Innocuous things that make you irrationally angry (a list thread)

One of my earliest on-line arguments with somebody was in defense of Ms. Liebeck and this lawsuit.

― carl agatha, Wednesday, 27 June 2012 20:34 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I thought on first reading the case, the same as what I think now: McDonalds used to make their coffee far too hot! It was physically imperiling to even begin to drink it on purchase!

And yet, I still have the same argument now with people!

the denomination sandwich artist for a subway guy or basically anyone making sandwiches. or generally speaking the addition of artist to any task people accomplish. next thing you know every guy is a dick artist for being able to take a piss, we are all posting artists for being on ilx etc

#firstworldproblems is the "that's what she said" of the conscience

Oh shit, I didn't know they made a movie about that! Presumably it's sympathetic to the plaintiff?

One of my earliest on-line arguments with somebody was in defense of Ms. Liebeck and this lawsuit.

― carl agatha, Wednesday, June 27, 2012 4:34 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, it's sympathetic. Biggest thing I took away was that the "LOL @ 'I'm suing McDonalds'" attitude that the media has successfully perpetrated is mostly pro-corporate propaganda and thanks to Seinfeld, Leno, et al, your average American will unquestionably support tort reform, which basically means the big guys can pre-rig the trial before it even begins.

She initially just asked them to cover medical costs and it was McD's who refused the cheap way out!

not going to get angry about tort reform today not going to get angry about tort reform today

ok there must be some part of the story i don't know because suing mcd cos u burnt yourself with coffee that was too hot still sounds really silly to me. and even sillier that she won. what am i missing here? (and this is seriously an honest question, that story has always amazed me and of course has always been shown as an example of the ridiculousness of american law suits but i'm sincerely curious to know why you think it's good that that woman won)

Because McD used to serve coffee at temperatures close to boiling.

Whereas an average drinkeable cup of coffee that you might buy at Costa, for instance, if you spilt it on your leg would hurt. But it would not take your skin off and cause 3rd degree burns, etc.

The Incident:
(Albuquerque, New Mexico – February 1992)
Stella Liebeck, 79, suffered severe burns after she spilled coffee on herself. She purchased the coffee at a drive-through owned and operated by fast-food giant McDonald's. She was not the driver of the car and the coffee was spilled while the car was parked. That is, Ms. Liebeck's grandson had pulled the car to the curb and the vehicle was stationary before she placed the cup of coffee between her knees and attempted to remove the lid for the purpose of adding cream and sugar. As she lifted one side of the lid, the coffee spilled onto her lap. Immediately, the coffee was absorbed by her sweatpants. Her clothing forced what was later learned to be “super-heated coffee” against her skin.

The Injuries:
Ms. Liebeck's injuries were severe. She suffered full thickness burns
(third-degree burns) and scalding to her inner thighs, groin and buttocks. She was in the hospital for eight days and had to undergo extremely painful procedures to remove layers of dead skin, as well as several graft operations.

The Coffee:
The McDonald's coffee Ms. Liebeck purchased was served at a temperature of between 180 and 190 degrees Fahrenheit. For home use, coffee is generally brewed at 135 to 140 degrees. If spilled on skin, any beverage heated to between 180 and 190 degrees will cause third-degree burns in two to seven seconds.

The Action:
Ms. Liebeck's original intention was to obtain legal help in order to be reimbursed for her medical expenses, which were said to have totalled nearly $20,000. However, McDonald's refused to pay her medical bills. This led Ms. Liebeck to file a product-liability suit.

http://www.canf.bc.ca/briefs/mcdonalds.html

well, there you go.

also key: McDonald's had roughly 700 reports on file of similar injuries caused (between 1982 and 1992) by its extremely hot coffee.

ok it makes a lot more sense knowing that. especially if it was a well known issue that mcdonalds had failed to take care of.

They show pictures of the burns in the movie. It's not like if you spilled a normal cup of coffee on yourself.

most times when you (or at least I) see this case being referenced it homes in on the $2.7m awarded - idk whether ppl are unaware of, or ignoring, the fact she ended up getting nowhere near that much

also they were punitive damages, intended to hurt mcdonalds rather than help liebeck (not that they would ever have amounted to a minuscule fraction of their profits).

my girlfriend managed to burn herself extremely badly on a hot cup of tea FTR.

yeah stuff like that makes me really angry too.

It reminds me of this story I heard on NPR about those Nissin instant ramen cups, and how dangerous they are with little kids re horrible burns - that seriously almost had me marching out into the street to yell at clouds

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/12/05/142634542/why-burn-doctors-hate-instant-soup

I mean no doubt there are some people just wanting to make money, but yeah to automatically assume it is the possibly wronged individual plaintiff rather than the profit-drive company they are suing makes me IA.

IA:

POTUS
SCOTUS
FLOTUS

when did this become a thing everyone took seriously, is it older than i think?

SCROTUS

I'm sorry. It happens almost every time I read SCOTUS.

can everyone please for the love of god SCROLL DOWN when you read emails?
YOU'RE KILLING ME

"email #1

hi person

please [blah blah blah]

also, make sure you [blappity bloo]
love, VG"

email #2
"hi vg
all done! do you want me to [blappity bloo] as well?"
love, person"

once a week, if not multiple times. raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh kill

I would like you to blappity bloo, please, yes.

Fortunately my coworkers are usually very very diligent in reading their emails. It's weird, really.

Giving me the shits right now: this fucking obviously style-concerned guy on the bus wearing a fluffy sweater when it is 100° F.

Nothing wrong with SCOTUS IMO.

Oops wait fluffy SCARF not sweater.

SCARFUS

half the people I communicate are reading emails on smartphones so pretty much anything after the first sentence is doomed for repetition.

the other half of the people I communicate are morans.

;_;

emil.y, for you I will blappity bloo because you asked so nicely :)

SCARFUS

I LOLed.

I actually did see a woman wearing a big cowl-neck sweater in 94 degree heat today. It made me perspire just thinking about it.

went out in a leather jacket myself yesterday expecting the rain to be continuing only to find it was sunny. So wound up having to carry jacket over shoulder. But that might be a different thing. Maybe I just need a lighter waterproof.
Temperature seems to be rising even here.

I mean no doubt there are some people just wanting to make money, but yeah to automatically assume it is the possibly wronged individual plaintiff rather than the profit-drive company they are suing makes me IA.

― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Thursday, 28 June 2012 16:52 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

What makes people irrationally angry is getting a large amount of money without "earning" it, lottery wins etc not including.

So, someone burns their leg and is in hospital for a week, ends up with £300K, people go "damn that lucky person! What, they asked for the money? Damn them!"

Someone gets jailed for 3 years for a crime they did not commit, due to police faking evidence, gets £3m

people go "that murderer (probably) got off on a technicality"

It's not innocuous, but.

Big but.

"CD not in database" errors from cddb when trying to rip cds.

especially if it's various artists (twice as much typing) and lots of foreign / complicated names (Bebe & Louis Barron - The Monster Pursues / Morbius Is Overcome)

especially as it's CD2 of a double cd and CD1 was in there.

yeah, especially if they reject your submission of the info when you've had to do it manually cos of that. Was it Exact Audio Copy?

eac, yes.

cddb genres are very limited, often catches me out.

also, there are typos on the inlay (Ii instead of II for instance) and discogs has other errors.

went out in a leather jacket myself yesterday expecting the rain to be continuing only to find it was sunny. So wound up having to carry jacket over shoulder. But that might be a different thing.

Yeh, totally different thing. People wearing sweaters in the dead summer heat irritate me too, but not nearly as much as a SCARF b/c a scarf is so completely inessential. You can't tell me that the jackass I saw yesterday was not uncomfortable. It was exactly 100º and his scarf was bulky and long, so he had it wrapped around his neck twice.

I keep starting to write my important opinions about lawsuits and tort reform but then I get busy, so I'm going to stick to petty annoyances, which is better for this thread anyway.

Also ANGERING: Being told I'm wrong when I am definitely not wrong. When I am definitely, absolutely for sure right. Being told that I am VERY DEFINITELY, ABSOLUTELY WRONG when I am definitely right. And being condescended to while being told I'm wrong when I'm really right.

Specifically today: My therapist's receptionist telling me I owe a $40 co-pay. When I first went there, my insurer told me my copay was $20. Every time I'm there, the receptionist tells me that their billing service informed him that I owed $40. I have called my insurance since and they assured me that it was only $20. I told him, $40 is for specialists, but behavioral health coverage is an exception. The guy pursed his lips and said sweetly, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Jesse [!!], but you were misinformed. I used to work as a biller and it's definitely $40. See, it's right here on your insurance card: 'Specialist $40' and [twee cringe and pained expression, sucking air through teeth] there are no exceptions...."

Holy shit I would murder that person. I would mention it to your therapist, also maybe print out the part of the insurance co's website that deals w/ co-pays/behavioral health costs. Also murder the receptionist.

Slap first, then murder.

carl agatha otm re murder

it's the only way

or handful of their hair, face into desk x however long it takes them to scream "$20! $20!"

I actually got a little bit of tunnel vision when I read the "Mr. Jesse" part.

That's an overreaction, I know, but I get a little protective of Mr. Jesse and that brand of condescension really gets to me.

I just always forget what copays are and just pay a random amount each time.

I hope I haven't misrepresented what happened. He was more officious than condescending. "Mr. Jesse," was actually not part of the condescension! It was probably a confidentiality thing, calling me by my first name only, but adding "Mr." for formality. The worst was his certainty that there was no way he was misinformed.

In the end, he was in fact misinformed. I called my insurance and because of some deal w/ a behavioral health specialty contractor, their copays for shrinks are unusually low. (Like, realllly low! $20 for therapy is unheard of. A friend w/ fancier insurance told me that I must be mistaken b/c she'd never heard of such a cheap patient responsibility.) I was so happy when the rep from my insurance told me I had to call that office manager and tell him he was RRRRRRONG.

The really cute daddy homosexual at the Potbelly sandwich shop across the street from my apartment always calls me "Mr. Jesse" when I pay w/ my debit card. It's cute. It's pretty common in the South, though "Miss [first name]" is more common.

ia: not being able to find a bill i need to pay and having to just still the check in an envelope and hoping that writing the account number on the check is good enough.