I wanna be the Soup Nazi

The Soup Nazi was always an hero of mine.....or at least an anti-hero.

Besides the fact that he was a Seinfeld character, this is a guy that gets away with treating people like shit every day....in fact, people line up and wait for the opportunity for him to dump all over them. And why do they do this.....because he makes the best soup in Manhattan.

Now....most people think about this and say....Seinfeld always has these quirky fictional characters in his show. Well....the Soup Nazi is actually based on a real guy named Al Yeganeh, who ran his restaurant Soup Kitchen International similiarly to the Soup Nazi. So there....it's not fictional after all....

So....why is this interesting to me? Because I deal with Soup Nazi's everyday. I find them fadcinating. They're everywhere......

A Soup Nazi is a person who does something, builds something, or creates something so exceptional that the average person will not only accept, but rationalize and apologize for their disgustingly bad behavior. These people will scream at you and insult you to your face, then complain about you to others because you are too stupid or too passive to give them the respect they need and deserve. I've seen Soup Nazi's get away with breaches of etiquette, corporate policy violations, and actual laws becuase their poo smells like roses to themselves, and the people around them.

You all know many famous Soup Nazis. Joan Crawford was a poster child for one in the 40's, just ask her daughter. Rush Limbaugh is one every day. Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin are the NFL Coaching versions of a Soup Nazi. And Celine Dion, Diana Ross, and Aretha Franklin are all total divas, which is the theatre term for Soup Nazi.

For every famous one....everyone know's a bunch of them. The sales guy who is a major asshole, treats women like his slave, but because he's the #1 guy in terms of $$ brought in, a blind eye is taken. In my life, I need both my fingers and toes to count them. Unfortunately a few of them I have to deal with often....which really sucks. But since I know they're sacred cows, so I smile and keep plugging away. I always wonder if they get more out of life treating people they feel are below them as if they're garbage. Does this make them happy.....do they sleep better at night than I do?

And why do we take it? Are we intimidated by these people? Do we like to consort with folks that do something exceptionally well? For me, I think it's a little of both, plus throw in a heeping helping of hating confrontation.

I'm a habitually nice guy....can't really help it. I sometimes wish I had the ability to be a Soup Nazi programmed into my DNA, but it just doesn't take. I guess I'll just continue to watch and wonder what it's like to tell people, "No soup for you!"