 minute friend that day. Why? Maybe the burrito vendor understands customer service, maybe because the burrito vendor understands that you are peers in an economic transaction, or maybe because the burrito vendor just doesn't have an ego problem. Who knows, who cares. Fail to pretend to be a friend to that cop, DMV worker, or private security guard at the front desk of your buddies apartment? Good luck not getting hassle or at least artificially degraded service. EMT or firefighter? Taxi driver? Doctors and nurses? Train ticket puncher? Just like the burrito vendor, no pressure to be their "friend". Some jobs either attract people with a sense of entitlement, or cultivate a sense of entitlement in otherwise decent people. The root cause of this? Who the hell knows, but everyone who perceives it is not imagining things. If you haven't noticed it, then perhaps you need to tune in.
        • snowwrestler 14y ago
          I've never been hassled by cops, DMV workers, or private security guards. In fact two years ago I screwed up car registration paperwork and a DMV worker was invaluable in helping me get it sorted out efficiently. Am I somehow special? I doubt it. Maybe I don't have problems with government employees because I approach those situations with positive expectations and I try to be nice to people. Maybe I do that because I actually know a few people in customer-facing government roles and they are no more entitled or abusive that anyone else I know. I can tell you though that from their perspective, abuse is a frequent occurence--usually from folks who walk through the door with a sense of persecution. A lot of people view anyone behind a government desk as fair game, since, after all, everyone knows the government is out to get us.
      • konstruktor 14y ago
        Lying to a federal agent is a felony in the US. Had he signed the papers and gotten in trouble, do you actually think the agents would have admitted their wrongdoing to save him and risk their jobs?
  • kropotkin 14y ago
    Law enforcement agents are not fellow citizens. They are tools used by the State to engage in class warfare.