Anonymous wrote:At first I agreed with posters. But it reminded me of being at a crowded movie theatre. A man politely asked another man to scoot over one seat so he could sit with his wife. The man sitting refused. While he was under no obligation to scoot over one, he could act like he has parents and do the right thing, it cost him nothing. But I suppose in my case, the guy was merely "renting" (not "owning") the item at hand (the seat vs. the pen).

My point being, sometimes people are in fact hell bent on being a&&holes. Especially in this area.

Are you kidding?
If i get to the theater and pick out the seat I want and from which I can see ( I am short ...it matters)
why should I move if I do not want to?
Get there sooner !

Anonymous wrote:I think that you were being a jerk to confront him like that. It's ok to say no to some things and he had a valid reason and wasn't rude about it.

Agree.

Anonymous wrote:At first I agreed with posters. But it reminded me of being at a crowded movie theatre. A man politely asked another man to scoot over one seat so he could sit with his wife. The man sitting refused. While he was under no obligation to scoot over one, he could act like he has parents and do the right thing, it cost him nothing. But I suppose in my case, the guy was merely "renting" (not "owning") the item at hand (the seat vs. the pen).

My point being, sometimes people are in fact hell bent on being a&&holes. Especially in this area.

This is SOO not the same issue! People get to the movie theater early to pick the seats that they specifically want to sit in; why scoot over for someone else when you've taken the time to get the center seat? If you want to sit with your wife, come earlier. It's not a matter of "doing the right thing" to move the seat that YOU chose, or to be forced to share your stuff. How is it being an asshole? Are we not allowed to say no?

Anonymous wrote:I'm a lefty and would like to add that I love felt-tip pens and do not lend them out because righties slant differently and ruin the pens. My kids know not to use them. I also spend a lot of money on good, fine point pens and I don't want them ruined. Just another perspective.

Another thought...maybe he saw one of the young men picking his nose, or not wash his hands in the bathroom. I don't particularly like other people's cooties all over my things either. LOL That makes me a germophobe, not an asshole.

At first I agreed with posters. But it reminded me of being at a crowded movie theatre. A man politely asked another man to scoot over one seat so he could sit with his wife. The man sitting refused. While he was under no obligation to scoot over one, he could act like he has parents and do the right thing, it cost him nothing. But I suppose in my case, the guy was merely "renting" (not "owning") the item at hand (the seat vs. the pen).

My point being, sometimes people are in fact hell bent on being a&&holes. Especially in this area.

OP,

Pen dude was either a germophobe or suffering from some mental condition.

You weren't rude; the guy was odd.

Anonymous wrote:I was in line at customs in Dulles recently. Two young men in front of me asked the man in front of them if they could borrow his pen to fill out a form. The man said something like, "actually, no, i can't, sorry, i really value this pen." I am a very non-confrontational person, typically, but I was so astonished by this that I actually spoke to the man. I pulled a pen from my purse and handed it to the young men and said something like "here, you can use my pen" and to the man I said "are you serious? you can't let them use your pen for 2 seconds to fill out this form?" He said something like "it's a very expensive pen! if you knew how expensive this pen was, you would understand." I said something like "Are you serious, we're in line here at customs, they aren't going anywhere, they aren't going to steal it." The man didn't say anything.

Do you think this guy was being a complete asshole?

^^just because you value your pen doesn't mean that it is impossible to loan it to a neighbor in line.

OP made the assumption that everyone should have the same attitude as she has. She would not value a pen, therefore, no one should and they should be willing to loan it out at any time to any one. However, the general rule is that you should never loan out anything that you care what condition it comes back in. I've have freebie ball point pens that I've loaned that someone had greasy hands and got dirty grease on. I've had such items dropped and broken. Accidents happen and as such, anything that I care about will not be loaned out. I loan out many things and am generally courteous and polite and as helpful as anyone, but sometimes, it just isn't worth the risk. This sounds like what the pen-owner determined. OP's attitude is overly entitled, which is what has gotten the DCUM collective ruffle up. He wasn't able to loan the pen, but you were. What harm was there? It's completely different from a situation where there were people waiting and this man was the *only* man with a pen and he was holding up the line because he wouldn't lend it.

The guy should have just lied and said he didnt have a pen. but the OP was way out of line. sorry OP.

Good Lord, this thread is still going on?!? It's Friday afternoon, people--go out and enjoy the warm weather while we have it!

Why not start a new thread for a neologism for a posting in which the OP thinks that they are going to get confirmation for some act they have performed, but instead everyone says they were wrong.

The guy with the fountain pen does have a point....
I have worked with pen aficionados and they are very particular

OP, an asshole would have shouted, "NO!" or simply ignored the people asking to borrow a pen. Saying no politely and explaining why you're saying no doesn't make a person an asshole. People have attachments to things - is that really such a strange thing? I also think airports bring out a territorial side in people...you can't control much beyond the possessions in your carry-on when you're traveling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here again - even if you think I was an asshole for saying something to the man, do you think that the man was being a bit of one, too, in not allowing someone to borrow his pen under those circumstances?

Not only were you a total asshole but also an ignorant asshole, though perhaps they are on

to finish above.

The nib of a fountain, or ink, pen takes on chatacteristics of a person's handwriting style and letting someone else use your pen can ruin the nib. I have my father's pen and had the nib changed for me. My faily knows never to use my pen. The man in question had every right to refuse. BICs are very inexpensive and there is no excuse not to carry one with you. I also have an expensive ball point pen amd I do not lend this one as well.

Anonymous wrote:OP here again - even if you think I was an asshole for saying something to the man, do you think that the man was being a bit of one, too, in not allowing someone to borrow his pen under those circumstances?

Not only were you a total asshole but also an ignorant asshole, though perhaps they are on

OP, How did the men react when the pen-man refused? I'm just curious because if I were you, and the men seemed shocked or appalled, I could understand you "sticking up for them" in a sense.

Another point that others hadn't mentioned is depending on where everyone was in the customs line, the pen-man could have worried that he'd be called or pulled away for whatever reason and it woudl be awkward to try and get the pen back quickly.