Selfishness

Have you seen those adverts for expensive face creams on the telly? The ones where 84% of women agree that this product is more useful than the wheel. Sample size 78.

Well, I've done my research amongst Spanish people and 100% of a sample of five people agree with me.

Spaniards can be selfish or thoughtless.

An example would be making a turn signal in a roundabout. If the approaching car driver made a turn signal then I, and the five cars behind me, could move forward rather than continuing our futile wait. Or, in the supermarket, if the shopper parallel parked their trolley rather than leaving it at right angles to the shelves the way through would be clear. I wait, in finger drumming mode, as the fit and well people on the zebra dawdle across the road maybe stopping for a chat near the half way point. Shop doorways are another good place for stopping to read a text message or to engage their companion in conversation with the secondary function of blocking my way.

This isn't about the Murphy's law concept where the only people in an otherwise empty bookshop are gathered around the very spot where I want to be or when the man next to me in the waiting room believes that his mobile phone is defective in some way and is attempting to shout the message instead. That's just bad luck. No, what I'm talking here is where the other person fails to realise that their actions have consequences and that it is nicer not to inconvenience other people. It's not a majority sport but it is far too common.

In another recent survey (sample size 11) I learned that Spaniards believe that Britons always wear shorts, refuse to learn languages other than English, only think they have had a good time on the beach when their scorched red flesh makes it painful to move and drink far too much beer and wine.

Obviously that's just plain wrong. Maybe surveys shouldn't always be trusted.