So I'M the Rude One, Ha Ha!

[Syndrome]

Mr. Syndrome and a group of friends were sitting to my left, watching the new version of "Disney Dreams" on the Wonder (phenomenal show, by the way). They were taking photos with their flashes turned off, but Ms. Imspecial on my right (a stranger) whips out her camera and starts flashing away. First, I tried the subtle approach, i.e. saying to my husband, "Honey, I thought your flash was off," (knowing full well that it was), which brought the reply, "It wasn't me. Must be the person on the other side," and my response, loud enough for Missy to hear, "Ah, yes, maybe she just didn't know that flashes are supposed to be OFF."

Didn't make a dent (I forgot that one of the genetic traits of SGs is a thick skull). So at the next flash, I leaned over and said, "Perhaps you are not aware, but flashes are supposed to be off. That is why everyone else in this row is not using their flash. If you don't believe me, I can ask a crew member to come over and detail the policy for you."

I tossed in the last sentence because the usual SG reply is, "Well, I never heard that rule" or something similar, followed by continued bad behavior. She snapped: "Well, I didn't hear anything about it, and you don't have to be so RUDE!" "And how was I rude?" I inquired sweetly. She barked back, "Well, you don't have to tell me that you'll get a crew member over here." (Yeah, because then you could have claimed continued ignorance like a typical SG).

I said, "Why does that bother you so much? I was simply being nice and letting you know that if you didn't believe me, I could get someone to verify it." She got even more pissed and had raised her voice to a point where I felt sorry for the people around us: "I NEVER SAID I didn't believe you!! I said I didn't hear the policy!! You could have just asked me nicely but you are so RUDE!" I responded, "I know you heard me say something the first time and you ignored it, so I had to take the direct approach."

Then she says, "Well, the reason I am doing it is they said not to yesterday, but everybody was doing it anyway." (Uh, didn't she just say that she didn't know it was against the rules? And how is that MY problem?) Mind you, she has two kids sitting next to her...great thing to teach 'em. I can just see it a few years down the road: "Well, I'm pregnant and a drug addict because I know it was wrong to have sex and take meth, but everyone else was doing it." Then she has to toss in another, "And you didn't have to be so RUDE!" (Rude must have been the Word of the Day, or perhaps she was vocabularily challenged.)

I smirked at her and said, "If you think that's rude, you're sadly mistaken. Trust me, if I was rude to you, you would know it." (In my mind I added "...because I would have said, 'Take one more flash photo and I'm shoving that camera sideways up your ass,' but I managed to restrain myself by reminding myself that, as a cognitive therapist, I should choose not to engage idiots that far).

She huffed, "Well, fine. I don't have to deal with rude people because I am on vacation." Internally I thought, "Hmmmmm, you're the one sitting there blinding everyone with your flash, and I'm the rude one?" But I didn't bother to say it because it's pointless to try to teach a pig to sing. Thankfully, when she saw that I wasn't going to acknowledge her any more, she shut up and and figured out how to turn off her flash.

Ironically, after the show, the family we were sailing with said, "Wow, that was the same woman who shoved her way in front of us and blocked our view at the Pirate Party." Hmmmm, how rude of them for being in her way and forcing her to push them aside.

[ktulu]

She huffed, "Well, fine. I don't have to deal with rude people because I am on vacation."

This statement explains the following statement.

Ironically, after the show, the family we were sailing with said, "Wow, that was the same woman who shoved her way in front of us and blocked our view at the Pirate Party." Hmmmm, how rude of them for being in her way and forcing her to push them aside.

See, SHE is on vacation, no one else is. The rest of the people must be there to cater to her, or perhaps they were put there by GWB to ruin HER vacation! Queue the music...dum dum dum!

[darph nader]

Sorry Syndrome,but ktulu is right,SHE'S on vacation and the rest of you can just 'piss off'.Too bad no one else around you spoke up (damn good thing I wasn't there) :twisted:
God I hate MiF MiFs. :mad:

[Syndrome]

If the rest of our group had been closer, she would have definitely learned what rude really means as she would have been verbally gang-banged! I was half hoping she would say something to me after the show, where they could hear, so we could re-enact the end scene in Lion King with us playing the hyenas and her playing Scar. But she didn't stand up with the rest of us for the standing ovation (altho' her kidlets did), and she didn't leave her seat till we were already partway up the stairs. I paused at the end of the row with the rest of our group, but she didn't get up till we headed out. Darn!

Yeah, we're a bunch of meanies, spoiling her lovely trip with our pesky demands to preserve our own vacational quality of life. Perhaps I should have volunteered to take the flash photos for her so she could watch the show undisturbed and still have her photographic storyboard of every stinkin' scene...and maybe bring her a beverage from the bar...and give her a foot massage while she watched the show...

[ktulu]

Perhaps I should have volunteered to take the flash photos for her so she could watch the show undisturbed and still have her photographic storyboard of every stinkin' scene...and maybe bring her a beverage from the bar...and give her a foot massage while she watched the show...

Can I go on a cruise with you? I'll handle taking the flashless pictures if you'll take care of the drinks and foot massages :D:

[Pinoy_Stitch_84]

Guests will never cease to display such ridiculous behavior towards Cast Member, other guests, and themselves. Sorry guys, but Brainless Guests will be Brainless Guests. It's even worse if a language barrier exists based on my experience.

SG: Yeah, yeah, I understand

Later on...

SG: I don't speak English

No common sense, no manners, no kidding!

[BirdMom]

Hearing that story just reinforces the fact that when you ask SGs not to break the rules they accuse CMs of being rude. Never fails. The thing is that I remember reading in Miss Manners column that it is more of a faux pas to tell someone that they are being rude than the actual offense in the first place. The kill-em-with-kindness approach that Syndrome used is exactly what's called for - it's supposed to make everyone around see what a jerk the original SG is

[Buggy]

Ah yes, just as there are people whose definition of fair is "favorable to me," there are people whose definition of rude is "keeping me from doing what I want." Good job keeping your cool.

[Pinoy_Stitch_84]

I say let the SGs soak in their own bath of hate, stupidity, and brainlessness. Don't jump in with them. They are fire, we (Cast Members) are Water or Earth.

Believe in the power of love

[leftcoaster]

One of my (many) pet peeves is how people have to drop the "rude" word if everyone does not agree, sympathize, or are submissive to/with them.

Maybe it's just me, but the use of the word "rude" has exponentially increased with the advent of message boards, especially Disney fan forum message boards.

A poster wants to do something "illegal" like getting her 4 year old kid into WDW by saying she is 3. "Should I do it?" Everyone says, "Sure, why not? The CM's won't notice."

Then someone says, "Why do you want to cheat the system? If the child is 4, the child is 4. All you are doing is teaching your child to cheat."

"You are rude!" "How rude!"