On the day before Thanksgiving, an 80-ish petite woman drove her car out of a parking lot and waited for traffic to let her in.
In doing so, she cut in front of a 60-ish heavy set middle-eastern man, about 6-feet tall. He instantly screamed, "fuck you bitch." In response, the lady lowered her window and said, "I'm sorry."
He walked around her car and shouted in reply, "fuck you," as he walked past her and toward me.
Had he assaulted her, I would have intervened to stop it.
I wanted to comfort her, but of course she quickly pulled out.
As he got close to me he was seething. "Are you alright sir," I asked loudly, trying to calm him.
He said he was alright and asked about me. "I'm doing great," I replied with a smile, as we walked past each other. I was not pleased with how I handled this.
That was two days ago and I've pondered this event wanting to learn from it. In my 74-year-life I've learned there is no reasoning with a seething, irrational person.
I could have pointed out his foolishness, but for what? A fist fight?
With the passage of time, I've actually begun to pity him. Only God and he know the painful life this man has lived that would lead him to treat a defenseless woman the shameful way he did.
However hard it may occasionally be, like Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I strive to extend my love to each person. But as they found, it can be very challenging.
In the movies and TV, there is often a clever response that gets the audience to laugh or cheer, but in real life, the choices are far more difficult.
With Love To All - Dick
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