Do I have a sign on my forehead?
Random:
I was walking down the sidewalk between the gift store and Starbucks, and these teenage kids were sitting around a table talking. I hear one kid say, in the midst of a larger conversation, "That [bleep] is [bleepin'] crazy."
I sort of look over, kinda wondering what the deal was to arouse such language. He looked up and saw me, and then quickly said, "Oh, sorry- sorry," not necessarily looking at me. The whole group, which had been rather boisterous, was all of a sudden very quiet. I heard one member ask the aforementioned kid, "What are you sorry for."
And by that time, I had passed them by.
I started pondering what made the kid feel so guilty about cursing in front of me. Was it the suit and tie? Did I look like a preacher? Did I have a condescending look on my face? Do I have a halo over my head that screams, "Christian!" ??
Maybe it's that while cursing frivolously is in vogue, those evoking such expletives realize that there is something intrinsically distasteful about their actions. Food for thought.
2 comments:
Interesting story. It's been a while since I've been able to make someone ashamed of their language. I wonder if it was the way you looked at them; vulgarity is in vogue and so in most circles it's no big deal. Your glance stopped the conversation because it showed that what he had just said did not go down smoothly. He felt out of place because you showed your surprise, or at least that his language had caught your attention.
Perhaps they really weren't raised to swear and they only did it with their friends to make themselves feel grown up. Then when someone overheard they felt guilty? I don't know... that's interesting.
PS Happy anniversary (as of the 12th) But then I told you that on the 12th. :)
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