So I'm at the gym doing my little cardio thing yesterday, and I did what I always do when the gym's empty, and turned on the big stand fan and pointed at me while I was working out.

Right in the middle of it, some schmoe walks in, casually switches off the fan, and starts doing cardio right next to me. I noticed this guy as someone who's done this to me before, but the climate was temperate enough that it was much easier to just let it go. But not this time.

"Actually, I just turned that fan on," I said as non-threateningly/casually as I could (maybe too much so).

"Oh, well," the guy said, "I get a cold when I'm near fans. Sorry."

To which I said, somewhat defeatedly "It's 101 degrees outside."

"Yeah," Schmoe said. "That's pretty hot. Sorry."

So I stomped off the exercise machine and did the rest of my gym stuff, which actually went super well because I was all pissed off and aggro.

But what's the etiquette in this situation?

If I were the schmoe, I would have

a) Waited until I was done; or

b) Asked if I needed the fan before just turning it off.


Absent this man's ability to be considerate, I've decided that next time he does this, I will simply turn the fan back on. If he protests, I'll remind him that we did it his way last time, now it's my turn to have the fan. Next time he can turn it off again. We'll take turns. I'm fine with that.

What would you do in this situation? Why do people treat public spaces like their living rooms? How can I learn not to get riled by people who have entitlement issues? Why do people want me to get swampy?

He's an ass.
I would have turned it back on, and invited him to a physical confrontation if he turned it back off.


he's an ass.

"doing your little cardio thing"

Imago said:

yeah, but what's your NON-buddhist take on the situation?

Anx said:

I'd cut him

Imago said:

ok, seriously, I wouldn't get into a physical confrontation with him, but I'd do the machiavellian approach.

#1) Do you ever plan to be his friend?
#2) Does he have the ability to retaliate in an unpleasent way, and is he likely to?
#3) Is your point of view just as or more valid than his?

If you answer no to 1 and 2, and yes to number 3, then you should be more unpleasent to him. You have nothing to lose, and there is no point in wasting time being nice to somebody who is themselves being ulgy or selfish.

Plus, if you're unpleasent enough, he may seek to avoid you. Most people try to avoid conflict at all cost--even the selfish ones.

Aaaaah, the General Public...

You gotta love 'em.

onenitealone said:

That is why I loathe, I mean absolutely LOATHE, going to the drivers license office or the vehicle registration office--I LOATHE it.

The general public is so

Imago said:

That's very true. You can be a pussycat on the inside and look like a bulldog chewing wasps on the outside - like me. People don't tend to give you shit.

You should knife him in the back.

Imago said:

Well, I don't LOATHE the general public. Just large parts of it.

But stuff like this really makes me mad; it's not just the fact this twerp went and did it - I wouldn't even think about doing it. Or I'd have the courtesy to ask whoever was around me.

Don't get me started on shopping centres.

onenitealone said:

Are you Canadian?
[Edited 7/18/06 7:01am]

Anx said:

i so hate my local gym. especially the people who will come sit
next to you while you're still on the machines.

if the next machine in my routine is taken i will simply go to
the next one after that and come back a bit later.

but most people seem to have all the time in the world to just
follow you around for your entire gymtime sitting next to you
and watching you intently with a slightly chilling disdain as
if you do all the movements wrong and are just generally shit.



one guy who kept doing this finally spoke after he'd been in my
face for 20 minutes and said "so you don't look like you've
been in a gym all that much. why are you here?"



so i just looked at him sheepishly and said "yeah well, i need
just enough muscle to be able to cut open a live chicken, drag
out it's bowels and curse people who bother me. so there's not
really any need for me to be in here all day every day since a
little bit of muscle goes a long way in voodoo".



now no one speaks to me anymore and i can just go in listening
to my mp3 player

kidelrich said:

lol. that's a bit harsh isn't it

IstenSzek said:

Not here in the United States.

IstenSzek said:

kidelrich said:

I would rather just send him a greeting card telling him that if it were legal, I would SO TOTALLY knife him. Less messy that way, plus lawyers are expensive.

It could be a "Thinking Of You" card.

Imago said:

It's not considered violence here. It's called compassionate conservatism or "freedom niceness".

IstenSzek said:

Anx said:

next time you should bring two hand fans and constantly stand behind
him holding them next to his head, shouting "am i invading ur space?"

Anx said:

We're gonna ban the gays from everything we can, but we'll lower their taxes!

IstenSzek said:

that's fucking beautiful.

Imago said:

you just HAD to turn this into a gay thread again, didn't you

the proper thing to do is turn the fan back on, do what you were doing, then turn it off when you were done. A little "fuck you buddy" is perfectly acceptable also.

W.W.S.M.D.?



What Would Serial Mom Do?

You said you were the only one there. When he came in did he have to do his little cardio thing RIGHT NEXT TO YOU AND THE FAN ? There wasnt available equipment out of the way of the wind of the fan ? I cant stand freakin rude people at the gym who think of nothing but themselves.


Maybe he thought you were hot and wanted to workout next to you . He turned the fan off so you would get all wet and sweaty . ...or not.


My biggest pet peeve at the gym is in the lockerroom . If im in there changing at my locker and someone comes in who happenes to have the locker next to you . .Do they have to stand there and change right on top of you , when there is a totally empty lockeroom? Take your stuff and move over a bit , dude. I move over it if I come in and have to squeeze next to some guy changing. (ok if the guy is hot ... then i dont more too far .... but most of the time its nasty old men cramping me )
[Edited 7/18/06 7:19am]

Anx said:

she would follow him into the shower when
he's done and strangle him with the chord.

"REWIND"

newpower99 said:

oh, i have no problem dealing with personal space issues. i'm extremely stand-off-ish about that, even if it's someone hot. i'm weird about the gym - i'm not there to socialize, i'm there to turn my brain off and meditate and exercise. don't get all up in my stuff.

and you're right - i mean, if someone is using equipment i want to use - even if they're just sitting at a machine not using it - i move on to the next thing and come back. i think little miss fussypants just had problems with sharing. i mean, the place was empty.

kidelrich said:

British.