Looking for Books to Help Navigate a Mean World.

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who has noticed in the last decade or so that much of society has become increasingly mean, disrespectful, rude, greedy, selfish and heartless toward their fellow humans--as well as toward animals. Now, I realize that not everyone is this way but at least in my area of the world, social politeness has degraded severely in my lifetime.

As many of you know, I have a debilitating psychiatric condition called, schizoaffective disorder, which is basically bipolar with some schizophrenic symptoms. Along with having a.d.d., it's hard for me to filter out the toughness and harsh social relations that are poisoning our society. Since I have trouble screening the constant bombardment of stimuli in this world, I have little bandwidth, so to speak, to absorb this nasty behavior.

Thus, I get sad, angry and frustrated with the world, rather easily. Whether it's navigating reckless driving, dealing with selfish people at the market, or living amongst others who live a shallow, superficial life; it's hard to learn how to live amongst such heartlessness and ignorance without it depressing you to the point of wanting to give up!!

So, I am looking for some suggestions on some books that I could read about how to deal with mean, nasty, rude, selfish people. I'm not talking about any of the traditional Buddhist texts/books but rather those specifically dealing with how to live in this world without it getting to you, and turning you into a cynical person from a purely psychological, clinical point of view. To narrow it down further, I'm looking for a "self-help" type book on tips for dealing with such cruelty. Of course, meditation helps a lot, (as do Buddhist books) but I need something that's more related to specific tips on living in the modern world of cruelty from a non-religious point of view.

Please, don't criticize me or condemn me for my struggles. I'm a very tender person and gets easily depressed, down on myself and easily over-whelmed with negativity. If you don't know of something that can help, and would rather tell me my problem is not being a "good enough Buddhist," then please have some compassion and keep your thoughts to yourself.

I know this is the anonymous dominated cyber-land, but please treat me with respect and remember that behind my profile is a real person who struggles a lot with psychological issues. I'm a strong person but also quite fragile to stress. This is a very hard issue for me to deal with and talk about. I don't need criticism--I need support, understanding and some tips on a few books that might help me deal with my psychological stresses from having to live with this world. Thank-you for understanding my sensitivity. It's hard enough writing this out and exposing myself, so please, treat me how you'd want to be treated. Thanks, again--James.

~Peace to all beings~

Should You Speak Spanish to Your Waiter If You Don't Know that Much Spanish?

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As a fluent Spanish speaker and an American native, I often see American who don't know as much Spanish as I do take every possible opportunity to speak Spanish to people they meet from a Spanish speaking country, whether or not the opportunity is warranted or even invited. Here are some tips for Americans to avoid offending or looking like an arse.
1. When you have a waiter or food server who has an accent, don't speak Spanish to them: Even though it might seem like a good idea to go into Taco Bell and repeat over and over again in almost unintelligible Spanish, "Yo quiero un burrito." in a horrible American accent, it generally isn't. In fact, it's actually a good way to get your food spit in or dishwater poured in your drink. Ask yourself this question: does the server speak better English than you do Spanish? If the answer is yes, please shut your mouth. If the answer is honestly no, please still shut your mouth and find a person to translate.
But, if they come to the country, they should speak English, right? I mean, stupid (mutter something about a sick bird). . . why don't they speak English?
You try supporting a family on 6.75$ per hour and see how much time you have left to learn English. Besides, just because someone is Hispanic, speaks Spanish, or even speaks English with an accent and looks Hispanic doesn't mean that they're an illegal immigrant. As an example, one of my great friends in life is a man from Germany. He immigrated here with his family a number of years ago but never learned more than basic English. However, he's never had too many problems communicating with people, probably because he gets more respect for being German and white than a Hispanic does for being Mexican, etc. and olive colored. Don't ask me why things work this way -- they just do.
In summary, if you speak good enough Spanish that you can say things without bad grammar and a heavy gringo accent, go ahead and speak Spanish to whomever you wish. However, for your own pride, you might want to refrain from speaking Spanish when you don't know much Spanish. It makes you look like a dork.

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