"Annoying People"

Trusted friend and loyal ally, Ryan "Habib" Reynolds... err... Fields brought up an interesting question in the comments section of a previous post: What makes a person annoying? Hmmmm... Good question, Ryan. Let's get started.

While I'm easily annoyed by people, I'm not so arrogant as to assume that I don't annoy the piss out of other people too. Everyone's annoying to someone for some reason, right? Finding something or someone annoying is purely a subjective process. If this wasn't the case, annoying people wouldn't (eventually) find others willing to breed with them so that they can create more annoying people. I shouldn't have to explain this. This is inherently true.

Of course, anything subjective is tricky. You like this thing. I think it sucks. I'm usually right. Well, you know what I mean. You get the idea. But while finding someone annoying is subjective, it is possible for a person to be generally annoying, and I really think that's what we're asking: What makes a person generally annoying?

The answer is pretty simple. I'd say that the one thing that all 'generally annoying' people have in common is that they are not able to read or do not respond appropriately to other people's interpersonal feedback. That's a long ass way of saying that "They don't get the 'hint'". Sometimes they won't pick up body language that says, "The sound of your incessant whistling of Bon Jovi's smash hit 'Living on a Prayer' is grating." Or maybe you're on the phone, and they don't pick up on your monosyllabic responses that say, "Hey dude, I'm so not caring about what you're saying right now." Or maybe they don't get the hint when you never return their emails or instant messages. The point is: they're not responding properly to your feedback. That's what makes people annoying.

An important sidenote to that: People that do pick up on that stuff, but don't give a shit, are a special type of an annoying person. They're assholes. How can you tell the difference between an generally annoying person and an asshole? Easy. The asshole is the mean one. So there's a little bonus for you, Ryan. Not only did I point out what makes a person generally annoying, but I pointed out what makes a person an asshole for you too... at no extra charge.

BTW, if you have comments about any blog entries. Umm, use the comments feature? Other people might share your view. Sound good? Good.