I currently work in retail and I have to deal with rude people on a daily basis, and, well, I hate it. I hate it because I can't tell people when they're being rude because I might get in trouble. I'm tired of being the only person around me attempting to preserve the conventions of social niceties. So. In my daily non-work life, I've started this new thing where I tell people when they are being rude. Not in a rude way myself, mind you, just a subtle comment to let them know that I noticed they were being rude and I didn't appreciate it.

For example today I was printing some stuff up at school from a PDF file, and when I went to print it, all the pages came out blank. It was 20 pages, and at 10 cents a copy, I'd just paid $2.00 to print blank pages. I am a poor student, so needless to say, I was pissed. So I went up to the help desk and informed the girl (she was younger than I am, probably around 20-ish) of my problem. She went to the computer I'd been using and asked me to show her what I'd done. Apparently, I was supposed to print from the PDF print icon, and not go to file and then print, and blah blah blah. So it was my mistake, whatever. But the chick was completey horrible about it. She laughed at me and said, "Oh, no, no, no. You did it wrong." Another laugh. "I mean, we even have signs posted."

Okay, cool. I made a MISTAKE. I didn't know and that's why I asked for your HELP! So I told her, "Okay, is it necessary to laugh at me?" She looked at me funny and walked away.

So it's nothing big, but it's awfully satisfying to let people know that the way they are acting is wrong. I will no longer stand politely by while people get to say whatever they want and act however they want. I will stand for it no longer! I am now empowered!