Okay, so this morning I was at a place of worship (which I won't name, lest it give the impression all of this denomination are like this). A few people there know I'm a snooker fan. Trust me, this is relevant. The same people there also know I'm a fan of all things Australian.
And when you throw an Australian snooker player into the mix, well...
Anyhoo. Two women were standing talking (loudly) about last night's match between Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson, before the meeting began, and I smiled, waved and thought, "Ooh, maybe we can exchange a few words about how well Murphy played, and how handsome Robertson is."
But no. I neared them, and one, I kid you not, turned her back and bodyblocked me. You know, when you don't just look away from someone, but turn your back on their path of approach?
*sigh*
Luckily the person she was with wasn't so rude and included me in the conversation - she probably saw the look on my face. So the woman who had blocked me wrapped things up, made her excuses and left.
Now before you think I must have done something specific to upset her, bear this in mind...
Her grown son arrived, and walked past me as I was chatting to someone about being disappointed over Robertson's loss. At the end of the day I'll probably never meet him or talk to him, but I like his style of play, I'm a fan, blah blah, he got knocked out, shit happens.
So. 'Grown up' son butted in and said, in a really malicious tone of voice, "Oh, I'm glad that one got knocked out; I can't stand him. He's too cocky."
Sneered, and walked away.
Yeah.
Insult someone you know I like for no earthly reason than you're that damn negative, then walk away.
I called after him, "Oh, and you're not?" and immediately kicked myself for giving him what he wanted - a reaction.
(It was quite funny actually because the woman to whom I'd been talking said to him, "Now don't make fun of the Australians!" in a 'schoolmarm' tone of voice).
Anyhoo...this family has a reputation for being insular and looking down on outsiders, English people (remember this is Scotland; we're supposed to hate settlers up here), people of different religions, you name it. Even women - though this guy's mother is one. Allegedly...
But they're devious about it. Snide remarks, things no-one else overhears, friendly on the outside, bitchy as hell on the inside. They make it impossible to prove.
I've previously overheard this guy badmouthing a congregation member's parenting skills and when I politely (yes, really!) suggested he might like to take it to her instead of slagging her off behind her back, he looked at me like I was lower than the shit on his shoe.
I think that's the problem. I stand up to this family (I'm not the only one; others do and disapproval is made obvious to anyone who dares) and point out that they're hardly acting in a way to make Jesus proud, no matter what their religious affiliation and they don't like that.
As tt42 will tell you (although I would ask her to be discreet for once
) I once took someone to task for badmouthing a friend of mine - literally said, "Outside," and gave him a good talking to, some words of which were, "Don't you dare tell me what the Bible says. I know what it says and nowhere does it justify performing a character assassination on someone who's not present to defend himself."
So you could say I get righteously indignant.
It just upsets me that people who claim to be Christians...aren't. They're religious, but not spiritual. They display a complete lack of hospitality (using that word in the Biblical sense of 'love of strangers') and sometimes I feel like banging my head against a brick wall.
I mean, this remark about one of my favourite snooker players...you might think he was joking, but the tone of voice was designed to offend. If you like something, he tears it down. Fancy someone? He says they're useless at whatever they do. Like your job? You're materialistic. It doesn't matter that I wanted Robertson to win, and he lost. It could have been a football team, a tennis player, an athlete. The fact is, it wasn't the snooker player the guy was insulting - it was anyone whom I support.
So - I know I can't change anyone else's behaviour, only my own. Now I've got that rant off my chest, any suggestions as to how I can calm my own self down when this happens again? Because in all walks of life you'll come up against people you don't like. It's the way of the world. Sometimes you can avoid certain people, sometimes you can't. The only way to deal with it is to stop myself getting riled, but...how?
You just expect better of people who claim to have a higher standard of living.
Well. At least, I used to.
And when you throw an Australian snooker player into the mix, well...
Anyhoo. Two women were standing talking (loudly) about last night's match between Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson, before the meeting began, and I smiled, waved and thought, "Ooh, maybe we can exchange a few words about how well Murphy played, and how handsome Robertson is."
But no. I neared them, and one, I kid you not, turned her back and bodyblocked me. You know, when you don't just look away from someone, but turn your back on their path of approach?
*sigh*
Luckily the person she was with wasn't so rude and included me in the conversation - she probably saw the look on my face. So the woman who had blocked me wrapped things up, made her excuses and left.
Now before you think I must have done something specific to upset her, bear this in mind...
Her grown son arrived, and walked past me as I was chatting to someone about being disappointed over Robertson's loss. At the end of the day I'll probably never meet him or talk to him, but I like his style of play, I'm a fan, blah blah, he got knocked out, shit happens.
So. 'Grown up' son butted in and said, in a really malicious tone of voice, "Oh, I'm glad that one got knocked out; I can't stand him. He's too cocky."
Sneered, and walked away.
Yeah.
Insult someone you know I like for no earthly reason than you're that damn negative, then walk away.
I called after him, "Oh, and you're not?" and immediately kicked myself for giving him what he wanted - a reaction.
(It was quite funny actually because the woman to whom I'd been talking said to him, "Now don't make fun of the Australians!" in a 'schoolmarm' tone of voice).
Anyhoo...this family has a reputation for being insular and looking down on outsiders, English people (remember this is Scotland; we're supposed to hate settlers up here), people of different religions, you name it. Even women - though this guy's mother is one. Allegedly...
But they're devious about it. Snide remarks, things no-one else overhears, friendly on the outside, bitchy as hell on the inside. They make it impossible to prove.
I've previously overheard this guy badmouthing a congregation member's parenting skills and when I politely (yes, really!) suggested he might like to take it to her instead of slagging her off behind her back, he looked at me like I was lower than the shit on his shoe.
I think that's the problem. I stand up to this family (I'm not the only one; others do and disapproval is made obvious to anyone who dares) and point out that they're hardly acting in a way to make Jesus proud, no matter what their religious affiliation and they don't like that.
As tt42 will tell you (although I would ask her to be discreet for once
) I once took someone to task for badmouthing a friend of mine - literally said, "Outside," and gave him a good talking to, some words of which were, "Don't you dare tell me what the Bible says. I know what it says and nowhere does it justify performing a character assassination on someone who's not present to defend himself."So you could say I get righteously indignant.
It just upsets me that people who claim to be Christians...aren't. They're religious, but not spiritual. They display a complete lack of hospitality (using that word in the Biblical sense of 'love of strangers') and sometimes I feel like banging my head against a brick wall.
I mean, this remark about one of my favourite snooker players...you might think he was joking, but the tone of voice was designed to offend. If you like something, he tears it down. Fancy someone? He says they're useless at whatever they do. Like your job? You're materialistic. It doesn't matter that I wanted Robertson to win, and he lost. It could have been a football team, a tennis player, an athlete. The fact is, it wasn't the snooker player the guy was insulting - it was anyone whom I support.
So - I know I can't change anyone else's behaviour, only my own. Now I've got that rant off my chest, any suggestions as to how I can calm my own self down when this happens again? Because in all walks of life you'll come up against people you don't like. It's the way of the world. Sometimes you can avoid certain people, sometimes you can't. The only way to deal with it is to stop myself getting riled, but...how?
You just expect better of people who claim to have a higher standard of living.
Well. At least, I used to.
