Dear Dish on Rule Breakage
Dear Dish:
I'm a long time reader, first time writer.
My question is this: Should I speak up when I see someone breaking the rules? For example, recently I was at the gym and there are signs everywhere asking people to sign up for the equipment and not use the exercise equipment for longer than 20 minutes. While I was working up a sweat on one of the glidey thingies, a woman came up to the girl working out next to me and asked if she had signed up for the machine. The girl said she "forgot" and then proceeded to tell the woman she had only been on the machine for 7 minutes. I knew this for a lie since I had been on my machine for nearly 10 minutes and the girl had been using her machine before me. Plus, I could see on her machine that she had been working out for at least 15 but most likely nearly 20. I said nothing because I didn't want to cause a scene or be called an eavesdropper (although the conversation was spoken loudly because the gym was very crowded and therefore noisy). I finished my workout after 15 minutes and then I noticed that the girl restarted her machine for ANOTHER 20 minutes.
Should I have said something? Reported to the proper authorities like a little tattle tale? Please Dish! I need you to do my thinking for me!!!!
Sincerely,
Sweaty and Steamed
P.S. What is your opinion on exercising in a gym anyway? Is it a futile effort? Or a noble endeavor?
Dear Steamed Muscles:
What on earth were you doing in a place like the gym in the first place!? Dish does not approve of these so-called gyms. Don't you realize that the term "exercise equipment" is simply a fancy synonym for "torture device"? A treadmill is merely a modern day iron maiden of sorts, and Dish is not talking about the cool rock band Iron Maiden but rather the old school casket-like device filled with the pointy nails and such. The only piece of exercise equipment that Dish can fully get on board with is the elliptical machine because it has a magical way of taking the uncoordinated and making them look graceful and poised.
But, on to the true issue at hand…The first thing to remember in this type of situation is that no one likes the tattle tale. If your first instinct when you see someone breaking the rules is to run shouting about how someone isn't doing what they are supposed to be doing, it may be indicative of deeper problems. Tattlers often lack self-esteem. They desperately seek attention and reassurance from some sort of authority figure to help them feel validated. Years of therapy may be required to get to the bottom of these issues.
Of course, we don't want to be extreme. There are some situations in which "tattling" is the right course of action. In general, it is ok to "tattle" if someone could be seriously hurt by your failure to speak up or to act. Dish definitely does not want her advice to be misinterpreted and thereby indirectly encourage her readers to fall victim to the bystander effect. That would indeed be tragic.
There are times when it is appropriate to intervene and there are times when it is best to leave the people involved to work out the problem themselves. In this situation, Dish would recommend holding your tongue since you were not directly involved in the situation and since the most harm that was likely to be done was that someone would be inconvenienced. Ideally, the woman who wanted to use the treadmill should have been more assertive when approaching the person who was already on it. Rather than merely asking if the person on the treadmill was signed up for the machine, she should have said "Excuse me. I am signed up for this machine during this time slot." Surely then two mature adults could have come to some sort of compromise.
On the other hand, no one likes a liar so you would have been completely justified in pointing at the woman on the treadmill and shouting, "Liar, liar pants on fire!" and letting mayhem ensue. Of course, if you plan to take such drastic action, you must be prepared to face the consequences, whatever they may be.
Best of luck,
Dish
posted by Dish @ 9:50 PM
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