Posted by Meg Leder
While living in New York City can be a wonderful, diverse, vibrant experience, it also has its challenges. Mainly: All the other people living here.
Take my morning commute: There are the people who push their way through everyone trying to get off the train because they can’t wait to board. There’s the strange woman clipping her fingernails in the subway car. There’s the guy who likes to spread his legs so wide he takes up the width of three seats. And don’t forget the over-the-shoulder nosy reader or the teenager blaring her iPod on such a high volume we all get treated to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.”
When confronted with these insensitive displays, you can’t do much; the crazy quotient in NYC is so high, you don’t want to risk antagonizing a potentially psychotic subway mate. Instead, you scrunch your way into a sliver of a seat, duck from flying pieces of fingernail, try not to get “Poker Face” stuck in your head, and simmer in silence.
Which is why as soon as I heard about it, I wanted to publish Casey Gordon and Tim Rand’s People Who Deserve It: Socially Responsible Reasons to Punch Someone in the Face.
With razor-sharp observation skills, honed by twenty-some years of living with fellow human beings, Casey and Tim have compiled entries describing some of the most terrible people on the planet: Overly Self-Righteous Vegan, Super Snorer, No Umbrella Etiquette Lady, Obviously Hot Compliment Fisher, and more. They even include non-human entries, and yeah, I agree, E. Coli definitely deserves a punch in the face.
The recognition I felt on reading the book was a relief: I’m not alone in hating Two Spot Parkers or Office Food Thieves! It would be absolutely delightful to throw a right hook in the face of a Passive Aggressive Emoticon User :)! Finally, I had found a safe avenue for my anger, and the reassurance that comes from shared recognition.
So the next time you notice yourself gritting your teeth in barely-contained rage at the quirks, foibles, and flaws of your neighbors, be they in NYC or anywhere else on our fair planet, pick up a copy of People Who Deserve It and imagine giving a quick uppercut to No Cleanup Nail Clipper or Impatient Subway Boarder. It’s a healthy channel for some of that rage, and it won’t land you in jail.
People Who Deserve It will be available November 2.
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