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Originally Posted by DayOne  I'm at university and so most of the people I meet are reasonably intelligent but I'm honestly beginning to think that this gives me a slanted view of what the human race is like.
Are the majority of people idiots? |
No. The majority of people didn't have your luck. You were born into a reasonably safe, secure country, into a family or circumstance that allowed you to take advantage of a state-funded education and now you are lucky enough to have made it to university without any major hitches.
Many many people have suffered abuse, have lost friends and family, have been impoverished, have suffered undiagnosed learning disabilities, have been stopped from following their dreams by cynical parents or teachers. Many many people work crap jobs for little money. Many many people are stressed, depressed and anxious.
Both examples you have cited you know nothing about why the person chose to act that way. You know nothing about that person at all, apart from how they behaved during ten minutes out of one day.
Example: I have a friend who was a soldier in Iraq. He was blown up, lost a lung, and now suffers severe PTSD. He occasionally gets drunk - which is foolish, but understandable - and when he does he becomes paranoid and assumes other people are out to attack him. He may verbally assault them or challenge them. Does this make him a bad person? Does it make him an idiot? No.
Rather than feeling superior, realise you are lucky. Be polite, smile, believe the best of other people. They will frequently reward you for it. Most people are fundamentally good, and most people are fundamentally friendly. If they are attacking you, it's because they are insecure, and there must be a reason WHY they are insecure. That doesn't make them an idiot.