Tossing Garbage in the street...

[chicamuxen]

I am anal about keeping my yard and house looking perfect. I pick up litter daily. I have someone that throws the same breakfast sandwich wrapper in my yard almost every morning. I really think a big part of it is jealousy.

[scrabbler1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marko There are people out there who just don't give a crap. What seems to be a growing issue IMO are the people who are clearly in the wrong (the guy running a stop sign, throwing a cup on the ground, letting his dog poop on your lawn) but if you confront them, they get mad at YOU. This seems to be a new phenomenon. I know, I'm sounding like a grumpy old man.

I used to encounter this back in the 1980s from rude, inconsiderate smokers who lit up in areas you weren't allowed to smoke in, starting with elevators, of all places! And when I spoke up, I was often treated as a troublemaker for simply wanting to breathe clean air and not be subjected to being in a fire hazard (i.e. elevator) with a lit cigarette.

[bUU]

Good point. The inconsideration has always been. It has just changed form.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chicamuxen I really think a big part of it is jealousy.

Terminal Assholeism (a medically diagnosed condition) is also a major factor.

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayinpenn I've never tossed garbage out the window I cannot understand anyone who could. I can't help but be saddened that anyone could be so disrespectful. Personal property is at the foundation of a free society. I can't help but wonder is it a symptom of change?

It would be hard to declare the work of one idiot as a sign of the collapse of a free society.

If this has never happened before, you may have just been lucky. This time you were unlucky. Try not to let it bother you so much.

If this continues to happen, then perhaps your neighborhood is in decline and you are just now noticing it. Free society will be fine.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrabbler1 I still see cigarette butts tossed out the windows of moving cars. I have come close to being on the receiving end of them as they fly passed my open car window. I shudder to think how dangerous it would be if one landed on me.

These people start forest fires too. And they complain when they are charged and fined.

Smoker hit with $575 fine for tossed cigarette butt amid B.C. wildfire crackdown | CTV News

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst People have discovered that being a jerk often pays. The other person backs down. (People who live by this policy, may eventually pull their stunts on somebody with a mean disposition and a weapon).

Oh yes! Year's ago I was still smoking and took a break outside. On my way down another smoker was coming down and thought me stopping the elevator was the ground floor.

I said something like "can't smoke here". Apparently the wrong thing to say and he went off! Started screaming I had no right to tell him where he could smoke....

I waited a day and followed him to his floor. Walked around, until I found a manager. Explained what happened and next day I know I get a call from a gal in charge of contract developer's at Megacorp. He had been a contractor.

She reviewed what happened with me and said he and his contacting company were no longer a supplier of anything to Megacorp. Apparently when he was asked about the incident and went off again to the gal in charge of his contract! I did pay extra attention on my way to the parking garage.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marko There are people out there who just don't give a crap. What seems to be a growing issue IMO are the people who are clearly in the wrong (the guy running a stop sign, throwing a cup on the ground, letting his dog poop on your lawn) but if you confront them, they get mad at YOU. This seems to be a new phenomenon. I know, I'm sounding like a grumpy old man.

No, you sound like a person who is tired of having to tolerate uncivil behavior in the name of being civil.

A few months ago I was at an airport. I sat in one of four seats. Between the seats were four electrical outlets for doing things like charging the various junk we take along. A man and a woman were using all four for their stuff. I very politely informed them that I would like to use one plug to charge my tablet. He did not want to disconnect anything. When I tactfully insisted that at least one of the outlets should be for me, he did remove one device, but looked at me like I had just bribed the gate agent to give me his 1st Class seat and send him to the back of the plane.

Sometimes I think we Americans are to polite to these people. When I was in England a few years ago I was traveling in the 'Quiet Car' of a train. Some guy proceeded to take out his cell phone and start a loud conversation - made all the louder because it was the quiet car. Within 30 seconds he was sternly reminded by several other passengers that this was a quiet car. He got up and presumably made his call someplace else before returning.

[calmloki]

Mostly we just have what we call "owner's mentality". On walks we pick up the trash that offends us, going into stores we grab carts people desert in parking spaces. We contrast that with "renter's mentality". Since we still have plenty of renters we are too aware of renter's mentality to be able to afford getting pissed about it. Interesting the way renters who demonstrate an owner's mentality seem to get ahead - but they sure do.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lakewood90712 This is standard behavior of many young ( 18-24) drivers, and has been for at least a decade. Along with driving 60 mph on quiet residential streets Usually in low end BMW, Lexus or Benz, dark tinted windows, no front lic plate. Oh My, I'm profiling again.

I don't have proof, but I've seen folks of all ages littering, though it may decrease with the older generations. And I've seen littering all my life.

When I was in elementary school 50 years ago, I used to pick up soda/pop bottles along the side of the road while walking to/from school and turn them in for a deposit to buy bubble gum almost every day at a convenience store along the way. People have been littering for at least 50 years, not sure it's worse or better, probably just my tolerance has decreased. Fortunately it's still pretty uncommon. When I find litter in my yard or in front of my house, I just pick it up. I don't believe I can change thoughtless people, though I will confront people some times ***.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

*** However, what has definitely changed IME is this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by marko There are people out there who just don't give a crap. What seems to be a growing issue IMO are the people who are clearly in the wrong (the guy running a stop sign, throwing a cup on the ground, letting his dog poop on your lawn) but if you confront them, they get mad at YOU. This seems to be a new phenomenon.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayinpenn When I was in Singapore I notice not a single paper on the ground... Gotta wonder what they are doing right? I think I know.

Litterers get caned over there. It makes them think twice.

[kcowan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scrabbler1 I still see cigarette butts tossed out the windows of moving cars. I have come close to being on the receiving end of them as they fly passed my open car window. I shudder to think how dangerous it would be if one landed on me.

The lit butts used to land on the rear leather seat of my convertible. Then I got a windscreen cover and popup. That stopped it.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Litterers get caned over there. It makes them think twice.

It would here too.

A neighbor put a sign in his lawn, right in front of a dog's pile.
This neighbor spends a lot of time, keeping a beautiful lawn, even edging it, etc. So I am amazed at the boldness of someone to not pick up after their dog.

[scrabbler1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG Oh yes! Year's ago I was still smoking and took a break outside. On my way down another smoker was coming down and thought me stopping the elevator was the ground floor. I said something like "can't smoke here". Apparently the wrong thing to say and he went off! Started screaming I had no right to tell him where he could smoke.... I waited a day and followed him to his floor. Walked around, until I found a manager. Explained what happened and next day I know I get a call from a gal in charge of contract developer's at Megacorp. He had been a contractor. She reviewed what happened with me and said he and his contacting company were no longer a supplier of anything to Megacorp. Apparently when he was asked about the incident and went off again to the gal in charge of his contract! I did pay extra attention on my way to the parking garage.

I had two memorable run-ins with smokers back in the 1980s, both on special days.

The first was just minutes after I had taken my last final exam as a college student back in 1985. I went to a department building to speak with one of my professors and while waiting for the elevator I saw a woman smoking a cigarette. The elevator door opened and she entered, still holding the lit cigarette. I asked her to put out the cigarette and she gave me a dirty look and refused. I held the elevator door open and asked her again. She again refused. I yelled out, "Security! Security!" and a nearby guard in the lobby walked over. I told him what was going on and he ordered the woman out of the elevator. She gave me another dirty look and I went up to my floor in peace and with clean (mostly, the cigarette's residual stench was still there) air.

The second was less than a year later at the office building I worked at. It was on my birthday, no less. In the morning, I saw someone enter the elevator with a lit cigarette. I stood inside, near the door and asked the man to put it out. He refused, so I held the "Door Open" button which kept the elevator from moving and nobody else in the crowded elevator could get to work. The other passengers were complaining to me but I replied that they should complain to the rude smoker because he was holding everyone up. I yelled out, "Security! Security!" just I like I did nearly a year earlier but this time some lobby attendant (not a guard) walked over, smoking a cigarette. I told him what was going on and he just walked away. The other passengers were still grumbling but instead of helping me they all left the elevator. The last one, other than the smoker who was still aboard (I was clenching a fist behind me in case things became violent), told the smoker to stay aboard just to annoy me. The smoker then left and I went up to my office in peace and quiet and with clean air. I was fairly new to the company and didn't really know whom to contact to report the incident including the ignorant lobby attendant. Nice birthday present, huh?

[frankbrenowitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 Yeah, Singapore is very clean and they keep it that way. I used to stop there to overnight on the way to Jakarta. Jakarta looks like it's on another planet compared to Singapore.

I still have a T-shirt from Singapore with the words "Singapore is a FINE city." Then it has about a dozen infractions for which you can and will be fined, including chewing gum ( not spitting it on the street, chewing it), not picking up after your dog, spitting, and so forth. More power to them. Delightful city. Respectful of each other. In marked contrast to Jakarta, where I lived for a while (during the Asian currency crisis and the fall of Suharto - lots of excitement!) I was sitting on a plastic chair in an outdoor restaurant in downtown Jakarta. The restaurant dining area had a large grate that extended the length. Underneath the grate was an open sewer with raw sewage floating by. No one even noticed.