People who refuse to engage in a healthy debate or hear another opinion

[fireheart17]

This isn't necessarily referring to customers, or members of CS.com or fratching.

Quick background: local shopping centre is introducing car park fees. There are a number of reasons for this, including due to the fact that people are frequently using it as a free park and ride service since there's a bus interchange on site and a train station some 500m away.

You would NOT believe the amount of bitching that has sprung up. Predictably a few Facebook groups had popped up. I liked one of them, only to follow the page if anything. So did one of my former coworkers.

Both of us continued to argue points, not necessarily being "for" the carparking services, but rather trying to encourage the group to come up with solutions for them to present if they were so dead-set against paying for carparking. Former awesome coworker was also pointing out that it's not going to be introduced for a while and by then, they would be providing a solution for the staff and those who attended the movies or had other long-term reasons for using the mall. (i.e. attending an event)

I log on today and am greeted with the gem that my former coworker along with a couple of other people, have since been removed from the group for "antagonising" the group. I was spared thankfully (I rarely posted), but I decided that enough was enough. I posted my last message and then unliked the group (my last message was along the lines of "you cannot provide a solution, so really you are nothing more than sheep who cannot think for themselves and are running on nothing but emotions".) If they didn't want to hear other opinions apart from that the people who own the mall should be put into stocks and whipped until they were dead, then fuck them.

My solutions by the way? Very simple. Provide a permit for retail staff to use (they already get a card that gets them discounts at certain places in the mall and they are required to show a payslip) requiring a payslip and confirmation from the store manager that the person works there. If a person is going to see a movie, give them their parking ticket for free if the movie runs longer than 2 hours (the proposed amount of time that would be allocated for "free" parking). If a person spends a certain amount (this was one that was suggested a few times) they get their parking reduced or for free and so on.

Some of the comments made me laugh: anytime my former coworker commented, he was told that he was either a "corporate shill", "works for them", "an uneducated idiot" or similar, when in fact said former coworker works at the store level (so hardly corporate), no longer works in the mall that's going to be affected (we both transferred out of there) and completed Year 12!

[SongsOfDragons]

You'll have the last laugh; if they keep whingeing like this there will be no solution at all...

God!! Why do these cheese-for-brains think that their constant whining is actually going to do anything? I see this everywhere. The Escapist, Facebook, The BBC. Wha, wha, wha. You can't argue with these bawling infants simply because nobody taught them how to argue; they are either self-entitled or stupid and anyone who dares confront them must be culled. You can't talk to these people about anything. Thankfully I at least rarely come into contact with these worms in real life...maybe they all hide in their burrows where the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory can protect them.

I wish someone big in some big corporate would turn around and declare that all whingeing will be posted publically on their Idiot Noticeboard and that if you do you will get the opposite of what you're whining about [/career suicide]

[Glados]

I've met a few people like this. It irritates me a lot. At school we were discussing an issue that I had with another student who kept touching me after repeated requests/demands to not touch me.

J - Guy arguing in defense of Y
Y - Guy who was touching me

I mentioned that I was going to security if Y touched me again as I had made at least three, increasingly forceful demands that he stop. J joined the conversation and said that I cannot go to security because I did not tell Y exactly when or under what conditions he was not permitted to touch me. He claimed that Y could not be expected to know that I wasn't just "in a bad mood". He claimed that for a complaint of harassment to stick that I was required to notify Y of exact details of what is/is not permitted. Three of us disagreed and stated that "don't touch me" is sufficient to notify someone to stop. J became angry and said that a lawyer and cop that he knows would say differently. I said that I knew a cop who said it is harassment. J became very angry and said we were discriminating against him and stormed off.

Discriminating? Because we didn't agree with him?

Sadly, there are a number of people like this on campus. Who would prefer to be "right" rather than consider a different view and learn something.

*The situation is much longer than presented here but this is pretty accurate.
**I was not able to keep away from Y. He would corner me in a booth/seat while I was doing homework.

[jackfaire]

Or you get told that you need to stop looking at the issue and coming to your own conclusions based on the facts and need to start looking to the news media for "what is really going on"

Which is another aspect of this people assuming that you can't possibly understand the issue being debated and therefore should rely on "experts" to tell you what is going on.

[PepperElf]

Some of the comments made me laugh: anytime my former coworker commented, he was told that he was either a "corporate shill", "works for them", "an uneducated idiot" or similar, when in fact said former coworker works at the store level (so hardly corporate), no longer works in the mall that's going to be affected (we both transferred out of there) and completed Year 12!

The problem is... you're assuming they'll actually read it.


It's a bit like one letter-writer over at M3C, a rather dumb bitch really. I disagreed with her PigglyWiggly complaint so she decided I was an employee even though there wasn't a PW in a hundred miles (if not more) of my location and that I was just lying when I denied it.

Some people can really only see one point of view - theirs. They cannot imagine anyone possibly not taking their side ... unless there's an ulterior motive. (hence the "omg employee" comments).


As for a solution to the parking... my own idea would be to make it like the airlines and hospitals where you get a ticket to park and when you leave you pay a time-based fee or present a voucher. And the voucher is time-based so ... a movie-voucher for a flick that starts at say 1pm isn't going to cover parking at 8pm. and cards for workers so they don't have to pay to park and work etc.

they'll still bitch and moan though. because they won't be able to park for free and hop the train like they want to.

[powerboy]

I do not see nothing wrong with the company wanting to charge people to park. Maybe having some kind of voucher thing going on.

[fireheart17]

My solution was a multi-step approach. It's clear in this case that one size will not fit all, especially because it'll also affect the nearby aquatic centre and medical centres. So therefore, my solution was to address each group accordingly.

Staff members: provide them with a permit that would need to be reviewed every 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, depending on the nature of the role that they are performing (a Christmas casual for instance, would only need a 3 month permit). Prevent people from abusing that priveliage by a) having the car linked to the permit and b) requiring evidence that the person works in the mall itself (a payslip for example).

Movie-goers: Simple. Buy a movie ticket, they get their parking for free. Of course, the parking would only be validated AFTER they've seen the movie and not before, so people aren't going to buy a ticket and not see a movie.

Aquatic Centre people: the aquatic centre has memberships as well as multi-visit passes. If you're going to the centre and using a multi-visit pass, you get your parking free according to the number of visits. If it's a membership, you get it discounted or free.

you get hte idea.