Saturday, July 14, 2012

Why You Gotta Be Like That?

So I'm standing there, out on Broadway, waiting for my cab, minding my own business, talking to a friend who was relatively hidden from sight by the iron gated enclosure and awning of the Sobo 151 smoking patio, when a car drives past and we hear something...something...something "BITCH!". Directed, one can only assume, at me as I was the only one standing there in plain sight.

And I'm like all...

Wait...what?

What did I do aside from simply exist in such a way that you noticed my presence?

The answer is nothing. I wasn't doing anything besides talking to my friend and leaning against the fence.

And yet...

A random stranger driving past thought it was OK to hurl insults, calling me names out his window.

Why?

What did he get out of it?

Did he feel good about that? Did he think it was funny? Did it feel awesome to insult a complete stranger, call her names, just because he could?

WTF is that?

And why are people like that? Seriously. Why does anyone have the desire to be so callous and rude to a veritable stranger? Why do any of us think it is a grand idea to degrade someone we've never met...someone were just...cruising past - whether that's in the grocery store or driving down the street?

Because really...that person you are blatantly insulting? She is a friend, a sister, a child, a lover. Perhaps she is a wife, a mother. And you have no idea what she's been through, what she's survived, to just be standing there alive.


8 comments:

Unknown said...

I tend to think that some kids (and I guess it applies to people with more years but the same mentality) are a lot like dogs. They just bark at anything that goes by. There's no reason. The sounds they make don't mean anything. Maybe they just want the world to be aware of their presence, and being annoying is the only way they know to call attention to themselves. I don't know, but it doesn't really matter. It's just barking.

OTOH, I really hate barking.

Gaelyn said...

They are sick. Doesn't make it right. Wonder what kind of parents they had?

Sorry you had to be the brunt. You are much better than that.

danneromero said...

i'm a bit confused about society, and lots of the people in it... it seems manners have taken a back seat - are a majority of kids not being raised with moral and values the way lots of us were? i seriously don't get it - being cruel is what makes you cool, rather than being kind. go figure...

Diva said...

I once was yelling at someone on the phone, but with my bluetooth headset in my ear, passers-by thought I was yelling at them.

So the good news is he may not have been exactly talking to you. The bad news is he's a douchebag to some other woman.

Anonymous said...

I've experienced this a few times, and I am sorry you had to. Sometimes it's women who yell things like, "you dirty slut," or, "you ugly whore." I am not sure why females always attack a woman by mentioning her body and sexuality. No matter. I will never figure it out. I've noticed that men don't ever experience the drive-by insults.

NGS said...

I was walking around the University of Wisconsin - Madison campus last week and some boys whistled and hollered at me that I was "sexy," "sassy," and "so fine I could drive a bus." I have no idea if that last one was an insult, but I can't remember the last time someone hooted at me. I was, I am only just a tiny bit embarrassed to say, pleased.

But I don't know why people yell mean things. Some people are assholes.

Julie DeMille said...

Courtesy and kindness have become such rare traits. I think people who are so blatantly rude must be miserable themselves and that's the only way they can get some pleasure.

Margi said...

I nodded all the way through Jeremy's comment. It's just barking. It also may have been like Diva said and the person was just on their phone or something.

Another possibility? He was singing along to a song playing in his car. What?! It's possible!