at the post office the other day i'm standing in line behind an elder black lady. a white lady walks in and gets in line 2 people behind me. a guy walks in that the white lady apparently knew, and they proceed to make small talk. the guy asks how she'd made out in the hurricane. the lady answers that her property is fine but she and her husband were in paris when it hit, so she hadn't had to go through it. they both kinda laugh a little, make more small talk, bid each other a good day, and the man walks out. (he'd only come in to pick up some forms or something)
it's quiet in there, so the conversation is heard by all. the black lady turns to me and says in a low voice, "you heard her say she was in paaaaris during the storm??", while making a funny face. i reply with a smile and generic line, "yeah. musta been nice." her: "humph!!! paaaris. that's ok there's another hurricane on the way. it's gone get 'em. don't worry!"
at this point i just look at her.
so i'm guessing the black lady was offended that the woman said she'd been in paris during the hurricane. (and for the record, the white lady didn't say "paaaaris" all dragged out like that as the black lady made it seem. she just said "paris".) to me the women didn't come across as snooty or above everybody else when she told the man she'd been out of the country. she was simply stating what was.
but the killing thing about it is the way the black lady turned to me as if i was supposed to turn my nose up with her or something and be bitter towards that lady for saying she was in paris, lol! i mean dang. i wonder what would have happened if i'd told her that i hadn't experienced the storm either, cause i was in dallas. but maybe dallas wouldn't have gotten as big of a rise out of her as paris did. lmao!
but it made me think of something. this scenario seems pretty common. people hold animosity towards others for unjustifiable reasons. someone stating something or representing something that you (general) perceive to be above your current life experience doesn't mean that that person thinks they're more than you. it could very well be all in your head and a reflection of your own insecurities.
yeah, there certainly are instances where people feel like what they have or their high status in society (which, to me, really has nothing to do with who they truly are) sets them on a higher level than others and they look down on these others with contempt. but i don't think it's healthy or conducive to sanity to just go around assuming that this is the case. and i'm only assuming that this is what the black lady was doing, so maybe i'm wrong too. but that's just how it came across.
(and maybe i shoulda brought this point up to her.)
it's like exchanging your power for some wack a** depleted energy that you concocted and use against yourself to your own detriment. such a shame.
peace
No comments:
Post a Comment