The Theater of Niceness: Keep Your Fake Smile, Just Get Out of the Way

You Know the Type

You're in the grocery store parking lot. Someone's blocking the lane, standing there like the world's on pause just for them. When they finally notice they're in the way, they toss you a weak "Oh! Sorry!" Or if you're in the Midwest, "Ope! Sorry!!"

They don't move. They don't mean it.

They just want credit for noticing... after the fact.

That's not courtesy. That's cowardice in a cardigan.

Act I: Niceness Is a Performance

Let's stop pretending niceness means anything.

Most of the time, it's not about you. It's about them. About keeping their world comfortable.

It's not real kindness. It's social camouflage.

A "sorry" without awareness is like a band-aid on a bullet wound... useless and insulting.

People don't want to do better. They want to look like they tried.

Act II: The Harmless Hypocrisy

You know what's more dangerous than rudeness? Fake goodness.

People who smile while inconveniencing you. Who don't see you until they need to clear their own conscience.

They think being "nice" makes them morally superior. It doesn't. It makes them delusional.

Harmless != good. Harmless often just means checked out.

I'd take a sharp tongue over a shallow smile any day.

Act III: Give Me Grit Over Gloss

This is why I love the energy of places like NYC. Yeah, it's loud, rough, intense... but it's honest.

People there don't waste your time pretending they didn't know they were in your way. They move.

They don't say "sorry" with their mouth while doing nothing with their body.

It's not about manners. It's about awareness. That's real respect.

Act IV: My Outburst Was the Honest One

So yeah, when I'm in some suburban parking lot and a woman blocks my car with her cart, then smiles and gives me the classic “Oops! Sorry!” I snap.

“Don't apologize. Get the fuck out of the way.”

Because that fake apology was more offensive than the original offense.

It’s not about rage. It’s about demanding something this world is starving for: honest accountability.

Conclusion: Kill the Act

If you're going to be in the way, be in the way. Own it.

If you're going to apologize, mean it. Or just shut up and move.

This world doesn’t need more empty pleasantries. It needs more people who give a damn, pay attention, and act like they aren't the only ones who exist.

So no, I don’t want your smile. I want your presence.

Keep your niceness. Just get out of the way.