But, But, But I'm Special
Last week in Washington, I found myself turning to Shelly a lot and saying "But I'm *Special*", with plenty of sarcasm. It's something I've taken to saying as a shorthand for a syndrome that seems to affect a LOT of people.
It shows up when people are told the rules and they take a big breath and give a long list of reasons why they should be exempted from the rules. Sure, every once in a while they have a really good reason and everyone witnessing the event nods in agreement that they *should* be exempted. But, most of the time, everyone who overhears it just rolls their eyes.
Here's an example. At the Library of Congress on Friday, everyone was sent through the lower level entrance with the main doors locked. From a couple of blocks away a line of 100+ people led straight to that security point. As we got in line we watched as, every couple of minutes, someone would walk up, look at the line (a few even asked what we were sitting in line for) and then walk up the steps and fret visibly when they discovered the main doors locked. Many grabbed the door handles 3 or 4 times, incredulous that *they* wouldn't be able to walk right into a government building in Washington.
If asked, most wouldn't have actually used the words "but I'm special", but they meant it all the same. Whenever someone insists on an exception, bending of the rules or otherwise being singled out for bypassing the processes set up for everyone, someone is busy saying it.
Don't get me wrong. I'm the first one to offer assistance when I can, the first one to see what I can do to accomodate someone's genuine need. However, I'm just so sick of people saying it when they so clearly aren't special in any way but their selfishness.
So, the next time someone's actions scream, "but I'm special", see if you, like me, are tempted to voice their sentiment. If you give in to the temptation, make sure your words are dripping with sarcasm.
