Saturday, May 01, 2010

the privileged class

I have decided that there is a new class of American citizen among us. This class of people transcends race, religion, social class and status. This group is somehow better than us. They are somehow busier than us. They are in a bigger hurry than us, and apparently they are more important than us. I like to call them the privileged class.
The privileged class used to refer to the ivy league, the people born into old money, the establishment. Not any more. Regardless of your social class, financial status or family history, you can now become a member of the privileged class.
This group is difficult to identify, so here's a few key identifiers.
1. You and three other people are sitting at a four-way stop, it's you're turn but a member of the PC (privileged class) has to go first...
2. You're standing in line at a bank, the line is clearly identified by the roped stanchions and they bypass the line, announcing "I just need to ask a quick question..."
3. You've been patiently waiting at the local big box hardware store for the customer service clerk, and just as you're about to step forward, a member of the PC springs out of nowhere and says "I've just got a quick problem..."
4. You're halfway through a grocery store, and a person grabs the bag of Doritos off of your cart...
5. You're on the highway merging onto the road from the left lane, out of nowhere a car zips around from behind you into the lane to your right, passes you on the right and then gets in front of you in the left lane. Apparently you weren't going fast enough.
6. Your kid has been standing in line for the slide, and another kid zooms in front of them and runs up the steps. You flash a glance at the kid's parent, and they don't say a thing to you, your kid OR their kid...
7. You walk into a store to purchase something, and the person behind the counter (clearly yakking it up in a personal conversation) won't help you because they're on the phone... (Yes- the PC can actually work in customer service.)
8. You're standing in the lobby of a restaurant with 20 other people who have clearly put their names on a list and watch someone walk up and ask the host "Is there any way we can get a table faster, we're in kind of a hurry..."
9. You're on a team at work, and the team has been assigned a project. However, one of the members of your team is a member of the PC, and isn't able to pull their weight because they've got more important things to do...
10. You're on your way to the checkout making sure you've only got 12 items, and a person jumps in front of you with a cart full of crap...

Check out Illusory Superiority

I don't resent these people, I don't hate them. I just say to myself (or the person riding with me) "yup, privileged class"