The Art of Butting In Line

Minneapolis loves her art festivals. Who else can boast about three art fairs in one city on one weekend each year? The Uptown Art Fair is the older, popular sister with good looks and hip friends. The Powderhorn Art Fair is the middle child who wants to be noticed and has so much to offer but always pales in comparison to her eldest sibling. And the Loring Park Art Festival is the youngest child: precocious, pretty, and smart. This weekend we headed to Loring Park for their 14th annual art fair, eschewing Uptown's 50th Anniversary for a kinder, gentler fest (and no fuss parking). And yet...

Seems like every time I leave the house these days someone butts in front of me. Whether merging into morning traffic or ordering cachapas at an Art Fair, there is always someone who is either oblivious to my existence or who is more entitled and pushes their way to the front. Is this a new rudeness phenomenon or am I just becoming sensitive to ill manners?

At an event this winter I was in a steep line with several friends when two young women stepped up in front of us. "Excuse me," I patted on of the butters on the shoulder to get her attention. "Excuse me, this is the middle of the line." The women refused to acknowledge me, my protesting friends, and the people in front of us who also attempted to restore order to the line.

"Just ignore them," one butter said. Eventually our resistance to the mannerless two persuaded them to find another line. But should it be that difficult to enforce societal rules?

Maybe we just spend too much time in lines these days. Or maybe our internet trolling has taught us that lines are unnecessary. Either way, I need to figure out a way to deal with line butting injustices so I don't sound so much like the old man yelling at people to get off his lawn. That old guy is looking a little too familiar. Besides, there is a lot to enjoy while waiting in line, especially on a sunny August afternoon surrounded by pretty people, music, food, and art.