Uhffected

Offense

I must've made a late New Year's resolution to be ultra-rude and insensitive. Of the last three girls I've actually tried to hit on, I ended up saying:

• People with special needs will never be equal, so why are you trying to help them live normal lives?


• I had to drive 110 mph into the on ramp to pass someone like you.


• Now you're just being a bitch and putting words in my mouth just so you can argue with me.

to them. Needless to say, the conversation went way downhill from there. I was told by a female acquaintance of mine that maybe it's a defensive mechanism which I use to keep from getting close to people, but that's not true. I do get close and attached to people. It just won't be any of these three girls.

My friends have gotten used to some of my very opinionated statements and know that I don't really quite mean what I say when I say things like "Living in Maryland has made me a racist." They know that (a) I'm not a racist and (b) I'm referring to people who live up to a stereotype rather than past them. What it leads to is first a story about someone I ran into the night before followed by discussion about how stereotypes, hatred, and racism come about. Eventually, it evolves into an interesting conversation, but it starts with my making some offensive but only quarter-true comment.

Having grown accustomed to hanging out only with my friends who understand this strange evolution of my conversational skills, I don't make an adjustment when talking to people who don't know me well.

So I made a Tax Day Resolution and have vowed to try to return to a less confrontational and offensive conversational style. While I will still pursue the interesting conversation, I won't do it by trying to insult everyone I'm talking to.

Posted by argyle at April 22, 2005 12:38 AM | TrackBack