Irrational fears

[Beltway]

Anyone have a fear of being vomited on by someone else?

Yes, but my wife and I are having our first kid in July, so now it's just inevitable.

Should have clarified, not by a family member, but by a stranger.
I recall as a kid being in a movie theater and someone blew lunch from the balcony all over several people down below on the main floor.

The closest I've had was when I was in a Costco and a guy coughed in my ear as I walked by him.
Once at a Utah Symphony concert, my brother hurled all over the people sitting in front of us. I had to stay in my seat until intermission. It smelled awful, and it took some serious effort to not puke myself.

The managers didn't move people away so that they could clean up the mess?

[Takumi]

Anyone have a fear of being vomited on by someone else?

Yes, but my wife and I are having our first kid in July, so now it's just inevitable.

Should have clarified, not by a family member, but by a stranger.

I recall as a kid being in a movie theater and someone blew lunch from the balcony all over several people down below on the main floor.

There was that incident at a Phillies game a few years back where a "fan" deliberately puked on a kid whose father asked him and his friends to stop cussing and then asked security to remove them when one of them spit on his sweatshirt:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/major-league-jerk-charged-intentionally-vomiting-11-yr-old-phillies-fan-article-1.168760

I just don’t get why Philly sports fans have such a bad reputation. Seems perfectly reasonable.

[US 89]

Anyone have a fear of being vomited on by someone else?

Yes, but my wife and I are having our first kid in July, so now it's just inevitable.

Should have clarified, not by a family member, but by a stranger.
I recall as a kid being in a movie theater and someone blew lunch from the balcony all over several people down below on the main floor.

The closest I've had was when I was in a Costco and a guy coughed in my ear as I walked by him.
Once at a Utah Symphony concert, my brother hurled all over the people sitting in front of us. I had to stay in my seat until intermission. It smelled awful, and it took some serious effort to not puke myself.

The managers didn't move people away so that they could clean up the mess?

My brother was taken out with my parents so the EMT could check on him (he was fine). There was no cleaning, at least until I left at intermission. I don't think you could have paid me enough to stay for the second half.

[MNHighwayMan]

"Fear in itself is mostly an illusion"

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

[Max Rockatansky]

"Fear in itself is mostly an illusion"

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

Damn, we just broke out a Dune reference.  This thread just instantly got better.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Being struck and killed by objects from the sky (meteor, debris from passing aircraft, etc.)

[paulthemapguy]

Losing control of my mind.  This includes slipping into migraines, being too sleepy to complete a sentence, and anything out of a psychological thriller.  Ask my past roommates--they know how anal I am about getting decent sleep every night.

[J N Winkler]

Blue ice is less of a problem these days with the widespread adoption of vacuum-assisted flushing for aircraft toilets.  In its heyday it did damage buildings.

[paulthemapguy]

So I know I just posted here, but I have to correct myself.  I lied.  THIS is my number one fear.  Prepare to be terrified.

Groupthink hiveminds terrify me.  I remember specifically walking around the U of I campus in college and hearing sorority girls say hello and greet people in EXACTLY the same tone with EXACTLY the same words, and being horrified.  It's like they're all being operated by a remote mind control device.  It really is amazing.  Except there is no mind control device--it's just that you allow yourself to be controlled by a foreign protocol when you have a complete lack of personality!

[adventurernumber1]

Losing control of my mind.  This includes slipping into migraines, being too sleepy to complete a sentence, and anything out of a psychological thriller.  Ask my past roommates--they know how anal I am about getting decent sleep every night.

That is very, very scary indeed. I even know what it's like to be so sleepy I fell asleep while walking down the stairs (hence falling halfway down the stairs and getting slightly hurt), due to my tranquilizing medication. That is why strokes scare me much, much more than heart attacks (though statistically they are both probably equally dangerous, but a stroke is sort of a "heart attack" to the brain). Anything psychotic where you literally lose your mind is scary as hell - seeing, hearing, or feeling things that aren't there - or believing things that aren't true - unfortunately I know the horrors of that. A person - their personality, intelligence, beliefs, actions, everything - is all centered in the mind, so I don't think I would be scared to completely lose any part of my body more than my brain (in something such as Alzheimer's Disease or a severe stroke). This may actually be the most rational fear of them all. 

[renegade]

I have the fear of dropping stuff ... down an elevator shaft in the space between the elevator car and floor.

Been there, done that.  What's next?

[TheArkansasRoadgeek]

 

Anyone have a fear of being vomited on by someone else?

Yes, but my wife and I are having our first kid in July, so now it's just inevitable.

Should have clarified, not by a family member, but by a stranger.

I recall as a kid being in a movie theater and someone blew lunch from the balcony all over several people down below on the main floor.

The closest I've had was when I was in a Costco and a guy coughed in my ear as I walked by him.

Once at a Utah Symphony concert, my brother hurled all over the people sitting in front of us. I had to stay in my seat until intermission. It smelled awful, and it took some serious effort to not puke myself.

[webny99]

On a somewhat road-related note, I think I have an irrational fear of being pulled over/ticketed. That scares me way more than the possibility of an accident, which is a bit imbalanced on reflection.

I don't know that I would characterize this as irrational, given the low recruiting standards many police departments have been forced to adopt to get boots on the ground.  My local department, for example, no longer disqualifies applicants for a declared history of marijuana use.

I suppose the fear itself is rational, but the extent of it, in my case, borders on irrational. I find myself frequently on the lookout for police, as if I need to make substantial adjustments to my driving habits upon spotting them, which is rarely the case. On the other hand, I rarely spend time worrying about my own safety on the road. As a roadgeek, I tend to trust my instincts in this regard. I can only conclude that it is related to the degree of control which I have  - a substantial amount, in the case of driving safely, and significantly less, in the case of staying out of the hands of the authorities.

A personal objective I have is to never be pulled over or ticketed. I enjoy driving fast - and since I've made it almost two years (largely doing so), I am confident that this fear is in some ways a saving grace. I've learned most of the locations frequented by police on radar, and insist on slowing slightly on approach until I can establish whether they're present. I'm sure being pulled over does get less stressful with each occurence, but simultaneously, I have no intention of proving it through personal experience. Indeed, I take great precautions to the opposite end.



One piece of advice a family friend has given is to begin by thanking the officer for pulling you over. The idea is that a humble and self-aware attitude is likely to result in lower (or no) fines, whereas arrogance and attempts at self-justification can only lead the opposite direction. If this has been tried by anyone, I'd be interested in knowing whether it proved successful.

[jwolfer]

On a somewhat road-related note, I think I have an irrational fear of being pulled over/ticketed. That scares me way more than the possibility of an accident, which is a bit imbalanced on reflection.

I don't know that I would characterize this as irrational, given the low recruiting standards many police departments have been forced to adopt to get boots on the ground.  My local department, for example, no longer disqualifies applicants for a declared history of marijuana use.

I suppose the fear itself is rational, but the extent of it, in my case, borders on irrational. I find myself frequently on the lookout for police, as if I need to make substantial adjustments to my driving habits upon spotting them, which is rarely the case. On the other hand, I rarely spend time worrying about my own safety on the road. As a roadgeek, I tend to trust my instincts in this regard. I can only conclude that it is related to the degree of control which I have  - a substantial amount, in the case of driving safely, and significantly less, in the case of staying out of the hands of the authorities.

A personal objective I have is to never be pulled over or ticketed. I enjoy driving fast - and since I've made it almost two years (largely doing so), I am confident that this fear is in some ways a saving grace. I've learned most of the locations frequented by police on radar, and insist on slowing slightly on approach until I can establish whether they're present.
I'm sure being pulled over does get less stressful with each occurence, but simultaneously, I have no intention of proving it through personal experience. Indeed, I take great precautions to the opposite end.



One piece of advice a family friend has given is to begin by thanking the officer for pulling you over. The idea is that a humble and self-aware attitude is likely to result in lower (or no) fines, whereas arrogance and attempts at self-justification can only lead the opposite direction. If this has been tried by anyone, I'd be interested in knowing whether it proved successful.

In any interactions with police, always be respectful and polite, even if you feel it's not warranted. 

Don't run your mouth and give a reason to have further scrutiny, or possible arrest.

Z981

[Scott5114]

Being struck and killed by objects from the sky (meteor, debris from passing aircraft, etc.)

I wasn't killed, but I had a bird shit on my head once in Kansas City...

Losing control of my mind.  This includes slipping into migraines, being too sleepy to complete a sentence, and anything out of a psychological thriller.  Ask my past roommates--they know how anal I am about getting decent sleep every night.

I don't know if I would consider it an irrational fear, but I have the same sentiment. I avoid alcohol and drugs for this reason–I don't want to lose control and do or say something I wouldn't want to do or say while sober.

Groupthink hiveminds terrify me.  I remember specifically walking around the U of I campus in college and hearing sorority girls say hello and greet people in EXACTLY the same tone with EXACTLY the same words, and being horrified.  It's like they're all being operated by a remote mind control device.  It really is amazing.  Except there is no mind control device--it's just that you allow yourself to be controlled by a foreign protocol when you have a complete lack of personality!

Don't go to Chick-Fil-A and say "thank you" to the workers. (Spoiler: management requires them to reply "my pleasure".) It creeps me the hell out, and I don't even have a phobia of this kind of thing.

On a somewhat road-related note, I think I have an irrational fear of being pulled over/ticketed. That scares me way more than the possibility of an accident, which is a bit imbalanced on reflection.

I don't know that I would characterize this as irrational, given the low recruiting standards many police departments have been forced to adopt to get boots on the ground.  My local department, for example, no longer disqualifies applicants for a declared history of marijuana use.

I suppose the fear itself is rational, but the extent of it, in my case, borders on irrational. I find myself frequently on the lookout for police, as if I need to make substantial adjustments to my driving habits upon spotting them, which is rarely the case. On the other hand, I rarely spend time worrying about my own safety on the road. As a roadgeek, I tend to trust my instincts in this regard. I can only conclude that it is related to the degree of control which I have  - a substantial amount, in the case of driving safely, and significantly less, in the case of staying out of the hands of the authorities.

A personal objective I have is to never be pulled over or ticketed. I enjoy driving fast - and since I've made it almost two years (largely doing so), I am confident that this fear is in some ways a saving grace. I've learned most of the locations frequented by police on radar, and insist on slowing slightly on approach until I can establish whether they're present.
I'm sure being pulled over does get less stressful with each occurence, but simultaneously, I have no intention of proving it through personal experience. Indeed, I take great precautions to the opposite end.



One piece of advice a family friend has given is to begin by thanking the officer for pulling you over. The idea is that a humble and self-aware attitude is likely to result in lower (or no) fines, whereas arrogance and attempts at self-justification can only lead the opposite direction. If this has been tried by anyone, I'd be interested in knowing whether it proved successful.

In any interactions with police, always be respectful and polite, even if you feel it's not warranted. 

Don't run your mouth and give a reason to have further scrutiny, or possible arrest.

Z981

Unfortunately, evidence over the past few years has showed that's not always enough to avoid a bad interaction with police. There's been several taped incidents where a citizen apparently follows the officer's orders and been polite and respectful and end up getting shot anyway. I'd call fear of police interaction a rational fear.

[jeffandnicole]

Remember, the police make thousands of stops per day. Even though a few rogue cops have made people think they're all bad guys, overall most people are not having these issues. I've been stopped many times...always with reason, but by being pleasant it's amazing what you can get away with.

One thing I do recall reading: If you're going to give cop an issue with being pulled over, the cop is probably going to write that ticket. The reasoning is if he doesn't write the ticket, then the driver is going to say that the stop was not justified. So by writing the ticket the cop justified the stop.

[jwolfer]

Don't go to Chick-Fil-A and say "thank you" to the workers. (Spoiler: management requires them to reply "my pleasure".) It creeps me the hell out, and I don't even have a phobia of this kind of thing.

I agree. It sounds very "Stepford Wives"  and fake.
Although one of my friends tries to get them to say my pleasure as many times as possible



Z981

[jwolfer]

Being struck and killed by objects from the sky (meteor, debris from passing aircraft, etc.)

I wasn't killed, but I had a bird shit on my head once in Kansas City...

Losing control of my mind.  This includes slipping into migraines, being too sleepy to complete a sentence, and anything out of a psychological thriller.  Ask my past roommates--they know how anal I am about getting decent sleep every night.

I don't know if I would consider it an irrational fear, but I have the same sentiment. I avoid alcohol and drugs for this reason–I don't want to lose control and do or say something I wouldn't want to do or say while sober.

Groupthink hiveminds terrify me.  I remember specifically walking around the U of I campus in college and hearing sorority girls say hello and greet people in EXACTLY the same tone with EXACTLY the same words, and being horrified.  It's like they're all being operated by a remote mind control device.  It really is amazing.  Except there is no mind control device--it's just that you allow yourself to be controlled by a foreign protocol when you have a complete lack of personality!

Don't go to Chick-Fil-A and say "thank you" to the workers. (Spoiler: management requires them to reply "my pleasure".) It creeps me the hell out, and I don't even have a phobia of this kind of thing.

On a somewhat road-related note, I think I have an irrational fear of being pulled over/ticketed. That scares me way more than the possibility of an accident, which is a bit imbalanced on reflection.

I don't know that I would characterize this as irrational, given the low recruiting standards many police departments have been forced to adopt to get boots on the ground.  My local department, for example, no longer disqualifies applicants for a declared history of marijuana use.

I suppose the fear itself is rational, but the extent of it, in my case, borders on irrational. I find myself frequently on the lookout for police, as if I need to make substantial adjustments to my driving habits upon spotting them, which is rarely the case. On the other hand, I rarely spend time worrying about my own safety on the road. As a roadgeek, I tend to trust my instincts in this regard. I can only conclude that it is related to the degree of control which I have  - a substantial amount, in the case of driving safely, and significantly less, in the case of staying out of the hands of the authorities.

A personal objective I have is to never be pulled over or ticketed. I enjoy driving fast - and since I've made it almost two years (largely doing so), I am confident that this fear is in some ways a saving grace. I've learned most of the locations frequented by police on radar, and insist on slowing slightly on approach until I can establish whether they're present.
I'm sure being pulled over does get less stressful with each occurence, but simultaneously, I have no intention of proving it through personal experience. Indeed, I take great precautions to the opposite end.



One piece of advice a family friend has given is to begin by thanking the officer for pulling you over. The idea is that a humble and self-aware attitude is likely to result in lower (or no) fines, whereas arrogance and attempts at self-justification can only lead the opposite direction. If this has been tried by anyone, I'd be interested in knowing whether it proved successful.

In any interactions with police, always be respectful and polite, even if you feel it's not warranted. 

Don't run your mouth and give a reason to have further scrutiny, or possible arrest.

Z981

Unfortunately, evidence over the past few years has showed that's not always enough to avoid a bad interaction with police. There's been several taped incidents where a citizen apparently follows the officer's orders and been polite and respectful and end up getting shot anyway. I'd call fear of police interaction a rational fear.

I recently got pulled over for speeding, my DL was suspended for non payment of child support, but it was a bureaucratic snafu, I changed jobs, so now I am a contractor( 1099 instead of W2) so child support changed from payroll deduction to me paying directly to state. It was different cycle so it got short but I caught up.. I got letter saying DL would be suspended, I assumed it was all OK because I made payments every pay period, but alas the week difference showed me perpetually late a week.

So what I though would be a speeding ticket, tuned into "boy you are lucky I don't take you to jail and call DCF to come get your daughter" and waiting 2 hours for my parents to come and get me and drive my car home.  Then getting it straightened out, child support office said it was their fault, she saw I made payments, but I had to wait 24 hours for system to update before DMV would see that, not to mention paying to restore my licence. Missed 2 days of work, no pay, fixing a mistake by the state if FL.

I have a problem with DL being suspended for non driving offences, like non payment of child support.

But to your bigger point.  There are so many laws and regulations any one of us could be arrested and charged with a crime for something you had no idea was illegal.

Or just inconvenienced with like "driving while black"or "what are you doing in xxx when you live in zzz." Etc  Most of us have driven odd routes to check out a new road, abandoned bridge, take a picture of old button copy. Some cops would find that odd, search the car and call out the K9 and find that marijuana pipe dropped under the seat by your stoner cousin Craig last Christmas, or Granny's Percocet that fell out of her purse when you drover her home from shoulder surgery.  There you are innocent roadgeek, turned into drug trafficker.

My good friend is a criminal defense attorney, he has seen cases that got innocent people in jail, like having the same name as a criminal.

So could be a rational fear.



Z981

[oscar]

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

For a tangent off the Dune reference, here's an unrelated mock Dune litany (based on a litany of Piter the Mentat), which I pilfered from a Usenet newsgroup two decades ago:

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of java that thoughts acquire speed,
the hands acquire shaking,
the shaking becomes a warning.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

While I don't drink coffee, I am a Diet Pepsi addict, so I can relate.

[J N Winkler]

But to your bigger point.  There are so many laws and regulations any one of us could be arrested and charged with a crime for something you had no idea was illegal.

Many laws are sloppily drafted because, aside from a requirement to have an active law license in good standing, there is no accountability for bill drafters in state legislatures.  This results in laws for which 100% compliance is impossible without unreasonable effort.  For example, in Kansas you can be ticketed for failing to have your turn signal blinking at least 100 ft in advance of an upcoming turn.  This means that, in theory, you can be ticketed anytime you turn left at an intersection and then turn right into a driveway within 100 ft of the intersection throat, since there is no way you could have had your signal blinking for the required lead time for the driveway turn.  The only way to avoid this form of legal jeopardy is to drive three sides of a block so you can approach the driveway from a direction that allows the giving of the required 100 ft advance notice.

Or just inconvenienced with like "driving while black" or "what are you doing in xxx when you live in zzz." Etc  Most of us have driven odd routes to check out a new road, abandoned bridge, take a picture of old button copy. Some cops would find that odd, search the car and call out the K9 and find that marijuana pipe dropped under the seat by your stoner cousin Craig last Christmas, or Granny's Percocet that fell out of her purse when you drover her home from shoulder surgery.  There you are innocent roadgeek, turned into drug trafficker.

The whole "driving while black" problem is why I never assert that people stopped by the police never experience discriminatory treatment, although I have never encountered it myself in the context of traffic stops.  (My own experience, when pulled over by the police, has been more like Jeffandnicole's.  Even so, as a deaf person I carry a heavier burden at checkpoints.)

I am a great fan of keeping the inside of a car picked up, to add an extra layer of insulation against the risk that I get put in legal jeopardy as the result of something a passenger left behind.  It is a sad irony that, in order to be seen by law enforcement as an innocent person, you have to think like a criminal seeking to remove evidence of a crime.

[MNHighwayMan]

Many laws are sloppily drafted because, aside from a requirement to have an active law license in good standing, there is no accountability for bill drafters in state legislatures.  This results in laws for which 100% compliance is impossible without unreasonable effort.  For example, in Kansas you can be ticketed for failing to have your turn signal blinking at least 100 ft in advance of an upcoming turn.  This means that, in theory, you can be ticketed anytime you turn left at an intersection and then turn right into a driveway within 100 ft of the intersection throat, since there is no way you could have had your signal blinking for the required lead time for the driveway turn.  The only way to avoid this form of legal jeopardy is to drive three sides of a block so you can approach the driveway from a direction that allows the giving of the required 100 ft advance notice.

I have no idea how much of this article is hyperbole, but it certainly feels like it's possible, which is awful itself: Eight Ways We Regularly Commit Felonies Without Realizing It

[webny99]

I'd call fear of police interaction a rational fear.

The irony is that I'd being doing a disservice to myself if  I continued to argue to the contrary, so we'll leave it at that 

Don't go to Chick-Fil-A and say "thank you" to the workers. (Spoiler: management requires them to reply "my pleasure".) It creeps me the hell out, and I don't even have a phobia of this kind of thing.

I agree. It sounds very "Stepford Wives"  and fake.
Although one of my friends tries to get them to say my pleasure as many times as possible.

That's a weird policy. I've only been to the one in Erie PA, but there's one coming to Rochester soon. I'll have to pay close attention next time, as I've never noticed that before.

It seems that would begin to alienate customers who know about the policy - the exact opposite of the intended effect (especially if "my pleasure" is a lie, which I'm sure it is in some cases).

[Takumi]

Large trucks suddenly tipping over while passing them.

[US 89]

Large trucks suddenly tipping over while passing them.

If it's windy, that's not an irrational fear. In fact, yesterday four semis tipped over on I-80 in the Utah west desert due to high winds.

[1995hoo]

Large trucks suddenly tipping over while passing them.

Looks rational to me. Supposedly this occurred yesterday, but the last time I was on the Verrazano, it had a jersey barrier. Is that gone now?