Are they really stupid? My conversation with a convenience store clerk

[struggle4progress]

I'll drop into one or another of the neighborhood convenience stores from time to time. The places have fairly stable staffing, so after a number of years the faces are familiar. I try to give the clerks a bit of pleasant conversation, when there's no line. I wouldn't want the job: on your feet the whole shift behind the counter, with the constant possibility that some jackass will pull a stickup for $50

So today I grab a gallon of milk. Friendly older clerk, I've seen him carry on courteous chat with all sorts of folk. Place is pretty empty, and he for no immediately obvious reason starts to tell me he likes to read. Says he cancelled his cable early in the year and now likes spending every spare minute with a book. We chat about the library and the booksellers. Turns out he has a little network of customers he bookswaps with. I never would have pegged him as a reader -- my stereotype. I'll have to see if I have something on the shelf I'm willing to hand over to him

White-haired fellow with a low-skill job ... still likes to learn history

[Edweird]

1. A "low skill job" is not synonymous with "low IQ". The elitism and prejudice here is unbelievable.

[bigwillq]

3. Yeah, that post is unbelievable.

Wow.

[pnwmom]

13. S/he admits to stereotyping. Most people do it and don't realize it.

So s/he is ahead of most people.

[bigwillq]

20. Not just about the stereotyping.

Which, I agree, at least the poster admits.
Just the whole tone of the post in general is insulting, imo.

[jancantor]

32. I agree. The first step to fixing a problem is acknowledging it.

Most people won't. The OP did! That takes courage and honesty. Kind of like how so few people can even admit they were wrong on the internet. They argue for the sake of arguing. Saying "oops, I was wrong" is tantamount to suicide for their fragile egos.

[lunasun]

17. Double WOW and big

:puke: for the post

[struggle4progress]

7. Agree 100%

[EternalOptimist01]

18. Ugly

The OP is just plain ugly.

I know several multi-millionaires that live in average middle-class homes, drive average cars, and shop for sales at low cost stores. One owns a very successful publication and lives in a double-wide out on the plains.

Why? Because they are happy and content where they are.

My life's goal is to be a farmer. In a couple more years...that's exactly what I'll be. And when elites snobs make assumptions about me and talk to me as if I have a room temperature IQ... I'll just smile. I have nothing to prove.

A lot of retired military take simple civilian jobs just to stay busy and connect with people. But do not have the stress and responsibility they've had to deal with for those decades.

I have a family member who owned a very successful insurance company, sold it, and decided to go teach 6th grade english.

Me? I want to connect with nature again. No more offices, no more stuffy meetings, no more politics... just the sound of birds... the wonderful satisfaction of watching living things grow...

The bottom line is... you can't judge someone because they are not working in a glamorous job, flaunt expensive possessions, or dress expensively. Those things are shallow illusions.

[pacalo]

23. My in-laws were such people. Both from the "greatest generation" who lived fhrough

the Great Depression. They lived in a very modest house, bought a new car only when the old one ran its course, wore the same set of clothes since I'd known them, careful about utilities' usage, bought the lowest priced groceries -- very frugal.

Both required long-time nursing or long-time nursing home care (about 9 years total). They have 8 adult children who were all (except for the executor) shocked at how much was left in their estate. Turns out, they were very well off -- I was flabbergasted.

Both kept up with the news & were very well-informed. Neither of them had been graduated from college, but were certainly self-educated.

[DainBramaged]

22. The OP made a very good point that it isn't HIS perception of he position

why would you accuse him of elitism and shoot from the hip so quickly?

[pacalo]

25. Sometimes it seems one needs to be a lawyer with a sharp eye for language skills

to post without being attacked. I thought s4p's point was that he/she was wrong to stereotype through appearances.

I've known a lot of seniors working in low-paying jobs who were former department heads, engineers, etc., who enjoy dealing with the public. But that's my own experience.

[DainBramaged]

30. He made a great observation and was attacked by those without the intelligence to learn

a lesson from his observation.

If the Mods (bless their hearts) ever thought he was attacking low-wage earners as stupid, this thread would have been locked.

[pacalo]

45. Thank goodness

we have some sharp moderators who know better, DB.

It's the loading-on that seems so juvenile. After the first point is made, put a fork in it.

[Stevenmarc]

86. Because

Knee jerk responses are even more popular than the so-called "elitism and prejudice" here.

[Mimosa]

89. Edweird, you're so right!

I know somebody who's a genius who works as a locksmith.

[monmouth]

2. We can never tell a book by its cover, eh?.......sorry, couldn't resist....n/t

[Brickbat]

4. I hope this helped you drop some of your classism, ageism and other assumptions.

Because wow. What a way to go through life.

ETA: And "are they really stupid?" What does that even mean?

[struggle4progress]

15. Well, I do thank you for your kind thoughts

And if you ever find me posting classist or ageist material, do feel free to point it out

I don't have anything against anybody doing low-end work

In my life, I've milked cows and slaughtered pigs and dug irrigation ditches; I've worked on an assembly line; I've washed dishes; I've had a low-end job in a custodial care facility; I've done industrial roofing work, spudding off gravel on 115 degree afternoons. I've done all manner of menial work as a volunteer, too. It's not the only thing I do, but I don't mind doing it

[EFerrari]

44. Seriously. n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Well that is your stereotype

[jberryhill]

14. Everyone needs to examine their own, constantly

If you think you don't have any, you are probably fooling yourself.

That goes for me, too.

[AlinPA]

6. I don't get your "Are they really stupid?" question.

[struggle4progress]

10. In the years I've been posting here, I've seen plenty of "most people are stupid posts"

I don't think most people are stupid: I think many are over-worked and over-stressed

[hfojvt]

28. really I was expecting an OP that answered the question with

"hell yes" and would quote some really dumb thing being said with the DUer belittling the person and then being slapped on the back for doing so.

Of course, you did not mention that he was reading Hannity's book, Beck's books, Coulter's books, Limbaugh's books, Billo's books, etc., etc., etc.

I think it is kinda curious how you are being villified when an OP of the type I described, which I swear I have read a number of in my years here would probably get scores of positive comments.

I guess you were
a) not supposed to talk about the age and the job - instead mention the book they were buying or the bumpersticker on their car, then you could have bashed to your heart's content.

or

b) not supposed to answer the question as "no", because we come into threads looking for somebody to hate, somebody to look down on and somebody to insult. Since your story did not encourage, or allow, us to hate the store clerk the hate had to go somewhere else, and that only leaves YOU as the target.

Threads are often "pile ons" instead of discussions. If we cannot pile on the FReeper, talibornigan, homophobe, racist in the story, then we are gonna pile on the OP. Somewhere, somehow, there is a bigot who needs their a$$ kicked and by gum, I am gonna find them and give them what they've got coming and God is gonna be pleased with me. I'm such a good person.

[struggle4progress]

31. Fellow told me he didn't usually have money to buy books. It seems instead he's

worked up a little circle of convenience store clientele who book-swap with him: I think he was carefully hinting about that

Of course, it's impossible to tell, but my guess would be he's not reading the angry-white-guy stuff from Beck-and-company: he's extremely courteous to everybody, of every ethnicity; I think he's happily married, but I see him flirt gently with women of every age and skin color; you don't hear a lot of his opinions; he seems determined to enjoy his interactions with people; I'm pretty sure I've seen him chatting pleasantly with the Jehovahs Witnesses and Mormons ...

[jancantor]

33. It's usually "most Merkuns are stupid" which is the one

bigotry that is exposed like a badge of honor here. How many posts and threads go

"XXXXXXX because americans are stupid"

Seriously. I get so tired of that.

[Hannah Bell]

46. It's a comment on the common comment found at DU about how stupid the

masses are, or specific groups of the masses.

I came across such a group of posts here within the last 10 minutes; they're uniquitous.

Most of those posts get by with much less comment that the poster's remarks here have generated, & a great deal more agreement.

[NightWatcher]

8. my cousin owns a stop-n-rob in da hood and he has three advanced degrees

he just makes more money selling single cigarettes, lotto tix, and malt liquor than he did as an accountant or engineer. Thanks to the store he lives in the most prestigious gated community in town. There's a lot of money in exploitation, er I mean convenience stores.

[xchrom]

9. Try Howard zinn? Nt

[struggle4progress]

11. Zinn was good. He's sorely missed

[struggle4progress]

51. Y'know, xchrom: I misunderstood your response. Yours is just about the only appropriate response.

Of course, I should hand the fellow something like A People's History

[quinnox]

12. I often found people in blue collar jobs are much smarter than

people in white collar jobs. Its an interesting observation, but profession or education sometimes has no bearing on a persons intelligence level.

[pacalo]

26. Some top levels would be nothing without their office assistants.

I knew one who had his wife construct his papers before handing it to his assistant for typing. He stupidly admitted it.

[JI7]

37. some in top level are there because of connections also

family or family friends or some other .

just like how someone like Bush was able to get enough people to prop him up to run for president.

[pacalo]

43. And by being good social networkers -- hobnobbing at golf tournaments, etc.

I always pegged the man I mentioned as one who got C's or lower in college & partied a lot. It wasn't easy working with him; he made it more difficult for those around him.

[JI7]

53. yeah, i know people like that, they are usually republicans and ignorant

of the world and everything else.

[JI7]

54. yeah, i know people like that, they are usually republicans and ignorant

of the world and everything else.

[eShirl]

66. absolutely

[Erose999]

16. I know a lot of older people who take part-time low skilled work as a second job.

Or just to occupy their time when they are semi-retired.

Even some of my college educated friends moonlight in restaurants and retail when they aren't doing their day jobs. Anything in academia/civil service here just doesn't pay much (greedy GOP bastage in our state legislature) so the jobs most people get right out of college are not enough to live on.

I myself work a 9-5 in a university library, but I flip burgers some weekends.

[Speck Tater]

19. Never jump to conclusions about who or what a person is or is not.

I'll never forget the time back in the 1970's when I was working in retail electronics in Los Angeles. Not entertainment electronics, REAL electronics: oscilloscopes, test equipment, bags of loose transistors, digital logic chips, rolls of solder, aluminum chassis parts, transformers, resistors, capacitors, that kind of electronics. This guy walks into the store in dirty overalls with a number of missing front teeth and a drawl that made him sound like a TV characterization of a southerner. Since we all worked on base wage plus commission nobody wanted to waste their time waiting on this guy who was obviously a high school dropout auto mechanic who wandered into the wrong store.

Anyway, I drew the short straw and had to go wait on him. Turns out he was the chief engineer on a scientific research vessel that was docked in Long Beach for re-stocking and not only did the guy prove to be a brilliant engineer, he bought a huge shit load of electronics gear for the ship. That was my biggest commission ever and I almost let it get away by judging the guy on sight. Lesson learned.

[BanzaiBonnie]

21. The first job I had during the middle of a divorce...

was on the clean up crew on a building project. I put on my work boots and got down to the local Labor Ready shop. I was always called back for any job I worked on. I met a real hobo who had stories to tell. And when some jerk wanted to pick on me, the other guys stood up to him and wouldn't let the jerk get away with his BS.

Good people. All from diverse backgrounds. An array of backgrounds and educational level.

You never know... best not to make snap judgements.

[wickerwoman]

24. I worked as a cashier in a grocery store while I was getting my PhD.

Will never forget the woman and her friend who came through, well dressed and probably also working at the local university. They were slightly delayed because I needed to get change to break their $100 bill. The one "lady" said "I'm going to the gym if this retard ever finishes checking me out."

So no, it's never been a "revelation" to me that people in low paying jobs can be intelligent, curious and interesting to talk to. Why would it be?

[slackmaster]

27. Some people don't need a lot of income, some take jobs just for something to do

:hi:

[pipoman]

83. Good point

After almost 20 years in a very well paying position, I tired of it and one day just closed the doors. All creditors were paid because the business was very solvent at the time...I just didn't want to do it any longer. I wanted to make soup (menial, low end, and unskilled I am sure according to the OP) for $8 hour then go home and mow my acrage which I own without debt. Mid-life crisis? Maybe? Now I have far more responsibility than I really wanted when I came here to make soup and am paid almost as well as I was when I closed my business without any of the BS that goes with business ownership.

In short, you're right, there are those of us whom money isn't important beyond the necessary.

[JI7]

29. wow, you thought just because he was a store clerk he didn't read ?

this says a lot more about your prejudices than anything else.

[mulsh]

34. you just never know unless you talk to people.

My father's father was one of the most articulate people I've ever known. He dropped out of school in the 6th grade and worked for rail roads and then was postal conductor on the B& O until he retired. he was also a voracious reader. Many of the baggers at my local Safeway have interesting reading habits. We pass books along to each other.

This is one of the little advertised advantages of being nice to service people. Life's full of surprises.

I'm glad you found something out about this person. I'm sure you'll fine more things out about other people you encounter in "low skill jobs"

BTW a professor acquaintance of mine once reprimanded one of his kids for correcting my pronunciation of some word. He said " when people mispronounce words its more than likely they're read the word but never heard it spoken."

[struggle4progress]

36. Absolutely right

[kgnu_fan]

35. You know, some wise man can be a street vendor. You will learn from him/her if you are ready...

[defendandprotect]

38. Now there are two great ideas ... cancelling cable and reading!!

[Raine]

40. No reason that you can't watch cable AND read too

I enjoy doing both. :hi:

[damntexdem]

39. One of the smartest persons I even knew had one-half year of formal education.

In a small Mexican town, he was the town genius. A poor fisherman, he took me into Guadalajara (this when I was 17 or 18), to the Cabanas Orphanage where Orozco painted his murals, and started explaining them to me. He largely taught himself to read and was a voracious reader. He put his brother through college so his brother could become a teacher.

[defendandprotect]

55. Interesting story and quite true when we invent labels such as "illiterate" we are more

likely confusing ourselves about the reality of intelligence --

There's an old saying: "What you get when you educate a fool is an educated fool!"

[Morning Dew]

41. Nice of you

to give those lowly store clerks "a bit of pleasant conversation".

I bet they can't wait to be condescended to.

Cheers!

[struggle4progress]

42. I suspect they like a bit of pleasantness better than smart-ass snark

[Pacifist Patriot]

71. I'm confused. Are you saying a bit of pleasant conversation is condescending?

Because I like to chat with store clerks and raise their spirits. I've never really thought of it as condescending. Maybe because I used to be standing in their shoes and a friendly voice with a smile always made my day.

[Morning Dew]

85. I've been in those shoes as well.

I'm not saying that pleasant conversation is condescending but, starting with "Are they really stupid?", the original post reeks of it, and goes downhill from there.

Perhaps those who know the Original Poster read it a different way. I don't know the OP and can't read it with knowledge of how the poster writes.

In the years that I worked retail, I could tell the difference between people who wanted to chat and those who wanted to brighten the day of a lowly store clerk. One is cool, the other not so much.

[XanaDUer]

47. I see your post as being an example of why we should not

make snap judgements about folks due to type of job, age, race. And, the question was rhetorical.


:shrug:

[crim son]

48. Yes, this is a stereotype and I'm willing to bet most of us do it all the time.

For example, the stereotype of the evil wealthy person is rampant on DU, and it's appalling. I would call the poster both naive and HONEST, and will not condemn him/her for it. As for the fifty of you who have, I hope you all feel good about restating the point made by the first respondent.

[malaise]

49. True story

Our regular office attendant is on leave and a temp replaced her at a much later hour than usual. I was reading a book this morning with a CD playing in the background ,but paused to warn her to watch the wires. She said thanks and then said 'you're a jazz fan - I also love Coltrane'.


I was playing a Coltrane CDs. I assume she'd have known every reggae CD on the planet but her recognition of Coltrane surprised me - she said her dad was a jazz and reggae man.
I smiled for the rest of the day :D.

[boppers]

50. So a rough sampling of one group of my friends:

1. Graphic designer, likes reading existentialism and doing hand-driven print making.
2. Sheet metal worker, collects Elvis memorabillia, is becoming a Union shop steward.
3. Nurse, likes reading fantasy and mystery.
4. Bartender/Fisherman (Alaskan style), period costume re-enactor, reads sci-fi/fantasy.
5. Top software engineer for a CAD software company, likes reading poetry.

What do all of these people have in common? They're some of the regulars and workers at the "#1 Dive Bar" (and strip club) (according to Maxim magazine) in Portland. When things get slow, it's totally normal to see a partially naked woman sitting up on the rack, reading a hefty novel, while waiting for a customer.

In the "Rat Race" scheme of things, the smart rats are the ones.... who aren't racing.

[Rex]

52. My line of thought on these kinds of threads is; what did you think he

did 'with his time' before you found out? You stereotyped him in what way? Are you saying that you believe older people from affluent families read books constantly about history?

[struggle4progress]

74. All I said is I hadn't pegged him as a reader: I didn't say why

[Odin2005]

56. Wow, the elitism of the OP is dispicable.

You are surprised that Low-Paid Job does not = Dumb? :eyes:

[lynne]

57. Elitism, Prejudice, Bias and Ageism all wrapped into one OP -

- Congratulations! I can't imagine how long it took you to achieve such a disgusting feat.

[Nye Bevan]

59. Well I for one didn't know that old people read books. (nt)

[lynne]

64. Stunning statement. And very sad. -

[apocalypsehow]

58. At one point in college, I was a night-stocker at a grocery store and found myself confronted with

a situation very much like this: here I thought I was the hyper-smart college boy slinging pallets for weekend beer money, working with a bunch of older guys who had to do it to pay the gas bill.

Turns out that there were at least three of them on that crew who were more well-read than I ever dreamed about being. And probably still are, truth be told, to this day.

That was a wake-up call on assumptions that has stuck with me to this day, and a humbling one at that.

[csziggy]

60. Around here we have a wonderfully educated workforce

Two major state universities, two or three other colleges. A really nice part of the country (if you ignore the political stance of the surrounding territory) and a relatively small community. I've been served by waitpersons with master's degrees who are working toward their doctorate, checked out by store clerks with advanced degrees, and had in depth discussions on a wide array of subjects with guys cleaning out my septic tank. One of the farriers in town has a master's in meteorology.

The biggest problem with this town is that people come for the universities and stay because they like the community.

We can tell who is new in town because they are the ones who don't expect the "lower classes" to have brains.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

61. Seems like this post has flown over many heads

So yes, they really are that stupid........

[donheld]

62. I checked out your thread

Seems you've been beaten enough, I'll just slink out the side door :hi: wishing you a good day/nite.

[Codeine]

63. I've worked in the same small grocery store my entire adult life.

I'm also not a high school graduate.

Those two things do not stop me from being an absolutely voracious reader of history and literature, nor from self-educating myself to a level of general offhand knowledge about a variety of topics.

My circle of very close friends consists of two soil engineers, two electrical engineers, the headmaster of a private boys school who just received his doctorate in education, a hospice nurse, an English teacher, and a guy who is living off his hardware patents while playing bass in a death metal band. All of these people have educations far beyond that which I could ever dream having, and yet NOT ONE of them would ever have made that kind of assumption about me, and they will all acknowledge my ability to intelligently discuss nearly anything with them despite my lack of formal education.

I can't begin to describe how insulting you are, mostly because you don't even realize you're being insulting. You fucking think you paid the guy a compliment with your post. :puke:

ON EDIT: I honestly think I'm being too harsh. I may have misread you. In the interest of honesty I will leave what I've posted, with apologies.

[unapatriciated]

69. I'm glad you edited to apologize to the OP

In your first reaction to the op you made his point. Your colleges would never make an assumption regarding your intelligence because they know you. The OP is telling us all not to make those kinds of judgments by actually talking to the many of us who hold working class jobs.


I have also worked in the grocery industry for the last 15 years and there are many (not you) on this board who would be surprised by conversations I have had with customers ( I know a few of my customers were).:hi:

[maryf]

65. Introspection of our personal prejudices is critical

if we are to overcome the ruling class. The divisions between us have to be eliminated. It is a class war between two classes, the have most and the have less. When those people who have a little more (the "middle" class) realize they will never be in league with the elitist class, and start recognizing solidarity with those who have less, we'll be getting there.

Thanks for the post, it's a start.

[Desertrose]

81. +1

So true,maryf.

[pipoman]

67. Throughout this thread

you have described people's jobs, jobs people do every day, as: low-skill job, low-end work and menial work and the people who do these jobs as stupid. These descriptors do nothing to save you the label of elitist.


There is dignity in all labor...to use disparaging terminology in describing other people's labor is elitist.

[struggle4progress]

75. Wherever did I describe people who do low-end menial work as stupid?

[Tsiyu]

68. Yeah, all poor and all people working low-skilled jobs

are dumbasses.

how rare that you found a "reader."


:sarcasm:


DU kills me sometimes....Today I am really disgusted with the "elites" in this country....of ALL stripes.

[unapatriciated]

70. I have only one suggestion to your op

These jobs may be low paying but that doesn't mean they do not require skills. I have been in the grocery industry for 15 years and before that I was a server for over 20 years. Both jobs require skills.

There is more to these jobs than just serving food or ringing up groceries. Math skills, time management and a very good memory are needed to make it as a server. In the grocery industry most clerks are often in charge of ordering for their own sections such as produce, non perishable and so on. That takes skill if the store is going to have product on the shelf to sell. When it comes to perishables it is even harder to get the balance needed so there is little or no lose in your section and still have quality product to sell. Many think all we do is ring up groceries and stock shelves, they would be surprised at the amount of paperwork involved in being a grocery clerk.

[struggle4progress]

79. Fair enough. It's my impression that over the last several decades there has been a trend

of "rationalizing" and "simplifying" the tasks associated with such positions, in order to decrease worker job security and to allow the employer more freedom to say "shut up: you're replaceable and we will replace you," but your point still seems well-taken

[unapatriciated]

90. that is the employers rationalization to keep wages down not the reality.

Even if all you do is check, try working in a busy store like the von's in Mammoth Lakes, your body is wrecked by the end of your shift. I sense a little contempt for the working class with your statement "but your point still seems well-taken". Using the word "seems" suggest that my statement regarding grocery clerks responsibilities are less than true or we are unable to preform duties that have skill.

[struggle4progress]

92. Oooh! Of course! When I said "your point still seems well-taken," it was my secret codetalk for

a twenty-minute foul-mouthed expletive-packed rant against the working class. Obviously!

[unapatriciated]

93. please do not put words in my mouth,

I pointed out how these jobs have skills and your reply was fine until your last sentence which was a little condescending. Your use of the word "seems" implies that what I stated was not fact and by no means was it a form of "secret codetalk".
It was pretty clear that you didn't believe that skills were needed to preform these jobs.

seem (sēm)
intransitive verb
to appear to be; have the look of being: to seem happy
to appear; give the impression: usually followed by an infinitive: he seems to know the facts
to have the impression; think: followed by an infinitive: I seem to have lost it
to appear to exist: there seems no point in going
to be apparently true: it seems he was here

seem (sēm)
intransitive verb seemed, seeming seem·ing, seems
To give the impression of being; appear: The child seems healthy, but the doctor is concerned.
To appear to one's own opinion or mind: I can't seem to get the story straight.
To appear to be true, probable, or evident: It seems you object to the plan. It seems like rain. He seems to have worked in sales for several years.
To appear to exist: There seems no reason to postpone it


See the difference one word can make.

[struggle4progress]

91. deleted

[Pacifist Patriot]

72. Do you have...

Kennedy's "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers" or Tuchman's "The March to Folly" to lend him?

[struggle4progress]

73. Thanks for the suggestions!

[Enrique]

76. you didn't know anyone with a low-skilled job before you talked to him?

you yourself never worked in a low-skilled job, and none of your friends ever worked in a low-skilled job? :wtf:

[struggle4progress]

80. You didn't read the thread before you posted?

:wtf:

[cottonseed]

77. Don't let these mean comments bother your beautiful mind.

Some people just don't think like we do.

[bikebloke]

78. And sometimes you have to take a shit job to survive.

It's not always the land of opportunity. I've taken crap work to pay rent and buy groceries because there was nothing else.

[a la izquierda]

82. yeesh...

i know i'm echoing the sentiment here, but am i happy you've never walked into my husband's workplace and judged him stupid for shoveling dog shit (he works in a kennel as the manager). he's incredibly intelligent and as politically savvy as many on DU. he just loves what he does, a blue collar job.

[Dappleganger]

84. One of the smartest people I know is a grocery bagger at Publix...

he's retired military and only works during the weekday, and I make it a point to get into whatever line he's working as he is such a wonderful human being. As I have a bad back and neck, he's been helping w/my groceries at the store's end for nearly 9 years now. Anyway, he once told me that he works in order to help his daughter with her bills--she has two young boys and her husband took off and left w/no support. He also has been a great mentor to our 17 yr. old son who began working there as a bagger when he turned 14. There are some real gems out there--they don't always get much attention but they are worth finding.

[gaspee]

87. I think most people are stupid

Most people are stupid. To me, stupid = IQ lower than 140. The mean IQ in the US is 100 - which means half of those you meet will have a two digit IQ. I think your store clerk is an anomaly. And he might like to read all right - but he could be reading Beck or O'Reilly, or Grisham or the Eclipse books -- you didn't say what he likes to read. Though I'm imagining him reading the new Mark Twain autobiography...

I don't talk to most people because they don't understand anything and walk around with a blank look in their eyes. I'm not expecting everyone I meet to understand particle physics or know PI to the 30th decimal. Basic conceptual understanding and cognitive skills are sorely lacking in most people. That's what I can't stand.

Oh, and I deliver newspapers for a living, have three degrees, used to be a derivatives trader when the Pacific Exchange was an open outcry pit system and have an IQ well over 140. I really do not care at all if some random stranger thinks I'm stupid.

Along with being stupid, most people are ugly. I don't think people who won the genetic lottery for intelligence or beauty are inherently better or worse than those who lost the genetic lottery (most people.)

If you treat people with kindness, you typically get kindness in return. It's not that hard.

They're still stupid though. :evilgrin:

[JI7]

88. i agree that many people ARE Stupid, but it never had to do with income level or job

there are many stupids among the well off. i know many of them.