Social Question

erichw1504's avatar

What is something absurd that you have witnessed recently?

Asked by erichw1504 (26448points) October 11th, 2011

Witnessed something absurd, weird, crazy, insane recently? Care to tell us about it? Well, have at it! The more absurd, the better!

It can be downright insane or just something petty that bothered you.

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31 Answers

Blackberry's avatar

American politics.

erichw1504's avatar

So, I was at Wegmans last night grocery shopping. And we were about to get some gummies from the bins, but we were waiting for an old couple to finish up. We waited… and waited… and waited. I was watching the lady and she was hand picking out those colorful licorice candies. She decided not to use the scoop, but her hands!

Come on people, the scoops are there for a reason! Absurd!

Blackberry's avatar

I threw up in my mouth.

picante's avatar

A sales rep was pitching the concept of a radio ad for my company – it would run on SkyRadioNet (like NPR on airplanes). I asked for references, and she sent me to their “dozens of satisfied clients” listed on their website. Okay, I see celebrities of every make and model. First, I don’t have Donald Trump’s phone number, and even if I did, would he really take my call? I thought the mere suggestion was absurd and put a black eye on this concept for me.

GabrielsLamb's avatar

The greatest absurdity in life to me, in general has always been, and will always be… people themselves, especially at the introduction and exacting upon others of their so called “beLIEf’s.” that they think so highly of.

Soupy's avatar

I saw a man throw a carton of eggs at the lady ahead of him in the checkout line because she wouldn’t let him cut the line. A grown man in business casual clothes, throwing eggs at a woman because he wanted to push in front of a line and someone told him “no”.

The lady got her things for free, and the tantrum-thrower got escorted from the store.

Blackberry's avatar

@Soupy Lol! There just had to be a reason we’re unaware of. Maybe he just received really bad news

Soupy's avatar

@Blackberry Maybe. I assume he was having a really bad day. I just can’t imagine feeling bad enough that I’d throw a box of eggs at a stranger. The woman was completely bemused.

Blackberry's avatar

@Soupy It’s things like this where I feel compelled to ask this person to sit down with me and ask them what they were thinking. But there’s just not many opportunities for that.

GabrielsLamb's avatar

@Soupy Funny the things people justify given the chance? Hmmm Strange reflections on self I think? I wonder if he was forced to make a public apology and if he was made the town pirrah for expressing anger in a moment as if no one ever does that anymore.

I think people like this serve to remind the morally conceited how we are all still at best just fragile.

dappled_leaves's avatar

@Soupy I witnessed something similar a few months ago – a man in about his mid 50s was becoming frustrated at the small number of open tills at the grocery store. He stood there, and shouted “I WILL TURN OVER MY CART IF SOMEONE DOESN’T OPEN MORE CASHES RIGHT NOW!!!” People in line looked at him, annoyed or amused. He waited a minute or so, and then he DID it. It was rather shocking – more so because his cart was very full, and it made a terrible crashing noise. Then, I suppose realizing he was more likely to be thrown out than actually helped, he knocked over a couple of display stands while walking out of the store. The cashiers on duty called the police, but of course the guy would be long gone by the time they arrived.

Blackberry's avatar

Lol! Once you make a threat like that, you might as well follow through because you already look like an idiot.

GabrielsLamb's avatar

@Soupy I saw an old man at Walmart (always freaking Walmart for some strange reason?) Get really upset for having to wait in line at the express lane.

He went off like a belligerent rocket (I guess he too was in a hurry and felt some injustice at the annoyance of the express line taking twice as long as the long lines?) and I found him absolutely adorable and hilarious in his little old man rant.

As the managers all swooped down on him like moral vultures, spitting comments like “Sir that is not necessary, you are being rude.” as they came over like they were going to usher him out of the store, I walked up to him as I was leaving, and whispered… “You go baby.” and he smiled and calmed down immediately.

Strange how when people believe that the behavior of someone else makes them feel important, they tend to exhibit reactions that make it worse, not better.

All he wanted was for someone to agree with him. Once he got it, he was happy… He pat me on the back and smiled and left the store with no issues.

Soupy's avatar

Goddamnit people are weird. Like being belligerent in the store, or turning over your cart will actually make the service faster?! You can make things go faster by lining up and doing things properly. Making a fuss means that everything will take longer.

I wish people like this were forced to stop and explain themselves to everyone in the store who had to witness their little tantrums. I’d really like to hear some of these people justify why they should have a shorter line that everybody else, or why their shopping is so much more important that everyone else in the store. I think some accountability would make people think twice before acting like toddlers in public.

But alas… we live in the real world and not in my imaginary grocery-utopia.

GabrielsLamb's avatar

@Soupy He wasn’t that bad… Just a little vocal about it. He felt justified, because the word “Express” means something and I guess it messed with his scope of reality a little? They made it much more severe an event than it was. He was old and crotchety and I found him adorable.

But that’s just me. I tend to be a bit of a bitch myself so…

If people used their brains… and exercised their very flagrant “Tolerance” muscles more often, it wasn’t hard to come up with a conclusion as to why he was upset. It doesn’t take much of an imagination really…

But like I said morality junkies prefer making an issue equally as bad as whatever they are witnessing, only they call it something else when it isn’t really.

How much worse is it that people cluster together like mindless little idiots after people like that walk away and sit and laugh and make fun? It’s no better, just different.

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

A guy picking through the used cigarettes in the ashcan, looking for one’s he could smoke a little more.

philosopher's avatar

@Blackberry
You read my mine.
What is absurd is that we all continue to put up with the lies from the R and L. Neither party Represents most American’s.
What the Protests lack is a strong decisive Leader.
I am equally disgusted by the deceit of both parties, their lack of moderation based on documentation and what is best for most American’s.
I agree that the wealthiest must pay more Taxes. Our Representatives must support the needs of Middle Class legal citizens first. If this does not happen soon I fear what will.They think most people are ignorant. I think they do not comprehend the level of anger people feel. Middle Class people are much more intelligent than those who were handed everything.We are the ones that actually do the work.The fact that they continue to delude themselves and other others is absurd.
I know wealthy people that were handed everything. I often think they could never survive what I have. They lack so much and contribute so little.Their reality always seems deluded to me.To them money and power is all that matters and they assume they will always have it. I never assume much because I must be prepared.

mattbrowne's avatar

The American government and Congress being upset about the European national debt crisis, while at the same time being unable to deal with the American debt disaster properly and being opposed to a financial transaction tax (which would slow down speculative excesses and increasing revenues of countries).

Blueroses's avatar

I saw a group of earnest young hippies buying groceries. Their clothes were hemp fiber, their body odor “natural” and they weren’t shy about vocalizing to strangers their knowledge and opinions about different products. They tried to lecture a lady about how the produce she was choosing wasn’t harvested with “minimal impact” in mind. I saw them later complaining about the chemicals in shampoo entering the water system.

I followed them out of the store to their brightly painted old panel van which had a large puddle of viscous fluid under the front tires.
“looks like we dropped another quart”, says the boy, proceeding casually to pop the hood and a (plastic) bottle of Quaker State.

Hey. At least their bananas were Earth-friendly.
Absurd.

TexasDude's avatar

I saw a little boy running around campus with a Red Ryder bb gun the other day. He hoisted it high above his head and started making that guttural hooting noise that the sand people from Star Wars make.

YARNLADY's avatar

My two year grandson tripped and fell in the hall last weekend and said “Shit, I died”. This is normal language in his house. He thinks falling is the same thing as dieing.

Neizvestnaya's avatar

My fiancee acting concerned about his kids watching an R-rated movie (Devil) I brought home, completely oblivious to the R-rated video games he buys them and the pornstar avatars they create for themselves.

Jeruba's avatar

Well, my very best recent laugh was on reading Netflix’s announcement to subscribers that they won’t be splitting their services after all and we won’t be seeing a name change to the loathsome, much-maligned and justly ridiculed “Qwikster.” Here are the pertinent paragraphs:

It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.

This means no change: one website, one account, one password…in other words, no Qwwikster.

In case you don’t see it—they’ve misspelled their own horrible name: in place of the double-u that replaced the u, they’ve got a quadruple-u. Don’t you think that’s hysterical?

Well, maybe not everybody finds a great spelling lapse so entertaining. It’s ok. I laughed hard enough for both of us.

HungryGuy's avatar

Just observe any of the managers where I work… There’s no shortage of absurd, moronic behavior!

GabrielsLamb's avatar

@HungryGuy I think that’s where they are made… At work.

KateTheGreat's avatar

I saw some crazy lady with a head full of yarn instead of a weave or a wig like most black ladies do.

I really wanted her to stick her head above a candle.

CatieDalleLydon's avatar

I saw a guy take the plastic lid off of the unwrapped straws’ container at the concessions at my workplace (the one that has a lever on the front that releases one straw at a time.) He then reached his hands in a grabbed a handful of straws, then put a few back. I had to throw all the straws away. Such a terrible waste.

Then on tv, I was watching a protest that was trying to encourage people to keep faith and hope and I saw someone holding up a sign that read, “We still prey.” I believe it is “pray,” .........sad.

AshlynM's avatar

Coming off of a domestic flight, I once saw an older gentleman accordion player playing for everyone waiting at baggage claim. Never seen that before in my life. Not exactly absurd but still thought it was a little odd. You don’t see many accordion players out there. He was actually pretty good.

philosopher's avatar

I am always amazed the way some people believe extreme rhetoric bull.
The way people can not see through the undocumented lies and do not try.
I wish I could get everyone to exam the documentation.
I am amazed by people that behave like sheep.

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

Republican presidental politics.

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