Show-offs

I know some people who are complete, utter arrogant snobs. Not so much with "my talent is better than yours" as with "my way of doing things is better than yours, and you can't conclusively prove me wrong, so I'll never see your point of view." And some of this shit gets thrown at me at work (IT department), in the realm of shit I'm specifically and heavily educated for. Sorry, fucker, but no you do NOT know what makes a secure network better than I do. And no, you do not have the world's best ($INSERT_PRIZED_POSSESSION_HERE).

I knew someone else like that, a long time ago. Thought he was the bees' knees when it came to charming the ladies. Funny thing is that all the girls I talked to thought as much as I did that he was a self-absorbed piece of shit.

I wouldn't mind either of them so much were it not for the fact that both of them tried to drag me into their own delusions of grandeur. Compare and compete, compare and compete. No, fuck you, asshole. Eat shit and die. I keep trying to stay out of their ego-pumping bullshit, but sometimes it's difficult without screaming outright "GO KNIFE YOURSELF, COCKSUCKER" and risking getting fired/expelled/arrested/deported (O NOES).

As for showing off my talents without coming off sounding like a pompous pig-fucker, I usually try to avoid showing them off as much as I just use them. A lot of it has to do with technology, and I'll usually just give people as much cold, hard information as I can if I have to fix something for them and they give me that "ZOMG computer god" look (Guys, I'm not god, I just happen to know silicon wafers better than some other folks). Educate them a bit as to the facts of the matter, help them feel enlightened. Good karma is a far greater reward than empty pride will ever be.

So yeah, show-offs really, really fucking piss me off. I'm about as (non|anti)Christian as you can get, but I definitely understand the whole "pride a deadly sin" thing.

One other thing I notice about people like this, now that I'm thinking about it: they're usually not nearly as good at their brag-skill as other people are who don't boast about it every 10 minutes. It very likely stems from a psychological need to compensate for feelings of inferiority or inadequacy. "I fear I suck at this, so let's talk about how good I am at it." Mr Charmy McFuckems seemed to be a poster child for inferiority complexes.

Rambling now, but I keep thinking of new examples. I actually once dated someone who was so full of herself I saw herself spilling out her ears. One year my senior, and thought it was enough to play Big Sister to the university newbie. 'Scuse me, bitch, I'll find my own goddamn way around my college. Do I look like a fucking deer in headlights? Jesus christ, give me one week and I'll know enough to at least muddle by while I fill in the gaps.

Arrogance has to be the single most unattractive characteristic under the sun. Show some fucking humility, for chrissake.

Jam it back in, in the dark.