HALLELUIAH! JERKS!!

There are jerks and then there are JERKS. These are people who actually think that they know better than you what is good for you. These are not the genuine well wishing kind of people – those who don’t like seeing you go down a drain and advise you against it or people who by some merit such as sperm donation, umbilical cord, an intimate friendship etc are related to you. These are by standers who have to advise on every aspect of your life, whether you want it or not. Not only do they consider that to be their birthright, they also consider themselves gifts of God on earth!

I am someone who normally has an opinion for every thing and many a times I do render that opinion without being asked. I have been told by enough and more people that this habit of mine is far from endearing. People especially adults do not like to be told at every point in life what is to be done. Especially when it comes to small things like which shirt to wear, where to take the wife for dinner, how to spend a holiday, what is the definition of a nutritious breakfast, how much sugar is right in coffee….. At a later stage these are the very kind of opinions – brash, rash, unmindful, thoughtless which end up hurting people – though that might not have been the intention of the person expressing the opinion.

I was faced today by such a jerk who gave me a very final and imposing instruction regarding a decision I was contemplating to put into action the next day. Who the hell does he think he is?????? I am generally not a very close-minded person – I listen to every body and I take pains to agree or disagree with views expressed only by people that I value. The rest is just hot air. So it is understandable why I was irritated to the core when someone decided to butt in on a private conversation I was having with a common acquaintance. The issue at hand was important to me and quite a delicate matter. There I was discussing it with a close friend and Mr. Jerk butts in and decides to dictate what constitutes right and wrong behaviour on my part. He had not even heard me out before there was a barrage of what he thought was apt advice for my given situation. I was angry and that is not too pleasant situation for me to be in. This uncouth behaviour was topped by his analysis on where I erred in understanding my Boss or rather why my Boss did not understand me. I had had enough from a guy who did not know me or my Boss from the moon nor did he have any idea of the chemistry between us or the work dynamics.. Anyway the conversation came to an abrupt end and so did the evening.

Later, as I rewinded the event through my head I realized that people like Mr. Jerk had an important role in the world. They are the best tools for anger management. In all situations they invariably end up agitating you and you need to work very hard to control that temper of yours so as not to bash their face into the wall behind. That might well be the best tool for self-development that you can have in practical life and the best part is that they are found a dozen to one and their services are absolutely free. And for people like me they are an added inspiration of what not to be in life. So I guess, even Mr. Jerk has his part cut out in the grand scheme of things!!!!!!!!!