There are many ways to find happiness in life.  I understand, at least to some degree, many of them.  I know the joys and sorrows of parenting.  I have seen many beautiful sights in nature and in the works of mankind.  I can even see where people would get perverse thrills from weird, kinky things.

But I don’t understand people who go out of their way to be rude.

I usually try to believe there’s some positive intent in the things people do and say.  There are some occasions, however, where I find it impossible.  For example, my current transportation is a motor scooter.  It’s the kind you sit on, and in fact it’s big enough to have a second seat.  Occasionally I will be riding it and somebody in a car will pass me by and say something rude or insulting.  Usually they are not alone; there are other people in the car to hear them be rude, and these people sometimes (often, it seems) get a good laugh from whatever they say.

This is what I don’t understand.  Yes, I am a grown man riding a scooter, but the sight is not that silly or even particularly strange.  Sure, it’s more common in Europe or some Asian countries, but it’s not unheard of here.  Even if it weren’t, what’s the joy in saying something demeaning about it?

This is just one personal example, but I think it’s a good one.  I cannot find any reason for it.  I understand if somebody passes me by and angrily says I am going too slow or makes some kind of similar complaint, even if they are being extreme about how they state it.  But throwing an insult my way just for entertainment, or to get a laugh from your companions?  I just don’t understand it.  (I might note the companions are being equally rude by finding such statements amusing.)

The sad thing to me is I don’t have the opportunity to respond to this kind of thing.  I don’t know how to communicate to people like this, to ask them to put themselves in my position for a moment and understand how unpleasant it feels to be insulted by somebody you don’t know for no reason at all.

I am reminded of a scene from Beverly Hills Cop.  Eddie Murphy’s character is walking down the street and he passes a couple with red and black leather outfits and wild hair-dos.  The outfit of one is a mirror image of the other:  Where one is red the other is black.  Murphy’s character starts laughing at the sight after he passes them by, glancing back to get an extra laugh.  He does not, however, insult the couple or their appearance.  It’s personally amusing, but not worthy of randomly insulting them.

I understand getting a laugh at somebody else’s expense.  Many comedians earn their living, after all, by insulting themselves in some fashion or another.  They do this in a creative and humorous way.  Many of them get their laughs by insulting other people, but their targets are usually well-known people.  Even if the comedian doesn’t know them personally, they know some aspect of them which can be highlighted for a laugh.  They do not, however, engage in random insults aimed at hurting their targets.

Ah, well.  I know the world is not all love and sweet-smelling flowers.  Still, I hope somebody (1) reads this blog and then (b) decides to be a little less insulting or even (iii) notices when a companion is insulting for no reason and chastises them for it.  Meanwhile, I will scooter on with my life and hope I do my best to find the real joys in life.