Well, I started typing out with a big rant about how rude people in the mid-west are (with the exceptions being Jamie's family, down to a person, and Adam and Melissa--even though I don't think Melissa is technically a midwesterner--all of whom have been beyond lovely) but I decided to save that for another day. And I should say, here, that I'm not a nicey-nice person (for instance if someone wets themselves trying to get over to me to chastise me for something I'm doing that they don't like, that has absolutely *nothing* to do with them, personally, and it's not harming or hampering anyone else in any way, like so often seems to happen here in Indiana, I'm probably going to tell them to fuck off).
Ok. So, my annoyance with Midwest Rude reached an all-new level this last Thursday afternoon when I got home from Claudia's awards ceremony right after Jamie and Sammy. They were already in the house and I stopped to wait for this older man to move so I could park next to Jamie. His car was stopped right behind Jamie's car and it looked like he was dropping an older lady off. And then I realized, no, he's not dropping her off, she's trying to peel Jamie's "Keep Abortion Legal" bumper sticker of the back of his car (did Claudia actually pay someone to do this to avert further morning school drop-off embarrassment? I don't think so!). So I threw my car in park, jumped out and told them to stop. He went into what seems to be standard midwesterner Chastise Mode and started angrily telling me I should be ashamed of myself for having that sticker on the back of my car. Oh, really. We Had Words and it ended with him calling me a fucking bitch and driving off.
Nice! You really taught me a lesson! Your anger and shaming techniques really made me change my mind.
Or, perhaps it spurred me to make a donation to planned parenthood.
Strawberry blue cornbread cobbler
1 week ago
3 comments:
Holy crap!
People are pretty polite here in Chicago, so maybe the problem is just Indy. Maybe the politeness slowly builds from the East coast going west until it gets to California where it disappears again. Hard to say.
Well, on behalf of all midwesterners, I'd just like to say: except for Chicago, the midwest is stupid.
Hope that helps.
I'm so sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, we are fast approaching having lived half our lives in the midwest, so I don't know if you'd count us as midwesterners or not. Here's my take on the whole "polite" thing. It's a bunch of crap. New Yorkers are simply efficient. They aren't going to talk to you about the fucking weather if they're busy. But if they bump into you on the street, they will say "excuse me" and they will happily give you directions and be pleased to meet you. It's like that episode of Seinfeld where his great aunt ventures out to a bank branch that no longer exists, and is cornered by a rough-looking guy in an alley, who walks up to her and says "hey, are you lost" and proceeds to give her directions.
Midwesterners, on the other hand, think they're being polite when what they're being is extremely passive-aggressive. They will waste your time talking to you about the weather, their kids, whatever, if they meet you on the street, but they'd run over your mother for a parking spot, and they will judge you and never speak to you again without ever telling you why. And if you are female and have *gasp* an opinion on anything beyond salad dressing, you are a pushy bitch.
So this pushy bitch has had a hard time making female friends in the Midwest, and has learned to bite her tongue a lot more than she used to. I'd rather someone be real than nice, if you know what I mean. But not so real that they peel bumper stickers off my car.
Thanks, Jason! It's true--it's stupid!
flygrrl, I love your take on things. Thanks for that!
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