6 Things That We All Agree Should Be Against The Law

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If there is one thing that can bond humanity, it’s our communal frustration over the following things. In some weird way, it makes us more connected because we can dislike the people who do these things.

If you happen to be one of those people, then this is your warning: Please stop, or we will petition for a civil arrest.

The Prices of College Textbooks

There is nothing quite like that daunting feeling of going into the school bookstore, loading up your basket with textbooks, and then walking the green mile down to the check out, full-well knowing you’re about to drop some serious money on books you’ll only be returning in three and a half months for a quarter of the price, if that.

It’s a monopoly held over poor college students’ heads and it’s terrible. And it seems to only be getting worse. NBC News reported in 2015 that college textbook prices have risen by over 1,000 percent when adjusted for inflation. The article goes on to say, “They’ve been able to keep raising prices because students are ‘captive consumers.’ They have to buy whatever books they’re assigned.” And it’s true, there is really no way around it.

Stack of thick textbooks
Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Places like Amazon or Chegg may have books discounted, but you might not be able to sell the book back to your school after. Let’s not forget about professors who insist you buy the newest version of a textbook, despite the fact that nothing has really changed in it in the past five years. It’s as if everyone is colluding to create an evil little cycle just to keep college students spending money.

Lack of Driving Exams for Elderly Drivers with Poor Eyesight

If you drive a car, then you probably already have some feelings about this one. A lot of countries have a more difficult driver’s license test than the United States—and rightfully so, as if you’ve ever been to Europe or Asia, you’ll know roads and drivers are a little more intense than here in the U.S.

The thing is, no one really has to take the physical driver’s exam once they’ve passed and most of us did that when we were 16 years old. Sometimes when you renew or move, you’ll have to take the written part or an eye exam, but you never actually have to get in the car and do the test again. For the most part, that’s great because the exam is not fun.

Older couple driving car
Wonderlane on Unsplash

But what about having a law that states after the age of 70, you have to take your exam every five years? It sounds harsh, but the Insurance Information Institute says only about one-third of the states make elderly drivers do any test; typically, it just requires a mail-in renewal of their license. They note, “18 states require older motorists to show proof of adequate vision when renewing their licenses and 15 states and the District of Columbia that prohibit older drivers from renewing licenses by mail or online. In addition, one state, Illinois, requires older drivers age 75 and over to take a road test at renewal and the District of Columbia requires a doctor’s approval for drivers over the age of 70 to renew their licenses.”

There have been enough stories of elderly drivers causing collisions when they can’t see or get confused. We get that aging comes with its own set of obstacles and we don’t mean to imply that all elderly people are stupid or incapable of driving. However, for the safety of everyone on the road, driving at a certain age just shouldn’t be acceptable without a little bit of testing.

Cutting in Line

If you are a line-cutter then really, we shouldn’t even be talking to you; we should have a sit-down with your parents instead. This is one of the cardinal rules of being a human being: you don’t cut people. It doesn’t matter if you’re in line at the airport or at a McDonald’s, you just don’t do it.

If there is some sort of emergency, then go ahead and plead your case and let the people be the jury because we have all been there at least once, but good luck to you. Hopefully the reason isn’t something like, “I forgot to set my alarm,” because if so, while humanity may be nice enough to let you pass, they won’t be happy about it.

If you google anything about “line cutting” and then add “fight” or “news” you get a slew of articles and videos about people fighting and actually being seriously injured (or worse) over people cutting in line.

Of course, those are extremes, but there is such a thing as human decency and among those rules are things like holding the door open for people, saying hello to someone who says hello to you, and manners which include “thank you” and “you’re welcome,” and, of course, no cutting in line! If you do those things you should be well on your way to being a good person, and we could always use more of those in the world.

Posting Spoilers

Luckily we have reached a point in our lives where if we know a major television event is going to happen, most of us block out social media. You can bet next month when Game of Thrones airs on HBO, people on the west coast will avoid going online until it airs on the Pacific Time Zone as well. We have all learned our lessons the hard way (bless you Hodor) and hopefully are all wiser for it.

But if you are still one of those people who go on social media within minutes of the culturally televised event and post anything that has to do with a giveaway, then you, my friend, should be shunned and revoked of your internet privileges.

Person with finger over mouth, shushing
Kristina Flour on Unsplash

It doesn’t matter if it’s The Bachelor or the ending to Walking Dead (if anyone still watches that), just keep it to yourself until it has aired entirely in every time zone. Then test the waters, go online and see if it’s okay. To be fair, you shouldn’t ever really post anything because these days everyone uses DVR or streaming sites, so no one really watches live; but still, we understand if you can’t wait a week. Maybe try for a day at least.

And always, always, write “spoiler alert” at the beginning of your post. It doesn’t matter what the UCSD study says (it says we actually watch stories more intently knowing the spoiler ahead of time); they were dealing with books, not television or movies. Different ballgame. Don’t do it.

Bad Parking Jobs

Okay, serenity, now take a deep breath and calm down. We know this is the one that really is just a universal slap to the face. There’s a reason that a subreddit exists solely for the purpose of posting pictures of bad parking jobs and that it has over 11,000 subscribers.

It’s like that scene in Pulp Fiction where Vincent explains how you just never mess with a man’s automobile, to the extreme that he elaborates how he wish he could go back in time just to see who keyed and beat him up rather than stop him.

Well, the same can be said of a bad parking job, because you’re not just messing with one person’s car; you’re messing with all of them. And why? Honestly, what goes on in someone’s head who parks like a jerk?

 

I swear, today I went to the gym, and when I came back out there was an SUV parked within six inches of my door, even though they had three extra feet on the other side, therefore making it nearly impossible to open my door. And yes, I left a note. If only I took a picture and posted on the subreddit. Please don’t be one of these people. For everyone’s sake.

Not Putting Your Shopping Cart Back

There isn’t too much to elaborate on this one, except that if you’re one of the people who doesn’t take the extra 30 seconds to put your shopping cart back, then you’re essentially going to have seven years of bad luck.

Shopping cart in middle of parking lot
David Clarke on Unsplash

At least everyone else who saw you just leave the cart in the parking lot is hoping so. Just like the old Blockbuster slogan, “Be kind, rewind,” we ask the same of you here: Be kind, and put the cart back so no one else has to do it for you, and you don’t cause any car damage.

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