Friday, June 3, 2011

The kinds of things that silently push you down

  1. Sitting at the reception desk at work, semi-listening to a group of women talk in front of my desk while ignoring me. "Nobody in New York would go to public school. That's disgusting, those kids are the absolute dregs of society. They may as well just skip their pathetic little jobs after high school and go straight to prison since that's where they all wind up." Oh, hi! I didn't even go to a fancy public school like my sisters. 
  2. On the train home, two girls talking about a girly magazine they'd both read. Seems there was an article talking about some tv show where the characters are supposed to live in a small town, so the stylists for the show get the actors' clothes at Kohl's and Old Navy. The girls were talking about how gross it would be to ever have to dress that way. One of them looked at me, nudged the other, and stage-whispered, "It's bad enough having to like just BE near people dressing that way."
I'm sorry, Train Girls. I'm sorry you had to be in the presence of my pathetically-dressed self. I'm sorry if when I pushed past you to get off at my stop, my skirt may have accidentally touched yours. You should probably burn your fancy skirt lest you break out in a rash. In fact I'm surprised you deigned to even take the train. There are homeless crack addicts on the train.

Normally when I get home at the end of the day I take off my shoes and go wash my hands, but maybe I should also shower and change my clothes. Maybe I should keep one fancy outfit at home to wear in Josh's presence or something.  

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, maybe you SHOULD shower, because I think it's pretty awful to have to BE near people who are so pathetic and shallow that they think the clothes a person wears are more important than the actual person.

Maybe clothes from Old Navy can be found in any small town and are the same all around the world, but the woman who writes the words here is completely original and could not be matched by thousands of million dollar dresses, shoes, and other unimportant material things that people like to pretend make them somehow special. Fuck them and their fancy skirts and their attitude. You are worth hundreds of them, Sam, hold your head high.

Anonymous said...

These women you describe are riddled with so much self hatred and insecurity that they're already getting their cummupance for such poor behavior.

Even so, these moments always make me feel like I should have a clever retort at the ready to bring them down a notch. "You are aware you are speaking audibly in front of strangers, right? You sure do learn you some fancy manners at private school!"

Don't for a second let it bring you down. Be disgusted not discouraged.

Anonymous said...

sorry - misspelling above..

comeuppance

still a good word to know, even if I can't spell it right.

{sheepish grin}

Anonymous said...

This has infuriated me.
Those people are fucking assholes. What you wear, where you went to school...that has nothing to do with being a good person.
For what it's worth, I went to public school, I wear clothes from Kohls and Old Navy and Target. I have a successful career, a family, a home... Those people are fucking assholes.

Zephyr said...

Really? Kohl's and Old Navy are BAD? Crap. I love Kohl's... it's one of my favorite places to shop, when I'm not hitting Goodwill or garage sales. I hate wasting money... spending more than I need to on ANYTHING is just wasteful, so I'm very proud of my bargains. :)

PublicSchoolTilCollegeWearerOfOldNavyOnSale said...

What classy people! Make sure you curtsy and strew flowers on their path whenever you have the good fortune of seeing them.

Cate said...

WTF is WRONG with people?

Karen said...

What does any of this have to do with Josh? Is he ashamed of the way you dress or the schools you went to? Didn't you meet him at school?

There's not enough time in your life to even give these people one iota of your attention. It's sad for them that they are so limited in their appreciaton of the world we all live in.

Jane said...

Sounds like you are equating them to Josh, which is unfair on your part.

Obviously, these people are twits. Have Josh or his parents ever made similar remarks? Then they should not be tarred with the same brush.

I hope you will continue to work on your anger issues and learn to just smile in pity when you hear people like these two. Based on their values, they will never amount to much. And you will.

Nina said...

Wow. Seriously, those women don't deserve two minutes of your time/energy/thoughts. I can't believe people *think* those things much less are so far gone into assholery to actually speak their thoughts into existence. WTF.

It seems like the girls generally class/money idiocy hit a sore spot for you in terms of your relationship with Josh. But just because a person has money doesn't mean they think like those women. It doesn't mean they look down on people who aren't rich. And, for whatever Josh and his parents' ignorance about what it's like to live your life, it does seem like they're non-judgmental and everything that is opposite of those girls (excepting the money part).

Yankee, Transferred said...

The public school remark is sheer ignorance. The public schools in our country, and in New York in particular, have produced artists, musicians, statesmen, actors, clothing designers, the list goes on and on. Public school is such a privilege and an honor. That's total bullshit.

Now, for the assholes on the train? They are not worth a second thought. Shallow, empty, without soul, and definitely not in your league.

You are an amazing young woman whose head and heart are in the right place. I'm old enough to be your grandma (practically) but here's what I say: Fuck 'em.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE Kohl's and I LOVE Old Navy. I grew up in Los Angeles (NOT a small town) and went to public school. I married a United States Marine, have 4 kids (all straight A students) and have a wonderful life. Snobs suck! Sam, you are a wonderful girl. Mean people suck. I admire you so much. Don't ever change! Oh, and Josh LOVES you. I've never met you but I can tell that from your posts. Oh, and I know that your mom is looking down from heaven and is VERY proud of the girl you've grown up to be. Much love to you and your sisters!

Alisha said...

Sam, I am amazed at your self-control in these situatuons, especially in front of those women at work. That in itself shows you have way more class then them. (I'm sure I would've spoken up to embarrass them!)

What everyone else wrote here is dead-on -- these people are shallow and insecure and not worth a second of your thought or worry, and *certainly* are not to be compared to Josh and his family, who have already proven how much they respect you despite the difference in your financial situations.