About a month ago my family took a vacation to Orlando to visit the giant mouse and his friends. My first thought was that the TV shows like “NCIS,” “Criminal Minds,” or “Law & Order,” should all consider doing shows at Disney, because $13.99 for a cheeseburger and four fries is definitely some kind of crime. My second thought can best be summed up here:
Dear average American adult: YES, YOU DO HAVE TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS.
It never ceases to amaze me how many “grown-ups,” for lack of a better word, cannot follow simple directions. For example, while in the Magic Kingdom (of overpriced food), we rode the tram from the parking lot to the park. Every time, we were repeatedly and repetitively told which side of the tram to exit when the tram stopped. We were told in several languages. And it was on a sticker in the tram. And above your head in the front of the tram. And on the signs at the tram stop. In short, it was pretty (insert expletive) what side of the tram you were supposed to exit.
And, on virtually every tram trip, some knuckledragger with more money than brain cells tried to exit on the wrong side. The tram commander (I don’t know if that’s what he was called; every tram had a driver and another person who did the announcements from the back, but it sounds cool) would remind everyone again which side to exit. When the mental miscreant didn’t do an about face and correct themselves, the comments from the trammy would get a little more specific. “Yes, sir, I’m talking to you in the yellow hat and purple tee shirt that says ‘Be GRAPE-ful I’m even dressed.’” And sometimes even then the oxygen-waster would continue to flaunt the directions as they had been explained.
Before you jump all over me for jumping all over these pimples on the backside of humanity, YES, I’m reasonably sure they spoke English, and YES, I’m reasonably sure they were not hearing impaired. Individuals in those categories could at least get a partial pass, even though the hearing impaired are VERY conscientious of posted signs etc. So this was just stupidity and, “it doesn’t really apply to me,” all the way.
And the above is just one example. Here are some more: Blowing through stop signs with something not even charitably considered a “California stop”. 23 items in the 15 items or less line. Children wearing diapers in the adult swimming pool when it’s posted that “Diaper age children must remain in the kiddy pool.”
Yeah, those are little. But they lead to something big. Because the same wastes of space who don’t respect those little instructions turn into the ones that talk back when a police officer tells them to stop and turn around. And then they put a law enforcement officer into a pretty sticky situation, and one that sometimes ends with deadly (or at least painful) force.
I’m not saying “blindly follow whatever instructions given.” I’m saying that complying with instructions keeps us all safe, and if you aren’t going to comply, you better have a better reason than just your ego or your own inflated self worth.
Get on board, folks, so we can all ride safely.
