The following piece is quite a few months old and I just decided to give it an airing. Reading back through this piece, it makes me laugh. It was just one of those things that had to be written to take a load off...
So, I know it’s a little paranoid
to presume to know what other people are thinking. Okay, okay! So it’s a whole
lot paranoid. But imagine this. You’re out in public, minding your own business
when a total stranger decides to not mind their own business. You cannot
imagine what you have done to cause it but they are staring at you, eyes
narrowed, and mouth pinched like my cat’s rear end. Without uttering a single
word these disapproving strangers have already said so much, and still you
don’t know what you did wrong.
I can think of one when my
daughter t tripped over her feet shortly after getting off the travelator. An
old woman passed us by, made a clucked her tongue and quickly looked away when
I noticed her. What’s with the attitude
lady? How did this put your day out? Why don’t you go away and lay an egg?
The other day my rage on this
subject was piqued when in a shop, an elderly woman approached and informed me
that my daughter’s hat had fallen over her eyes. I thanked her and leaned over
the pram to adjust my baby’s hat. But the woman kept staring at me, eyes
narrowed and disapproval practically shooting darts in my direction. What the heck! What was wrong with this
woman? I matched her stare and she moved on into the next aisle but continued
to keep a greasy eye on me. Seriously what was wrong with this woman? What faux
pas could I have possibly committed to cause such disapproval from a total
stranger in under a few seconds?
I didn’t need extra sensory perception
to know this woman was judging me. But it was for a reason that I could never
fathom. Did I unwittingly earn the bad
parent award because my daughter’s hat had slipped down? Perhaps she was making the
presumption that I was a teenage mum? And believe me people have made this
presumption before. On a good day, when the light is just right and I have
eaten all my vegies and gotten a good night’s sleep I can look ten years
younger than my actual age. But after all, whether I am young or old whose
business it is for anyone to try and make me uncomfortable.
What if I went around presuming
that every overly critical person was a bitter old hag who hung around shops
just waiting for some harmless sap [like me] to prey on. And come night time
they pull out their broom sticks and go riding around, cackling like the evil
witches they are. Do you see what I just did? I just made a ridiculous
judgement and a stereotype no less. Though I am quite convinced I am on the
mark with the whole broom stick thing.
The truth of the matter is that
it is quite easy to judge other people, particularly parents. Quite often we do
it without even realising we are doing it. Sure, we don’t mean to be malicious.
At least I don’t think I do. Yet how many times have we gone out in public and
passed judgement on people who have seemingly done something peculiar, or have
had a lapse in concentration. And when they do we are all over them. We see a
boy with a scratch on his face and we point, “A-hah! Can’t his mum protect him?”
Waiting in a doctor’s surgery a mum tries to pacify her baby with the sh-sh-sh
sounds that babies love, and some toothless hag says “Leave her alone. She’s
just a baby.” You carry your baby as you walk, and an old man blocks your path,
“What happens if you trip over? You could hurt your baby.” For f---s sake
people! GET A LIFE! And leave mine alone.
Okay, I feel better now that I
got that out of my system. So the next time you are down the street and you see
someone do something a little bit special or weird, instead of judging them for
a twit and doing that ugly eyeball thing. Spare a kind thought for that person.
They might be having a bad day. Cast them a smile and remember, “that could easily
be me.” On the other hand that other person might then be wondering, “Why is
that freak smiling at me?”
