A Pet Peeve

Pet peeves are a normal characteristic in all human beings and everybody has one which others find irritating (Johnston). My personal pet peeve is when I get interrupted when talking and when such a thing happens, I tend to lose my temper. This has tended to bring me into conflict not only with my coworkers, but also with my family and friends as well. I still believe that my actions are justified because it is very rude to interrupt someone when he is speaking and instead one should listen until the other person has finished articulating his ideas. I think that this is an essential part of human associations. Interrupting someone when he is speaking is a sign of lack of a respect, an insult, and most of all, a personal challenge.

Interrupting someone when he is speaking is a sign of lack of respect and I think that my reaction towards people who do this is justified (Joyce). Not only is this a lack of respect but it shows how these people regard me. It brings out a feeling of inadequacy within me which I find very hard to ignore and my first instinctive reaction is to lose my temper. Everybody has a right to get angry when disrespected in anyway and I do not see the difference between me and them. I do not see why people should be offended by my reaction towards what I consider to be a disrespectful gesture because all these other people have their own peeves which they consider to be disrespectful towards them. I consider being interrupted to be a sign of disrespect towards me and if those around me do not like how I react, then it would be best if they did not interrupt me when I am talking.

I consider being interrupted when speaking, especially when making a very important point to be very insulting. This is due to the fact that the person who has interrupted me does not see the importance of what I am talking about or disagrees with it and instead chooses to do this insulting thing. I would prefer to be told to my face that what I am talking about is not important or that it is boring instead of my speech being dismissed in such an insulting way. I would not get angry if one were to tell me this and I am sure that we would afterwards come to a very amicable solution to what I was saying.

Being interrupted when speaking is a personal challenge to the speaker and should be answered with the severity it deserves. Interrupting a person when he is speaking especially on a subject that the person who has interrupted knows nothing about is very personal because he is casting doubt on the knowledge of the speaker (Bromann, 24 - 28). The speaker’s angry reaction towards this is very much justified and he deserves the apology of the person who has interrupted him. If such a thing were done, then there would be no need for conflict between people.

In conclusion, it is a normal thing for everybody to have at least one pet peeve. These pet peeves may be rational or irrational and should be met with understanding. People should be careful to learn what the pet peeves of others around them are and should try their utmost to avoid them. This will ensure that there is always a calm and sociable place where everybody can live and work in peace.