Why are you so mad?
"A fool lets fly with all his temper, but a wise person keeps it back. "Proverbs 29:11
"I think you're in my seat, could you move down?"
I was sitting in the Rose Bowl this weekend when the man in front of me (Mr. RayBan) asked this of the guy who was occupying Seat 7 (Mr. Jean Shorts).
"CAN'T YOU WAIT A MINUTE????!!!" Mr. Shorts screams
"Uhhh...I need to have access to my seat. Can't you just ask the person next to you to move down one seat so I can have my seat?" Mr. RayBan responds looking a little stunned
"NO!!! I CAN'T JUST 'MOVE DOWN' BECAUSE THAT MEANS EVERYONE HAS TO MOVE DOWN, AND WE ARE TRYING TO WATCH A FOOTBALL GAME!!!!!!!!!!!"
Mr. Shorts looks away as quickly as possible and refuses to acknowledge Mr. RayBan until there is a pause in the game.
Still, even during the pause, Mr. Shorts doesn't want to inconvenience the rest of the row of people so Mr. Rayban can get to his seat.
The back and forth continued for ten minutes until everyone around Mr. Shorts started complaining to him about getting in his proper seat.
What is wrong with people?
Why is it so difficult to be patient and kind?
As much as I was horrified by Mr. Shorts' ridiculous behavior, I must confess I feel unreasonable anger creep up in me as well.
I am short with the slow store clerk. My irritation with my colleague "leaks" into an email. I am just a hair too close to the cautious driver in front of me. Sometimes I "over communicate" my aggravation with my kids.
The more pertinent question is, "What is wrong with me?" Why do I ever let anger creep into my attitude?
Do you ever wonder that about yourself?
We would all do well to memorize the proverb from the top of this post...
"A fool lets fly with all his temper, but a wise person keeps it back. "