And I'm always amazed that I'm seemingly the only one who gives a damn. Are people really that terrified of confrontation? Or is it more that it's not worth it to wait another minute or so?

I'm generally a confronter. Mostly it works out all right, but you have to gauge the situation. If it looks like there's going to be a hostile revolt, it's not worth it. But in general, it seems that most cutters accept the silence of others as a pass for their bad behavior, and can ignore dirty looks, but usually they're cowed if you talk to them directly - especially calmly - because it's not often done in our culture and it's just sort of surprising.

I'm not sure whether it's just due to getting older, but yes, it sure seems like social order is decaying. Those of us who grew up waiting in lines at school and being made to observe certain conventions can get pretty stressed out when you see a lot of people for whom those are not important values.

Yeah, exactly Miko. It stresses me more when the person doesn't cut right in front of me, but rather a few people ahead of me, because then it should be the person in line's job to say something, not me.
But usually I just say "I'm behind this (person in front of me)".

Oh, baby, do I confront. I just confronted last night, when after standing in a very short but non-moving line at the video game store, a man twice my size came in and stood next to me, not behind me. I knew right away that he was going to try to innocently work his way in front of me. When the line moved up, sure enough, he got in front of me. I just tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, but you know that I was in front of you. You came in after me." He looked sheepish and got behind me. I hate that shit. Not speaking too softly is key - you don't want to be a loudmouth but you want to talk loudly enough so that the others in line hear - it makes everyone turn around and look, and often someone else in line will back you up.

I hate people who cut in the line to get into the dining hall here at college. I've only seen it happen a few times, but everyone just looks around at each other with that "what the fuck? Seriously?" look on their face. The only time cutting is admissible is if you have an "in," i.e. someone you know who you're joining for a meal who is in line already.

Oh man, my partner goes crazy over people cutting in line. It can happen 20 or 25 places ahead of us, and I won't even see it, and all of a sudden he's all, "Hey! HEY, you!"

Which is good I guess, but man, one day I know he's going to get us shot.

I say "I'm sorry, but the line ends *behind* me." and point to where the end of the line is. Usually people move to the back of the line. Sometimes, I interrupt the shopclerk or whomever and say "I'm sorry, but this woman was here before that guy." People appear pissed off when I do that, but it doesn't stop me. I try to keep a pleasant tone of voice when I do it, but I don't always succeed.

I think it's a function of things being more crowded, as well as a shift in the attitude toward rules. I'm also a huge fan of social fictions, which people seem to be abandoning at a mad rate. Yes, yes, we all poop; it doesn't mean you're supposed to talk about your colon on the bus.

Yeah, citris, if you're meeting a friend that's one thing.
I've decided that line-cutters are the scum of the earth, and it would be a deal-breaker if I knew someone who did it.

I can't remember the last time I saw someone cut in line. Maybe I'm not going to the right places or it just doesn't happen out here in flyover country. If anything, we have the opposite problem: it's too hard to get people to go ahead of you. We seem to go through this constant dance here of "after you", "no please, you first", "no, I insist", etc. That happens in traffic, in lines, at doors, elevators, all the time here. Four-way intersections can get stopped up for what seems like minutes while every single car tries to yield to every other car. It sounds cute in theory but in practice, my inner New Jerseyian starts screaming, "will somebody just fucking go!?"

I haven't encountered much line cutting lately. But I do see a lot of idiots driving on the shoulder in traffic jams, which is not only rude, but an obstacle for any police or rescue vehicles that ned to get through in the event that an accident is the cause of the jam up. What makes their destination more important than mine? Unless they really have to go to the bathroom (sorry, crush). Then I have a tiny bit of sympathy. I've been there.

It entirely depends on my mood. More often than not, I let people cut, because generally when standing in line, I'm not in any huge rush. However, were someone to cut in front of me at some aggravating place I don't enjoy being, like the post office, I imagine I would say something like iconomy did.

My line pet peeve: When lines into restaurants, for example, are long enough to go out the door, and it's cold outside, but the people at the spot right *at* the door don't take two steps back to let the door *close* so that the people inside the restaurant don't freeze their asses off from the open door. They just stand there shivering in the doorway without any awareness that they're making life miserable for everyone else while at the same time not making it any better for themselves.

Grrr. Now I'm in a bad mood.

I think cutting is often in the eye of the beholder -- clear cases are rare, IMHO. I maybe I'm too timid :) I think I would need to have had a REALLY bad day + an egregious case of cutting for me to mention it.

Last time I lost my temper in public was standing in line at the airport, and the person behind me kept bumping her luggage cart into my ankles. That's probably 3 years ago now...

What are they thinking?

Unfortunately, assholes who only look out for themselves seem to be the people that get what they want out of life.

(reward of action) - (cost of action)

For cutters, the reward vs. the cost is positive based on the assumption that the reward/cost calculation comes out negative for someone calling them out. e.g. in situations where the caller-out will look like an authoritarian jerk, where no one really cares, where people are too afraid/proper to say anything.

I don't really ever stand in line for things (I hate crowds), so this doesn't come up for me often. When it does, it's rare that it's me that gets cut (maybe because I'm a decently-size dude?), so I don't mind being the defender of the cuttee and speaking up.

This thread makes me amazed how many ways there are to avoid lines. I do it subconsciously; I don't go to lunch at peak times, I grocery shop on weeknights (and almost always use the self-serve express lanes). Even when I went to a Rush concert last year; we got there early enough that there wasn't much of a line. Didn't even have to wait to pee.

Now I'm trying to think of the last time I waited on line for anything. Hmm...

The only time I've experienced line-cutting since moving to Chicago is at this one particular bus stop near DePaul University. Apparently DePaul does not teach its students that it is Not O.K. to push in front of the visibly handicapped person who is trying to get on the bus. Seriously, this happens about 50% of the time I use the stop.

I hate people who, in a line of traffic, drive down the wrong side of the road and then try to cut in. I refuse to let them, and because my car is a crapbox and theirs is usually much nicer, they back off because I don't mind another scrape on my wing. The only exception is White Van Man, who doesn't give a shit if he takes your wing off.

But in queues, I usually give an "Excuse me, but I was here before you" and then step forward.

Although people bitch and moan about the type of lines they have in banks and post offices these days, where you all snake around the marked out lanes and then "Please go to counter 7", at least it stops people pushing in.

More often than not, I let people cut, because generally when standing in line, I'm not in any huge rush.

This seems to me to be so beside the point. On the other hand, maybe you have your priorities better aligned than I, and will probably live longer. So be it, when I die at age 53, my tombstone will proudly say "No one ever cut in front of him..."

How about this for a line - "You must love doing cocaine, cuz you sure know how to cut a line."

Also - "It's cool, you can have back-cuts."

it's rare that it's me that gets cut (maybe because I'm a decently-size dude?)

I think that size definitely plays its part here. At 4ft 11, I think I get shoved out of the way far more than I would if I were 5ft 11. I once said to a queue-jumper "I might be short, but I'm not invisible".

Last month I made a trip to the post office to drop off a box with pre-paid postage. A simple task, but I'm never sure if I can just drop it in the box, so I decided to take it to the counter. The post office has a row of clerks along the back wall and a long counter in the middle of the room that runs parallel to the clerks' stations. When I walked in two people were busy filling out forums or preparing packages on the counter on the opposite side from the clerks. Neither are at the extreme end of the counter, nor are they particularly close to one another. A third person is clearly waiting in line on the near side of the counter--he is not filling out any forums and is attentively watching the clerks.

Since I don't need to prepare anything, I go stand behind the guy who is obviously waiting in line.

A few moments later, one of the two people who had been filling out forums comes up to me in a huff. He says, "Is there a reason you cut in front of me?!"

I respond, very calmly, "You were filling out a forum at the counter. It didn't appear you were standing in line."

"No, the line starts over there!" he says. He points to the end of the counter, which isn't where he was filling out his forum. He seems pretty damn angry.

I say, "Well, I think you're wrong, but you can go ahead." Again, pretty calm. He stares at me for a second, still looking pissed. Then he goes ahead and is almost immediately called up to one of the clerks. I wait about 10 seconds more and another clerk beckons me. My transaction took about 10 seconds total.

Lines: serious business.

Size doesn't seem to be an issue for me. I'm 6'4", 210 lbs. and I see cutting constantly, or so it seems. But I often forget that I'm a "big guy", so maybe that comes across. Perhaps I need to stand up straight and work on my line-scowl.

Like octothorpe I can't remember the last time I saw someone cut in line.

What staggers me and leaves me gasping is when a person tells me - in the guise of a question - that they're going to cut in front of me. It's happened to me several times: I'll be in line at the supermarket and someone will say, "Excuse me, but I only have a few things and I'm really in a hurry, so do you mind if I go in front of you?" They usually say this as they're stepping in front of me. Yes. Yes, I do mind. I've been waiting too and I'm also in a hurry and what makes you think your time is more valuable than mine? But I can't say that out loud because I'm a horrible wimp and instead I just back off and say "Oh of course" and hate myself for it later, when I'm done with the openmouthed jaw dropping shock at their total rudeness.

I never call anyone out on it, but I usually try to avoid situations that involve me standing in line. Several old years in retail have done two things to me, the first is to teach me tricks for shorter lines (In most Targets, the shortest line will be the one closest to the door, as most people are coming from the opposite side of the door and go to the closest available checker, also, I don't have 100% proof of this, but I'd be willing to bet stores put their most inept tellers on the X items or less line).

The second is that I hate when people go to cashiers that have their lights off and obviously aren't taking more customers.

mygoth - this thread is for you! You are not alone, we shall unite and strike these people down. I'm officially giving you the power to turn into a superhero the next time this happens.

OMG I am one of those people who is frequently too gobsmacked at other people's rudeness to call them out on it (and then I beat myself up later for not doing so) but MGL I had my one shining moment in calling out a few months ago in exactly the situation you described! After they sweetly told me that I wouldn't mind if they cut in front of me, I actually at my shit together enough to reply: "No, I would mind, because I'm in a hurry as well, although of course you couldn't tell because I haven't assumed that my needs are more important than everyone else's" and she blushed red and went to the back of the line. And the person behind me said thank you, and I felt 10 feet tall.

But I do see a lot of idiots driving on the shoulder in traffic jams, which is not only rude, but an obstacle for any police or rescue vehicles that ned to get through in the event that an accident is the cause of the jam up.

Oh that irks me like you wouldn't believe. I'm sometimes the counter-asshole who pulls over to the right just barely enough to block their path. If not, I'm definitely the guy who applauds the car who does.

Mygothlaundry, similar to that and what really ASTOUNDS me is when I fall victim to the "excuse me" trick. Someone comes up from behind you and says "excuse me." You, thinking they're just trying to get through the line to something on the other side, let them pass. They then do this to either a few more people or until they get to just before the end of the line, and they stay there. They have preyed on your politeness to cut in line, and you're left feeling like a twit. I've had this happen to me more than a few times in the line to the dining hall, but what really makes it worth it is when the person at the register/hand scanner thing (that's how my school makes sure you don't use someone else's ID to get food) tells them to get to the back of the line.

gaspode, you are a superhero!

the person at the register/hand scanner thing tells them to get to the back of the line.

Yeah, this should happen more. A lot of the times, the cashier knows the person cut, but just couldn't care less.

Go gaspode!

I confront, and often. I say, nice and polite and in my sweetest voice, "excuse me, I believe I was here first", and they usually look embarassed and get back where they belong. I've not yet had a bad experience but I expect an aggressive reaction every time and steel myself for it, but the sweet voice seems to do the trick.

More often than not, I let people cut, because generally when standing in line, I'm not in any huge rush.'

I think that's a fine and very generous thing to do as long as no one is behind you in the line. When people are behind me, they've put in a certain amount of waiting time already, and I think it's unfair for me to increase it without their permission by letting someone in front of me.

I am not a big fan of standing on line and also try to avoid it. One of the things that is hardest to understand happens at the end of concerts or movies. Everybody bounds up from their chair and rushes for the exit...only to end up standing there in a jam for a few minutes as people make their way out of the narrow door. So usually after a concert I just cool my heels in the seat for awhile talking to the person I'm with. It's way more comfortable and relaxing than standing around shuffling and being inadvertently poked as you wait to get out the door.

I love this clip from Dead Like Me. I want to be Rube.

The most annoying thing is people in front of me who think they are being "polite" by letting someone cut in front of them.

I never have people cut in line on me, probably because I carry myself hostile like in public out of fear and other stuff not worth getting into.

But darn you bunnies! Today I did! At the grocery - confused old guy trying to get cigs. Finaly got locked up cigs, then saw lines. He had probably been working on this for some time. He wandered, and stood behind me. I almost offered, but I was kinda up there and there wasn't a way for him to get around me and my cart. He asked. I said fine, fine. Not nicely, but I think it was ok to do. Nobody behind me, and the man was in distress of somekind. It didn't take long and my checker and bagger were on the ball and fun people, so it didn't cost me much time or anything.

One of the big pluses of my job is that I'm in charge of the line and I get to police it. And I'm a regular motherfucking Buford Pusser. Your welcome.

Disclaimer, I love that clip! I hate at the airport, you'll be tenth in the original line. Then someone comes along and is dissatisfied with the original line, so they start a second line perpendicular to the first one. This is best achieved with a group of six or so, two of whom are talking too much to even notice what is happening. Then people start to innocently line up in line 2. Then, often enough, another group comes, is dissatisfied with where they'll end up in lines 1 or 2, and starts line 3. Now, rather than your nice safe spot at tenth, you have the anxiety of merging with lines 1 and 2 to go through ticket check. And the worst part is, we all have our seats already on the plane, and they're not going to close up the gate or anything with people still in line. Stay in Line 1! Respect the people who get there early with everything all organized.

A lot of the times, the cashier knows the person cut, but just couldn't care less.

From my personal cashiering experience, I would rarely call people out, but I did care. As a cashier, my goal was to keep my customers as pleasant as possible and someone skipping them in line would have the opposite affect. Usually, the line self polices though.

However, when checking people out, it's really hard to pay any attention to the line at all (unless if I was trying to get off register, and I was checking to make sure people weren't joining my closed line), so, at stores where one line fed a bunch of registers, I would say loudly "I can help whoever's NEXT" and then let the customers decide amongst themselves who should come up.

The worst thing about those feeder lines (like at Barnes and Noble) is that the companys are slowly making them twist and turn more and more to try to force you to walk past impulse items.