Would You Like to Contribute to the Preservation of Methane?

Would You Like to Contribute to the Preservation of Methane?

Dealing with people isn’t always easy.

My highly scientific findings are that 23.45 percent of people are buoyant and eupeptic, they bring energy and humor to interactions, and are a pleasure.

About 64.98 percent of people are pleasant and tolerable. They may not be especially interesting, but they are civil and polite.

Then there are the 11.57 percent who really tend to irritate right from the get-go. They are arrogant, or oblivious, or uninformed, or biased (or all of the above). You can’t wait to be done with them but sometimes you can’t avoid them. While you don’t want then as customers or clients, they may well be a flight attendant, car mechanic, barista, relative, boss, good customer’s employee or partner. You can’t always avoid them and you’re never going to change them.

My imperfect response is to minimize my engagement with them, don’t engage in small talk, and minimize actual required time together, including making it virtual and not real.

When I encounter strangers like this, it’s much easer. When someone next to me on a plane tries to chat me up with their political views and asks what I do, I tell them I’m a fund raiser and I have a quota to fill. That usually ends it.