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Jan. 19th, 2015
my self-esteem remains estimable
Jan. 19th, 2015 01:09 pmI was walking back from an errand (buying new maps for the current book, woo map geekery!) when a man on a corner of First Avenue asked me if I knew where there was a bike shop nearby. He had a companion, a young woman wearing a hijab, who had a nasty-looking stitched cut on her cheek. My first thought was that she'd taken a fall, and they needed to get her bike fixed. So I thought a moment, then had to say that the only bike shop I knew of had closed recently - I didn't know of any others in the area.
His response?
"Ugly whore."
I looked at him, blinked, then said "oh, nice," and walked away. And then all I could think was that his companion had earned her scar not from a fall, but his anger. Because that was not a nice man, at all.
But if he thought to upset or insult me, he failed. First of all, his attempted insult was 0-2. I may not be stunning, but I haven't broken any mirrors or scared small children recently, and my bank account can attest to the fact that I'm not selling my body for any sum whatsoever. Second, in order for an insult to have any effect, the recipient has to care about what the giver thinks, and - contrary to what this individual seemed to think of his place in the world, I give not one damn.
Fail on all accounts, Hate-Guy.
In fact, I only feel pity for him. If you are so filled with hate that you can only respond with the same? Your world is never going to get better. And I'm not going to keep you from letting me offer help to the next person who asks.
I guess the point of sharing that incident is to say: don't let the fuckwits of the world make you bitter. Let them fail, not you. You're fabulous.
(but if that scar on her face did come from him, I hereby without hesitation wish the same for him, ever-scabbing and never healing, on not his face but his taint. That seems fair.)
His response?
"Ugly whore."
I looked at him, blinked, then said "oh, nice," and walked away. And then all I could think was that his companion had earned her scar not from a fall, but his anger. Because that was not a nice man, at all.
But if he thought to upset or insult me, he failed. First of all, his attempted insult was 0-2. I may not be stunning, but I haven't broken any mirrors or scared small children recently, and my bank account can attest to the fact that I'm not selling my body for any sum whatsoever. Second, in order for an insult to have any effect, the recipient has to care about what the giver thinks, and - contrary to what this individual seemed to think of his place in the world, I give not one damn.
Fail on all accounts, Hate-Guy.
In fact, I only feel pity for him. If you are so filled with hate that you can only respond with the same? Your world is never going to get better. And I'm not going to keep you from letting me offer help to the next person who asks.
I guess the point of sharing that incident is to say: don't let the fuckwits of the world make you bitter. Let them fail, not you. You're fabulous.
(but if that scar on her face did come from him, I hereby without hesitation wish the same for him, ever-scabbing and never healing, on not his face but his taint. That seems fair.)