not guilty

I took part in this jury research project yesterday which turned out pretty cool. The jury participants were shown a mock trial of a juvenile charged with 1st degree murder and attempted murder. After which, we deliberated until we reached a verdict. Needless to say, the debate got pretty heated with people getting upset and shouting and neglecting common courtesy. And this wasn't even real; I can only imagine how wild real deliberations get. Anyway, if you know me, I have a natural propensity for anything which requires me to poke and prod the claims of other while defending my own. I'm proud to say that my temper doesn't flare up at this sort of thing, generally, and it didn't here as well. But I must admit two things; one, it is quite awkward witnessing someone who can't control the manner in which he or she speaks in a public forum. And two, I hate being spoken down to. There was this one woman who wasn't getting any her facts right but insisted in talking to me condescendingly simply because I made sense. I so wanted to say," Look lady, I apologize if I am bound by things such as reason and logic. I would totally agree with you if I was freed from such hindrances in order to pursue notions of speculation with an uncanny disregard to fact which seems to be what you have decided to do. Now unless you have anything to say that falls within this realm of reality, please shut up!" And normally I wouldn't put up with it but being the nice guy that I am, I didn't say that figuring it wouldn't help with the case itself and would demote me to her level (and as a gentleman, I can't have that happening). Besides, nearly everyone there realized that she was insufferable as well which was good enough for me.
In the end, my patience won out as I was able to make the case I wanted and to my delight, the outcome was one I had hoped for.