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What is Wrong with People and Other Random Thoughts

December 7th, 2021 by Kenneth Abrahams

We are about to start year three of this worldwide pandemic. For many, life has returned to something that resembles pre-COVID times, for others their world will never be the same. It is hard to find that proverbial silver lining with this virus that has caused so much death and destruction but, for a short period of time, it seemed to have brought out the best in people. Remember pictures and videos of people in Italy standing on balconies or hanging out of windows singing as a group to provide hope and keep a sense of community strong? Perhaps you are a healthcare worker that was applauded as you left your place of employ or had a parade of strangers drive by with signs of appreciation, honking horns and cheering for you as you went to your cars. Even for those of us with less heroic occupations, there were some things about the early stages of pandemic life that were better.

Walking around the neighborhood with precious little traffic. Many more people on foot than at pre-pandemic levels, keeping their distance but often acknowledging you with a wave, or if unmasked, a smile. If you went to the stores, many of them had strict occupancy limits so there was plenty of space in the aisles and people would wait a respectful distance either in line or in the aisles so as not to crowd others. Unless, of course, they had a pallet of toilet paper or paper towels that they were about to put out, then all bets were off. If you had to drive, the roadways were fairly wide open and people that were driving seemed to be paying more attention.

As we have returned to some sense of normalcy, many people have returned to their pre-pandemic form. This has led to the question “what is wrong with people?” Recently, at a grocery store, I saw a woman with a young daughter loading groceries into their car. When they had finished, the daughter started to push the cart towards the store. There was a space between 2 handicapped parking spots, a space to allow people in wheelchairs to be able to get out of their vehicles. Not sure what to do, the young lady looked towards her Mom to see if leaving the cart there was okay, her mother nodded and waved her back to the car. Now it made those spots far less handicapped accessible. Great parenting Mom!

Driving the other day, I ended up behind a car that had 2 of what I thought were golf hats in the back window. Based on the font and what was written I thought that the hats said Titleist, a major manufacturer of golf balls and equipment. Nope, they actually both said titties. Now, I have seen a number of shirts and bracelets with breast cancer awareness sayings like “Save the Tata’s,” but this was not that. Who in 2021 drives around with hats like that displayed in their back window? Better yet, who buys those hats and why?

Walking around in our neighborhood, we are seeing more and more garbage on the side of the road. Some of it looks as if it has been hurled from cars as they pass, other stuff looks like it has been dropped by a passersby, and some is from folks who put their trash out too early for collection, have it attacked by animals, and hope that someone else will clean it up for them. Often, after it blows into a neighbor’s yard, that is exactly what happens. Garbage is not the only thing that has been on the increase lately. A number of folks no longer believe in curbing their dogs. Some even pick up after their dogs, bag it, and throw it in the bushes or drop it in the street, when others are no longer looking. Again, it begs the question “What is wrong with people?”

Clearly, this is a question that others are asking. At an event, the other day as I approached the advisor for around the 10th time to get a thumbs up or thumbs down on what a student wanted to put on their street sign, they looked at me and said, “What is wrong with these students?” For the record, the students request was denied. It was not the last one of the day either. There were a plethora of requests dealing with drugs, alcohol, parts of the anatomy and sexual orientation, all of which were denied. For those of you that think I am prudish, personally I don’t care what they want to put on these things but, I do want to protect our clients. If someone puts a sign on their door saying Caution, Blackouts in Progress, Do not enter, and it is seen by an administrator, there is a good possibility the office that brought us to campus could get in trouble. Not something that FUN wants to be a party to. It is funny to me that many of these students think I am a clueless old doddering fool. One student recently, when we were doing personalized license plates for an event, said all he wanted on the plate was his last name DILF. Since the school had already approved MILFs I didn’t bother checking and simply made it for him and handed it to him. As he walked away all his friends were high fiving him as if he had really accomplished something.

Honestly, this could go on for pages. We haven’t even hit on the guy that honked his horn, and cut someone off, just so he could give the driver in front of him the finger. Or the folks that park at the end of our driveway, at the office,  in such a way that it makes it impossible to see oncoming traffic as you pull out. How about the guy in Aruba, at the swim up bar, making lewd comments to women about their bodies, while his own wife is standing five feet from him, essentially passed out on her feet and he is buying her more shots telling her she needs to get with it because it’s a party. What is wrong with people? I haven’t a clue.

Now onto other random thoughts. Brick and mortar stores seem to be in some peril, especially small local businesses. Between the pandemic, help shortages, supply chain interruptions, inflation and a buying public that has gotten used to the Amazon lifestyle, they seem to be in some trouble. Despite a high vaccination rate in Massachusetts, a number of stores didn’t open at 12 or 1AM on Black Friday as they have in the past, they opened between 6 and 8 am and closed before 9PM. A very short day compared to years past. Talk to a few clerks or managers and they will tell you about help and product shortages and a less than overwhelming consumer response. What will the retail landscape look like in 2 to 5 years? Will we see a resurgence of individuals, like me, that prefer to shop where they can see, touch, and try on things or will we just see bigger and bigger Amazon warehouses?

Those same thoughts run through my mind about Higher Education. Has COVID sped up what may possibly be a huge shift in how we educate individuals in schools. Not just at the college and university levels but throughout the educational system. Looking specifically at the higher ed piece, will people continue to pay what many of these schools say they need to charge in order to be viable? Do we need to send as many people to college as we do? Are some students better suited for a tech degree or trade school? With declining numbers of traditional college aged students and more high quality, less expensive online alternatives do we really need the number of colleges and universities that we have? There were several small schools that people were worried about pre-pandemic, those with very modest endowments and a tuition driven budget. Some have closed, others have been sold or combined with other institutions, while some have defied odds and remained open. One real question is, for how long?

As we head deeper into this holiday season, please take a moment to remember kindness, grace, and humanity. Give to those less fortunate, check on family and friends, perhaps take a few minutes to beautify your neighborhood. Maybe next year there won’t be a need to write a piece on what is wrong with people.

About the author

Ken Abrahams is a grouchy old man or at least likes to think that he is. We have just a few weeks until the end of the year let’s make them some of the best weeks of 2021.