What is it about some people that allows them to think they can be rude to everyone around them? That is a deep question to which we will probably never know the answer. But here's what we do know: Some people are better than us at letting these jerks know we're all tired of taking their crap.
Here are some of the best instances of people being rude, and how they finally got called out on it. We don't explicitly recommend repeating these behaviors -- rude people aren't known for being great at handling criticism.
1. This Obnoxious Cellphone User
This guy couldn't put his cellphone away during a music performance, so the musicians helped him out.
If you want to see more rude cellphone users get busted, this guy hilariously crashes their phone calls at the airport.
2. That Coworker Who Steals People's Food
A very simple flowchart for a very heinous act.
3. The Neighbor Who Thinks His Apartment Is A Nightclub
THIS GUY. After dealing with his neighbor's loud music one too many times, this guy invented a simple Arduino-based device that uses a small wall-mounted microphone to monitor the neighbor's music levels. When it registers too loud, this device blasts annoying music back at the neighbors for a predetermined amount of time. Brilliant.
4. Those Neighbors Who Have Impossibly Loud Sex
This girl had some advice for the people in the next building over who can't keep their carnal appetites under a certain decibel level. She makes a solid point, man.
5. That Jerk Who Cuts In Line
This kid cut in line at the airport during the boarding process. One of his coaches found out and made him apologize in front of the whole plane. Over the loud speaker.
6. Some Terrible Drivers Who Need A Clue
Nothing is so important that you need to risk the lives of everyone on the highway by driving like a jackass. To fight bad drivers, hacker Gagandeep Singh attached this ingenious LED display to the back of his car window to provide "suggestions" to the bad drivers behind him. He even includes step by step building schematics in case you want to build your own!
7. That Roommate Who Never Cleans Up
It's important to maintain a somewhat sane relationship with your roommate or co-worker. The people around you can usually only handle so much. If you're too messy and you never clean, your roommate might force your hand like this guy did to his college roommate with the help of dozens of their school's free newspaper.
8. That Roommate Who Leaves TOO Many Passive Aggressive Notes
Leaving a note for a roommate once in a while about chores to do around the house is fine, but it can get old really fast, especially if the note-leaver is not pulling their own weight. This Redditor says she'd constantly receiving passive aggressive notes from her roommate, so she left a creative note of her own to point out a chore her hairy roommate had neglected.
9. The Anonymous Bully
A viewer called this female anchor fat, and had the gall to say that he was looking out for the public good. She went on the air with an appropriately epic response to the bullying.
10. The Terrible Customer
Anyone who's worked in the customer service industry has experienced their share of awful customers. Blogger Mary McDonald at "A Responsible Young Lady" has some great ideas when it comes to dealing with rude customers. Including this gem:
Nice them to DEATH
This is something my mom ingrained in me when I was young and it has stuck. It’s the greatest. If someone is scowling and not saying thank you, just get straight up obnoxious with how pleasant you are. They’ll look and feel like an asshole and will usually at least say thank you.
eg. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I LOVE YOUR HAIR!! OH MY GOODNESS, HAVE THE BEST DAY!!!”
This was highlighted perfectly over the summer when a woman walked into a Dunkin Donuts with a video camera and flew into a racist tirade, stemming from not being given a receipt the day before. To say this unfortunate employee on duty handled it spectacularly is an incredible understatement.
Meanwhile, over at Reddit, the "Tales From Retail" and "Tales From Your Server" subreddits are dedicated to employees dealing with difficult customers. Give them a read. Do your best not to be featured in them.
11. These Stupid Racists Who Failed Even At Racism
After singing the national anthem in San Antonio during the 2013 NBA finals, Mexican-American Sebastien De La Cruz was criticized by lunkhead racists who thought he was an undocumented immigrant or Mexican. The 11-year-old responded by making the racists look stupid in a mere 22 seconds.
The San Antonio Spurs also had a great response to this embarrassing backlash, letting De La Cruz sing the national anthem the next game as well.
A similar incident occurred last year in college basketball when the band from Southern Miss university chanted "Where's your green card?" at a hispanic Kansas State player who was Puerto Rican. Needless review: Puerto Rico? Already part of the U.S. Sometimes racists are so dumb they can't even do racism right.