Help me to understand...everyone else does.

There's a girl that I know, 26 yrs old, that was in a drug house when it was raided by the cops. She got sentenced for 90 days. When she got out, I spoke to her. She has a thing for heroin and meth. How did you get into that stuff?

"Well, everyone else was doing it."

They always say that. I guess I really don't understand. What does "everyone else" have to do with you? Peer pressure. Yeah, that's it...peer pressure. Do your 'peers' say, "Hey, if you don't shoot up this heroin or this stuff I made in the basement toilet, I'm not going to be friends with you"?

I'm wondering if the same mentality is used when a driver says, "my dispatcher forced me to drive tired/illegal." I've never had that conversation with any dispatcher. See, in my mind, that like McDonalds saying, "If you don't eat a BigMac, you will be banned from McDonalds for life!" Now, someone may reason, "Six WHAT IF McDonalds was your favorite restaurant?" Where did I eat before I ever went to McDonalds?

When my little sister started driving, I told her when she was at school to 1.) avoid the village idiot (every class has one) 2.) avoid the negative talk. She called me the first day and told me about the village idiot who never shuts up while the instructor tries to teach. Yep, that's the idiot. Avoid him.
Well, she started driving for FedEx. Gravy job, she runs between the airport and Amazon twice a day, and sits and waits while the trailer is getting loaded. Good job, pays decent (6hrs a day, $800/weekM-F), drop and hook. A few weeks in to the job, she starts telling me how the other drivers don't like the boss. Why are you talking to other people about your boss, and you have the easiest job in Driverdom? Next thing you know, she's talking about quitting.
She found another company that paid slightly more money($1000/wk), for 4 hours a day more, 1099 AND she has multiple stops and has to fingerprint a couple of the stops.

What just happened? How did you end up in this situation?

"Well, everyone else was talking about how bad things were..."

And you're the one that quit the easiest trucking job the world has ever seen. Where is everyone else at? Still at FedEx. Is Peer Pressure really that strong? I had no idea! Perhaps, I am seeing things wrong, because it absolutely makes no sense to me.

 

I like that.

I guess what I dont understand is the appeal to be "everybody else", or 'to fit in.' Especially on a job.

 

I understand what you're saying, but if you see a bunch of people floating in a toilet, and they're telling you how great the water is...

"Well, they were nice people..."

...in a toilet.

"...and they invite you to hang out..."

...in the toilet.

"Well, everyone needs friends."

...in a toilet?