JERKS: 8 new-age types

Socially Unacceptable

A whole new genre of rudeness

CHARLIE GILLIS

Contemporary life has wrought a whole new genre of rudeness. If we’re going to curb incivility, why not start with these modern boors:

THUMB PEOPLE (a.k.a. BlackBerry-heads) The hand-held devices are pretty cool. The owners who halt conversations over dinner to retrieve meaningless e-mails are not.

REAL-TIME FILM CRITICS Theatre chatter is worse than ever, as DVD-renting movie buffs treat cinemas like home theatres. Nothing worse than listening to some wannabe Roger Ebert while the movie’s actually rolling.

E-TARDS Detached medium emboldens users to throw friends on messages lists without permission, or humiliate colleagues in group e-mails. Whatever happened to e-mail etiquette?

POTHEADS Plans to decriminalize: good. Adults who view this as a licence to smoke up before their kids’ soccer games: pathetic.

NUMBER-ONERS When did the shaken fist give way to the “long finger” on the nation’s highways? Trudeau did it. So did Ralph Klein. Now it seems everyone is flipping the bird.

TATTOO VICTIMS Clearly a matter of taste, but sometimes a painting is only as good as its canvas. If in doubt, please cover up.

CELL-HEADS Listening to one-sided conversations was bad enough in the '80s; now the whole thing starts with the theme to Gilligan’s Island.

V.I.P. PARKERS Maybe you have a Lexus. Maybe you can afford endless fines. But parking across three spaces – or with two wheels on the sidewalk – gives the number-oners all the justification they need.

Accurate.

Hahaha

There does seem to be a growing lack of self respect with many people, which manifests itself in an even larger lack of respect for others.

“Potheads”
Yeh or neh, I could care less as long as it doesn’t hurt me or my family. I don’t judge folks on what they want to do to themselves.

BUT when is the last time you saw a healthy, good looking, in shape, economically productive pothead?
The last time I ran across any of these folks was back in college and they looked like either some skinny, ratty groupie, wreaking of that nasty oil cologne, who hasn’t figured out that Jerry is dead yet OR a bloated whale sitting in front of a PS2, scarfing cheesy poofs and wearing a t-shirt 1 size too small.

Decriminalization should be interesting to watch.

“Potheads”

While the steryotype is mostly accurate for more than once a day tokers, I know many people who occasionally light up who are both mentally and physically sharp. One of my good friends from college was a SIR instructor in the military. He is 250 lbs can bench 450 and can run 5 miles with me. (ex cross country runner). While he is not a pothead he does enjoy recreational smoking.

I personally gave it up years ago due to the way it made me feel. But to each his own.