Assholes

There are some people who go out of their way to make others miserable.  They're called assholes and there's nothing you can do about them.  Like it or not, the world will always be full of assholes.

Why do people become assholes?  There are MANY reasons.  Rich people are assholes because they mistakenly believe money makes them better than others.  It doesn't so don't feel inferior to them.  They are no one of consequence to you.

But let's take time to acknowledge that most people aren't assholes ALL THE TIME, but only when they're in a bad mood.  Second, let's recognize that EVERYONE has bad moods and can potentially become an asshole.

Sometimes, you have a bad day.  Something bad happens or someone's rude to you and you get angry.  When this happens, it's human nature to lash out at others.  Should you?  The polite answer of course is no.  Will you?  Odds are you probably will.

That being said, there are MANY people who are so miserable with their own lives that they HAVE to share their misery with others.  People who feel oppressed want to feel power too and the only way they can do that is to be shitty to the only people they deem lower on the totem poll than themselves.  That's why the service industry gets the brunt of the assault.  Most customers only feel empowered when they get to boss around the poor kid whose entire job is to do whatever the customer tells them to.  They know the kid can't say anything back.

And that's what keeps assholes going.  Knowing that most people will either be forced to accept their behavior or will be too nice a person to get in their face about it.  We're told to ignore the bully.

The problem is, ignoring the bully doesn't make the bully go away.  It just tells them they've won.

Sometimes people can't see over their own lives and don't realize they're being assholes.  In that case, is it really so wrong to politely inform them?

A simple,  "Well, that wasn't very nice" or a "I'm sorry you're having a bad day. How can I help you?" can be quite a wake up call to the unintentional asshole.  It brings attention to their behavior and it isn't rude so they can't really complain to your manager.  Most people will recognize when they did wrong and apologize.

And for the intentional asshole, your politeness pisses them off.  It tells them you aren't fazed by them.  They have no real power over you.  They can't win.  They are just as big a nobody with you as they are with anyone else.

And that's the best revenge.