The right to swing my fist ends at the tip of your nose
– Oliver Wendell Homes / Zechariah Chafee
It was packed, it was Friday night, and there was a labradoodle licking my shoe. The dog had been wandering around the at-capacity local restaurant/pub for the last ten minutes. Every time it came across one of the short tables, or hopped up on the raised floor for the booths, or sniffed up against the leg of someone at the bar, the poor dog received a confused look from the person who noticed it. At one point it saw a kid about 5 years old and put it’s front paws on the girls back as she walked by.
The 40-something year old dude in the Wisconsin Badgers hat was giggling at the bar. I asked him if it was his dog. He laughed and said it was, walked over, and tried to get it out from under our table.
Me: “You know Steve? The owner?”
Guy: “Oh yeah, I know Steve real well.”
Me: “You know he runs a pretty tight ship around here right? I mean, his own dogs don’t even come in here.”
Guy: “It’s fine man.”
Me: “You sure? I mean, people are noticing and he runs this place pretty…”
Guy: “Well, it’s, y’know, it’s a service dog…” (winks)
Me: “Look, I’m just saying that Steve…”
Guy: “Hey, I’m real sorry if you got offended, but my dog is in here all the time at lunch, and I’ve had a few beers…”
I love dogs. This dog in particular seemed real sweet. No barking, just gentle curiosity. It’s the owner of the dog that’s the problem. Dogs don’t belong inside a restaurant that’s jammed on a Friday night. Why? Because if they did, and everyone brought their dog at once, it’d be chaos. One person who not only brings in a dog but then lets the dog wander around loose inflicts his presence, by way of his dog, on everyone else who might not necessarily want to interact with him. He has crowned himself royalty compared to the other paying customers. The rules don’t apply to him. He’s special. And it puts everyone in a bind including the wait staff. Worst of all, he’s making his pal the restaurant owner look bad to the customers.
We’ve all made the mistake of inflicting our presence on others when it’s particularly unwelcome and most certainly uneeded. An asshole is someone who’s a habitual offender who makes no attempt to prevent those mistakes from occurring in the future.
/rant
Not being an asshole is simple if you just take into account everyone else and don’t assume you’re more important than they are. Unfortunately that’s seemingly impossible for a small but very visible portion of the populace.
I just tell people like that, that I think they are “awesome.”
Sometimes I would go so far as to say that it’s seemingly possible for only a small portion of the population.
A few other random asshole-esque behaviors that come to mind:
1. Using your cellphone as a boombox when in the company of others who may not share your taste in music.
2. Doing the “TSSSSSSsssssst” thing at the gym with every rep
3. Assuming that others are interested in your cellphone conversations
4. Ignoring the fact that there’s a right lane for slow drivers and you might belong there
5. Arguing over the menu price of the meal you ordered at a restaurant. Extra points for doing it at a drive thru
6. Walking around with a sense of undeserved entitlement
7. Talking out loud at the movies
8. Wearing sunglasses indoors
9. Hit on the barista when there are others waiting in line
10. Brag about your scrabble scores on facebook. Jeopardy:Crosswords::Wheel of Fortune: Scrabble
Great story.
I concur.
You are either a Michigan State or a an Ohio State fan Joe!
People that never learned the proper way to exit a plane. Row by row. 5 goes before 6, etc….
can you disclose the city? I am very curious as to where this is….
He’s a Badger fan… I’d let it go.
5 year old girl in the bar? I find that way more offensive than a dog. I don’t need to worry about my drunken foul language or moderately offensive hook up stories reaching the ears of a child in the room while I’m getting sloshed with my bro’s on a Friday night. Hire a sitter or stay home. But ya Benji can stay as long as he’s well behaved and stays next to or under his owner’s table, doesn’t bother me.
Side note: What the flip is going on with the Bonobos website? Everytime I get on there to use the Groupon I bought (expires 12/31) the darn thing freezes up. Not to mention every pair of pants I want is out of stock. Any insight on this Joe?
I thought this was going to be a rant. As soon as I realized it was about an isolated incident I thought,”Joe, there is a time and place.” But, Joe’s defense, he’s absolutely right. The problem wasn’t the dog, it was the owner. I know a dog that sits on the bar stool at my hometown pub – sure he’s taking a seat but the owner isn’t inflicting him on anyone in particular. That guy knew he was getting attention for something he knew he shouldn’t be doing. Not being an a-hole is about not doing exactly that.
In addition, I think we all know you can get away with a whole lot more if you are dressed properly 😉
I don’t believe Joe is tech support for Bonobos.
#1. Yes. Hell yes.
This story pretty much sums up everything that’s wrong with our society: everyone has become completely selfish and thinks they can do whatever they want.
Plus, what does that have to do with this article on assholes…oh wait, I think I get it.
Just as bad as any Big10 fan. 😉
Similarly, the people who jump up right away when the plane stops and mess up the entire proper exit process (though I do note an exception for when people are close to missing connections, although usually the steward/ess should be aware of that and inform the plane / help those people go first).
Sounds like it’s a restaurant where people drink, more than a full-on bar. But agreed for a legit bar, kids shouldn’t be there.
Joe sometimes has info on these things and I’ve actually seen Bonobos employees make comments here before, so I thought maybe he had heard what the issue is. Is it really that far fetched to ask the author of a fashion blog/website who seems to have at least a contact at Bonobos if he has heard anything?
Depends on what kind of bar it is… I grew up going with my family to the local pub and playing traditional music. I wouldn’t say I’m scarred from that experience. But then again it wasn’t a college bar with kids making out and spilling beer everywhere.
…and tweet/facebook how awesome they are!
So the point is: don’t wear a hat indoors? …I thought this was a style site.
Style has just as much to do with your clothes as it does the way you carry yourself.
This is a reminder of the latter.
Not so far fetched, but I was just going for the joke there, and I assume Omansonj was too.
I was in a bar/restaurant the other night. A woman comes in from outside asking if someone left their dog outside. Apparently it wasn’t tied down very well and almost got run over by a car. The dog’s owner was inside picking up food and instead of going out to properly secure the dog, she picks it up and carries the animal into the bar where other people are eating.
If you need an animal to accompany you while you make the blocks-long walk to pick up food, you are an as*hole and probably several other things.
Just as bad, the bartender petted the dog and then served drinks without washing his hands.
azzholes are annoying. but so are self-appointed keepers of civilization.
God I miss Billy Mays.
Just go to Bonobo’s page on facebook or give them a call. They’re great about fixing this stuff. I haven’t had problems with their page in the last few days, but who knows. Most of the stuff is sold out because they extended their Cyber Monday sale for a long time after their website crashed.
Also, with the groupon, you can convert it into store credit on your account, so you can avoid losing the benefit of the deal on 12/31, even if you dont want to buy something ASAP.
Oh, I get it, the asshole is Sky7i and the dog is his outspoken opinion about diamond engagement rings being stupid and a waste of money…
Hear, hear!
#2. That is a breathing technique to increase performance. Pushing the air out engages your entire core, helping stabilize your body and keep proper form. Every single rep may be excessive, especially with low weight/high reps, but when you go short and heavy, it becomes much more important.
The fundamental problem with civizilation is that we have seven billion people living here and way to many think and act like they are the only ones on the planet.
In NYC bringing a dog into a restaurant is against health code. I don’t know if it is the same where you are Joe, but he might be risking his friend’s business as well as being annoying.
This is just what I was about to post. I wonder how well the friendship will be doing after the health inspector shows up.
Awesome. Do it at home rather than impose on others overwhelming desire not to hear you do that. 🙂
WAAAAA
Oh Jack just cause you cant bench more that your laundry bag no need to get cranky!