What is up with the whackos?
Apr. 28th, 2003 04:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bronwynrhSo my parents are apprenticing at a nursery outside of Houston. My parents are doing this because they enjoy it and they want to open up their own nursery. This is their way of learning the ropes. They have their own retirement fund, but the market sucks and this job is like extra income that just supplements what they've already got. They are smack in the middle of the middle class.
According to the tax laws, that means they're rich.
The other day, dad helped a woman load up her car. An older, lesser-model Mercedes. When he finished, the woman asked dad his shoe size. He told her and asked her why. Indicating a number of sets of shoes in the back seat of her car, she said that she was about to make a donation to Goodwill. Could he use a pair of these shoes?
I guess she didn't notice the solid gold Rolex that graces my dad's wrist, a watch that he has worn for more than a decade since we lived overseas.
(No, you presumptuous bitch, I don't need your shoes)
I think he declined her offer more graciously than I would have, but it was insulting and presumptuous and certainly NOT charitable.
Yeah, because charity is meant to humiliate the person you're giving to, right? Fortunately, after my dad got over the initial sting to his pride at the woman's assumptions, he realized that the problem was hers, not his, and he was able to laugh about it.
And then just today, my mother was verbally assaulted by a couple of hippie-types (I'm saying this to give you a visual, because apparently they looked to fit the stereotype of appearances and then behaved appropriately) in the parking lot of our local green-market. Patchouli-scent, long skirt, sandals, dread-locks, the whole picture of full-on granola stereotype.
She'd taken the Suburban (more out of habit on this particular errand than necessity, although she's been hauling all day) to pick up some poppy seeds, and after encountering smiles and friendliness and happiness inside, she came out to get into her car. There, she was confronted by two adults with their small children. The adults cussed at her and insulted her for driving an SUV, for coming from Texas and god only knows what else. I wish I'd been there to tell them to back off and set a better example for their children.
Mom, not feeling obligated to defend herself, and not feeling it was appropriate to fight in front of children, told them that she is in town to visit her daughter and that she is patronizing local shops - extensively - and that her SUV is of great assistance in that endeavor. And then she left, shaking like a leaf.
Assholes.
Never mind that she uses that SUV most often for hauling dirt, mulch, lumber, pots, plants and all sorts of stuff that you can't fit into a pinto hatchback. Never mind the fact that she spends most of her life beautifying the world around her and teaching other people how to do the same.
I wonder if we can say the same for the people who assaulted her.
I say again. Assholes.
I'm going home.
According to the tax laws, that means they're rich.
The other day, dad helped a woman load up her car. An older, lesser-model Mercedes. When he finished, the woman asked dad his shoe size. He told her and asked her why. Indicating a number of sets of shoes in the back seat of her car, she said that she was about to make a donation to Goodwill. Could he use a pair of these shoes?
I guess she didn't notice the solid gold Rolex that graces my dad's wrist, a watch that he has worn for more than a decade since we lived overseas.
(No, you presumptuous bitch, I don't need your shoes)
I think he declined her offer more graciously than I would have, but it was insulting and presumptuous and certainly NOT charitable.
Yeah, because charity is meant to humiliate the person you're giving to, right? Fortunately, after my dad got over the initial sting to his pride at the woman's assumptions, he realized that the problem was hers, not his, and he was able to laugh about it.
And then just today, my mother was verbally assaulted by a couple of hippie-types (I'm saying this to give you a visual, because apparently they looked to fit the stereotype of appearances and then behaved appropriately) in the parking lot of our local green-market. Patchouli-scent, long skirt, sandals, dread-locks, the whole picture of full-on granola stereotype.
She'd taken the Suburban (more out of habit on this particular errand than necessity, although she's been hauling all day) to pick up some poppy seeds, and after encountering smiles and friendliness and happiness inside, she came out to get into her car. There, she was confronted by two adults with their small children. The adults cussed at her and insulted her for driving an SUV, for coming from Texas and god only knows what else. I wish I'd been there to tell them to back off and set a better example for their children.
Mom, not feeling obligated to defend herself, and not feeling it was appropriate to fight in front of children, told them that she is in town to visit her daughter and that she is patronizing local shops - extensively - and that her SUV is of great assistance in that endeavor. And then she left, shaking like a leaf.
Assholes.
Never mind that she uses that SUV most often for hauling dirt, mulch, lumber, pots, plants and all sorts of stuff that you can't fit into a pinto hatchback. Never mind the fact that she spends most of her life beautifying the world around her and teaching other people how to do the same.
I wonder if we can say the same for the people who assaulted her.
I say again. Assholes.
I'm going home.
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(no subject)
Date: April 28th, 2003 04:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: April 29th, 2003 06:21 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: April 29th, 2003 08:17 am (UTC)*ahem*
pooooooooooh
Date: April 28th, 2003 05:45 pm (UTC)ps. Hi sugar-bronze. You remain a golden leaf on the tree of my journal land... just thought I'd toss that your way today. Sounds like you've a few vibes worth putting aside.
Unfortunately, the world is full of self righteous idiots
Date: April 29th, 2003 06:23 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: April 29th, 2003 06:43 am (UTC)... which just happens to be what you said, only in different words.
(no subject)
Date: April 29th, 2003 10:18 am (UTC)And just for the other side... Maybe the lady wanted to repay your dad for helping with her groceries, and didn't mean to offend him? That's kind of the impression I got, although if I were her, I wouldn't have mentioned that she was taking them to Goodwill.
I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your mom. I guess I've gotten used to people in their SUV's (I've heard Dever there's like 1 SUV in every 3 cars). I try to not judge people by what they drive, but how they treat me (and how they drive). :)
(no subject)
Date: April 29th, 2003 12:19 pm (UTC)On your first point - if that were the case, she could have offered a tip, which is what other people have done and which dad has also politely refused. A nice thought, but she was definitely trying to be "charitable" but not paying attention to details (ie the rolex) and to the etiquette of giving.
On your second point - you're right insofar as people should be judged by their actions, not by the car they drive. I would extend your point to say that perhaps the person as a whole should not even be judged, but their actions alone (and then in constellation) should be considered and judged. In this way, you can avoid judging a person based on too little information. I think this is what you were saying, anyway, right? It's very very hard to put into practice, isn't it? I think we all struggle with it, those of us who even try.
Heh. You got me on a deep-thoughts day. Poor you.
(no subject)
Date: April 29th, 2003 12:25 pm (UTC)On the second one, I see where you're coming from. I get road rage very bad, and my general term for anyone who pisses me off is "jackass". I call them that, I feel better, and I move on.
The people I see everyday, I try to get to know them more before thinking anything negative towards them. And people I meet out in public... I tend to judge by their looks, and personality, should I come into contact with them. And by looks, I'm more of a "hey, I like her body, there's motivation to lose weight" rather than "Hey, he's ugly". I'm trying to be more positive towards others, and myself. :)
(no subject)
Date: May 1st, 2003 04:29 am (UTC)Message to hippy types: I live in England a country about a hundereth of the size of yours our family owns two cars , including one suv and after i pass my test probably one more SUV, and you know why? Because theres no public transport to speak of and me and my father are both over six foot three and can't fit into your poxy little town cars...... so get lost........ Fools all of them.... :-)