I'm in a bit of a crappy mood this morning - another sleepless night, an argument with the cat (who always goes into alliterations in order to sound more posh, it drives me mad) and a very long to-do list today, including running errands and dealing with bureaucracy. Who wouldn't be in a crappy mood?

I've had a run of dealing with Stupid People this week. Yes, I meant that in caps. Stupid People are a breed below "people who are just not with it today". Stupid People are Stupid to the point of banging your head against the wall, considering crimes against humanity, or you wanting to take a DNA sample of their blood in order to isolate what can only be described as the Stupid Gene (you'll know it when you see it, it's the one at the elevator jabbing the call button repeatedly in their irritation and annoyance with how an important person like themselves has to wait, even when the light is already lit and you know the elevator is on its way down and pushing the button more does not put it into warp drive, people).

I'll give you a few examples.

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Stupid People #1 - PayPal.

That's right.

PayPal = Stupid People.

PayPal winds me up anyway. They're not an intuitive service to use, they're seriously money hungry, and should something go wrong - and with PayPal things often go wrong - then too bad, sucker! See you on the other side of my Mai Tai!

I recently got done with a transaction. I've been using PayPal for a few years now, I guess it was about time to get screwed, but screwed I got, in that "grab your ankles and I'm not even lubing up" kind of way. I was going to buy some Band-Aids for Statia's birthday, only the shop was out of them. So I ordered them online from an online toy shop. Simple, right? I PayPal'ed them my money.

Then nothing.

Nothing, nothing, nothing.

The boat sailed for Statia's birthday and no Band-Aids showed (these were quality first aid goods too, I tell you). After many emails to the seller went unanswered, I then went through PayPal's resolution centre. Nada. I then - 8 weeks later - raised a claim on PayPal. I'd since bought more Band-Aids as my local shop stocked them again, but I wanted my money back. It wasn't a huge sum of money, I can't reveal it because it was for a present for someone, but yes goddammit, it was the principle of the matter.

PayPal wrote me back - I won the judgement. Congrats. Yeah, me.

But, um, oh yeah - they can't get my money back.

Case closed, see ya' at the bar, sucker!

Oh, so my victory is one of those moral victories then, huh? The kind where I'm supposed to pull the lapel of my wool library jacket closer to my necktie and feel good about oneself, that the tides of justice are still ebbing and flowing, right? I should stand tall in a crowd and shout "I have truth, justice, and the support of an online consumer buyer protection agency on my side!" then?

I was furious. And I'm the type of girl that if you fuck with me on some things, I will make you pay to whatever extent I can. On Flickr I'm religious about checking to see who's linking to me and what their profile is - more than once I've been linked to by someone into seriously inappropriate porn (involving children, forced sex acts on women, etc.) or by someone who I feel crosses a line by only collecting pics of naked pregnant women or of candid shots up unsuspecting womens' skirts. I go mental when that happens, and as I'm clear about in my profile, I won't just block someone like that, I'll report them, too.

I decided to take action.

I filed another claim in PayPal, this time against PayPal.

I reported PayPal to the trading standards agency for not being clearer about their Buyer Protection policy (it won't work, but it's fun to think of PayPal having to deal with paperwork.)

I reported the toy desiger to the trading standards agency, for taking my money and running. Then I found out they have a shop in Ebay, so I reported them to Ebay, too. As soon a I can get an address out of them, I'm taking them to small claims court (because it's mostly an online process these days and doesn't tie up resources doing big things, like going after people for pit bull fighting or those dodging their taxes).

I will get a result on this one, though. My "moral victory" is not enough.

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Stupid People #2 - Some locals, or as I like to think of it, "You want me to prove I speak English but what are you doing about this lot?"

Because of our ebay cleanout and a few care packages I've sent out recently, as well as my visa application stuff (clarification materials went out last Friday, fingers crossed!), I've been spending a lot of time at the local post office (which, seeing as we had a number of auctions finish last night, is where I'll be visiting again today).

Our local post office is a village post office, and as such it has village hours. Generally speaking, it's open from about 11:01 am - 1:02 pm, with an hour's break for lunch in the middle. It's run by a woman who's about 100, and even if she knows you she still demands to see some ID before handing over a package. I prefer to go to a post office in the nearest town, which is about a 5 minute drive.

This town, though, is a bit of a dump. Some parts of it are nice, while other parts are clearly the action end of a Friday night drink up, complete with chicken vindaloo and vomit-a-thon at the end. The post office lies in the crappy area. It's not unsafe or anything like that, it's just full of 1960's row houses that scream of people who like to decorate in a style that should have left when Maggie Thatcher did.

I was waiting in line at the post office on Saturday. In front of me were two women and two kids under the age of 4. The women were both dressed in midriff baring size 8 tube tops (the tags were hanging out the back of the tops) and...um...both women shouldn't have been wearing those. I know I shouldn't be talking, I am currently the size of the house dropped on the Wicked Witch of the West, but just because you can fit into something doesn't mean you should.

Anyway, one of the kids was running up and down the magazine aisle, ripping the covers off of the magazines. The people in line behind me and I just stared, aghast. The mother, who was holding the other child on her shoulder, simply shouted "You rip them covers off, and I ain't paying for them!"

I love it when people use good grammar.

The kid stared at his mother, shrugged, and then instead of his vandalism spree he started ripping all of the freebies off the magazines and stuffing them into his pockets. She nodded, satisfied that at least he wasn't doing anything criminal or anything like that, he wasn't ripping up magazines, he was just into petty thievery.

Right about now you're probably thinking "Why didn't Helen say anything to these women?" The reason Helen didn't say anything is simple: They would have kicked my ass up and down the aisle of that shop. I kid you not, they had "I dare you to challenge me" written all over them, and since Britain in general seems easier about the assault than America does. I've seen more people hit each other here than I ever did, ever, in America. I think the reason for this is simple - in America you get sued. Here, you really don't. Witness an altercation in some areas here and it's possible you'll see some action. While in general it's a very, very laid back culture in terms of confrontation, there are those who don't play by the rules. I've seen one guy go after Angus and cuff him one, for instance. Please don't for a minute think that where we live is dangerous or violent-the lack of guns makes things pretty safe, and the problems are pretty much centered with teens and gangs in the bigger poorer areas of cities. But it happens. These women had "I will follow you and smack you down, bitch" written all over them, and while that kind of thing usually doesn't phase me, it does tend to sway my actions when I'm 8 months pregnant.

So, like the others in the line, we simply stared.

The little girl at one point dropped her pacifier out of her mouth on to the floor, and it rolled to the feet of the other woman in their party. The other woman looked at it. She looked at me. Even though the pacifier was closer to her than to me, she challenged me with her eyes, with a "Well? Ain't you going to pick it up?" look.

And on this one, the Stupid People would not win. Not only would I not bend over and pick up the pacifier, but considering the position of one of the twins it's pretty impossible for me to bend over, anyway. I stared her back down.

The woman called the thuggish boy over to come pick up the pacifier and hand it to her. He did. The woman then took the pacifier and - I kid you not - slammed it into the mouth of the little girl.

"Don't drop it again, you fucking bitch!" she snarled, and - I couldn't believe it - reached out a hand and slapped the kid.

There was an audible gasp in the line behind me as we witnessed this. We couldn't believe it. What kind of future was in store for this poor kid?

Both myself and the woman behind me opened our mouths to say something.

The little girl, though, circumvented us. Reaching out a chubby white arm, the little girl swung her arm back and nailed the woman right in the face.

The other woman, instead of getting angry at the little girl's retaliation, burst into a smile. "That's my girl!" she cooed. "You smack me back real good, dintcha'?"

Right. So in your household vandalism, thievery, and rewarding violence with violence is the way to go.

I shook my head.

It was all too late for that family.

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OK, as for the name voting- the poll thing-y seems to lock after you vote once, but I'm keeping all the stats and will combine them on Friday. This is a newly opened poll, but I did say that voting is open until Thursday and I'm determined that should be the case. You can vote once a day, and I'm feeling confused about the naming and am hoping for a lot of feedback here and the names are running close in terms of voting, so please vote!

-H.

Posted by: Everydaystranger at 08:06 AM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
Post contains 1895 words, total size 12 kb.

1 I was SO tempted to vote for Hamish and Fiona. Mark's all mad because I loaded up the Netflix queue with DVDs of Hamish Macbeth but too bad, boy, because when I'm into a thing I'm really into it, and right now I'm into old BBC series from the mid-90s filmed in and around Plockton, so suck it up, Mark, and learn to love Robert Carlyle. (Okay, there is really no point my yelling at my boyfriend in your comments, and I am sorry for being so rude like that. The Stupid People are contagious, maybe.) Anyway, at the last minute I went with Jack and Isobel. Such cheerful and cute names, both of them, I couldn't stand it.

Posted by: ilyka at September 12, 2007 07:01 AM (UztB4)

2 I do the same with everyone who adds me on Flickr... and I have had some weird ones who I've blocked and reported. Most recently, after having quite a drastic haircut, a guy messaged me asking if I kept my hair or turned it into a wig as well as adding me to his contacts. I had a look at his photos and there were dozens of pictures of the back of womens heads, hairdressers and piles of recently-shorn hair. Truly disgusting. After watching a TV programme last night about under-18's in britain having breast enlargements and witnessing various disturbing situations similar to the one you saw I have decided to get out of the country as soon as possible. Modern day britain is vile.

Posted by: alice at September 12, 2007 08:50 AM (wPe6V)

3 Sadly, I deal with the 2nd group on a daily basis. Nothing makes me cringe quite like seeing a toddler get samcked in the face and told to "shut the fuck up" by his 6 year old brother who's taking care of him while mom is holding the newborn. I'm voting for Hamish and Fiona simply because I'd love to those names. In general, naming sibs after romantic couples has a seriously high "Eeeewwww" factor. I'm just sayin'...

Posted by: ~Easy at September 12, 2007 11:02 AM (WdRDV)

4 Those people at the post office remind me of the family that sat behind us in the theater when we went to see Spider-Man 2. They all talked (loudly) through the entire movie, and when my friend said something to them after the movie about being rude for talking, the parents started dropping f-bombs and tried starting a fight with him, all the while yelling that we were a bad influence on their kids. Seriously.

Posted by: geeky at September 12, 2007 12:47 PM (ziVl9)

5 Stupid People seem to be mulitplying at an alarming rate. Ebay is usually pretty good about going after the deadbeats, so hopefully you will get some action on that front. I applaud you not giving up-it is the lack of following through complaints that encourages money-hungry companys like Paypal to continue to screw people over. Yes, those things shouldn't happen in the first place, and it can be so easy to get frustrated and just throw your hands up and be done with it. Good on you for nailing their asses to the wall. As for the second group? You know how I feel about idiot parents. I won't go into here, but ignorance really does breed ignorance-I don't know how it stops. It is really very sad. And the chicks in line-is that what you call a chav?

Posted by: Teresa at September 12, 2007 01:21 PM (rqvQq)

6 As soon as I saw your post, I thought, 'Oh well, I'll just tell her that the worst is Stupid People breed' and then I read the last entry with the scary family and thought, 'Oh, well, she knows it now..." Gah!

Posted by: Bou at September 12, 2007 02:06 PM (fGpp7)

7 Attack of the Stupid people!! Ack!! I see Stupid people too, usually in uber-public forums, and luckily that means I don't have to deal with it everyday. If I had to deal with it every day or was in a customer service position I think I would need anger managment. Can I tell you a little story... I'm a vegetarain, and these days it's usually pretty easy to find something I can eat. Recently I was at a pub that has pretty decent fare, on their menu were turkey and chicken wraps... so I ask simply for a veggie wrap. You would have thought I was asking for the theory of relativety...the girl stared at me with a completely blank face and said I'm sorry those aren't on the menu. I (really) thought she was joking so I waited a second, only to realize she was completely serious. I said "ok, well can I have a turkey wrap with all the veggies but hold the turkey?" She cheerfully says that we can do...

Posted by: Angela at September 12, 2007 02:25 PM (DGWM7)

8 That post made my blood BOIL! Yes, I too have a hatred of stupid people. But slapping a little girl for dropping her pacifier, even if I were 8 months pregnant, I would have KICKED HER ASS! There was no reason to slap that baby girl, and to call her a fucking bitch in a public area, WTF? The little boy on the other had needed his ass beat....but I guess Scrappers breed scrappers. My gawd I'm so mad....seems any asshole can have a child (like people who don't deserve to have children i.e. these to mindless twits) and good people who'd raise children in a loving and safe environment have a hellofatime getting pregnant. On another note...I seem to be a magnet for stupid people and freaks. I recently posted a tid bit about the stupid people I seem to meet on airplanes. Because you know, they crawl out of the woodwork on an airplane and for some silly reason I get the aggravation of having to sit near or next to them. I'm so lucky.

Posted by: Heidi at September 12, 2007 04:20 PM (UVGf0)

9 OMG. I'm flabbergasted...on both counts. Wow.

Posted by: sue at September 12, 2007 05:39 PM (WbfZD)

10 It seems to be Stupid People Month. Here too. August was Insane Exes Fucking with Everything month. Wonder what October will be? I mean other than Arrival of the Lemonheads Month.... :-)

Posted by: caltechgirl at September 12, 2007 06:03 PM (/vgMZ)

11 So, my friends and I call those people "retahded." Softening the "r" somehow makes it so much more fun.

Posted by: Amanda at September 12, 2007 06:04 PM (B5c+c)

12 I'm such an emotional wuss lately that now I'm crying for those poor kids. I just don't have the heart to get pissed off. So damn sad.

Posted by: The other Amber at September 12, 2007 06:31 PM (zQE5D)

13 Helen - The quiz is great but as an American reader don't do Nick/Nora! They sound like characters on General Hospital!Joshua/Sydney are too 70s. I think definitely a tie between Hamish/Fiona and Gavin/Eliza. I know both an Eliza and a Gavin and they are brillant!

Posted by: Kim at September 12, 2007 09:18 PM (WDqDv)

14 Sorry to hear that lowlife trailer trash apparently breeds on the other side of the pond as well. Like you, I have a low tolerance for stupidity, I feel it degrades me and halves my IQ when I'm in such people's presence.

Posted by: diamond dave at September 13, 2007 03:23 AM (n3kGs)

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