Gym Bullies: American Society Increasingly Self-absorbed And Inconsiderate

Okay, now the bullies have made me really mad. I am still hot over this one since it happened just this afternoon. So, today I finally get to the gym. There were very few people today. The "resolutionaries" are dropping off fast. I'm on the elyptical machine, no one else around me, 31 minutes into my workout when I start to struggle with my body which wants to call it quits. I successfully talked it into continuing to 45 minutes.

Excited that this was going to be the best workout I've have had in 3 months, I peddled away straining to read the subtitles of the soap opera (not my choice, but it was already on) being broadcast on the TV in my area. All the other TVs were showing sports and news. I hate sports programs and I had seen all of the day's news repeated 5 times over as I had watched the latest on our treacherous California storms all morning. All of a sudden, the TV screen went blank. Someone had asked the staff to change my program!

Shocked and pissed all at the the same time, I looked to my left with a huff of disgust, and there he was, the jerk who changed my channel! I looked to the right at the staff behind the counter; the criminal staff member who changed my channel was completely oblivious to my glare.

Then, as the creep's sports program came on, he jumped up and down, clapped, and yelled, "Yes!" I looked to my right. There was an available elyptical machine right there with a TV screen directly over it showing the same exact program the jerk changed my program to! I couldn't believe it! 3 out of the 5 TVs were now showing the same sports program!

Disgusted, I grabbed my things and went to complain to the deviant staff member who changed the channel without any regard for the fact that I was obviously staring at the screen being that I had no headphones and had to strain to keep up with the dialogue flying across the screen.

Needless to say, my workout and my good mood were ruined. This is not the first nor the second time this has happened to me at the same Fitness 19 gym. I notice that men are usually the biggest offenders! Is this a gender thing? I have never, and would never, walk into a gym and before arriving to my machine, ask the front desk to change the channel of a program that someone else is clearly watching. What do you think? Has this happened to you? What would you do? Am I in the wrong here?

Now that I am writing this, I don't know why I didn't complain to the creep who was so inconsiderate to change my channel. I was very angry and preferred to avoid confronting him, so I went to complain to the staff and will complain to the manager tomorrow when I see her. Clearly, Fitness 19 needs to enforce it's TV policy, but it is also clear that our society is increasingly self-absorbed and blatantly inconsiderate of others.