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"Ma'am, you're intruding on a private conversation."
That says it all right there.
Yes, you should have kept your mouth shut and kept on walking
As people are walking around blathering and babbling up into the stratosphere while on their cell phone, talking to themselves, whatever others will notice. If you are talking loud enough for others to hear in a public space and don't want the public making your conversation public then you should probably go home.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sapphire1
It's none of your business. People have been shot for less.
Too true! Why should this guy put himself at risk at the start? Shush it in public.
the top three all went Blue and 6 out of the top ten (many more if we figure by population percentage).....
Say what you want - the smartest states in the USA didn't vote for Trump - unless you define education, health and other civilized measurements in a "fake news" fashion.
Let me rephrase your statement. YOU believe that Hillary supporters are fools. Fine.
No doubt I had a really bad day. I actually was out in my neighborhood, taking a brisk walk around a small lake trying to work off my frustrations. As I go around the lake, I begin to overtake a man pushing a stroller. I thought, "How nice. A dad out with his kids." At first I thought he was talking to them. No, he was talking on his cell phone. So much for quality time with the kids. As I closed in to overtake them, he was saying, "Yeah, all of them out here hate the Jews...Hillary! Hillary!"
I stopped. I looked at him and said, "We don't hate Jews." He said, "Ma'am, you're intruding on a private conversation." I just went ahead and resumed my walk, a little shaken. Perhaps I should have just kept walking but you know, sometimes I think you should speak out when something isn't right. He yelled behind me, "Bible Belt!" I kept walking but I started to cry at that point. It felt so ugly. I feel so bad for all of us.
I've worked really hard all my life to try and understand others. I've gone to different churches with friends, I have read the bible, meditated and have felt at home in many settings. I even took a Kabbalah class with a friend (we even got to make kosher cookies). I felt so bad I had to look up Martin Niemoller's quote:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
So it's not a hate crime, but maybe the genesis of one. He had two kids in that stroller listening to his conversation, both on the phone (who knows what else he said) and with me/at me. How many of those terrible hate crimes, like the ones happening in Jewish cemeteries and community centers begin by someone making comments (or listening to said comments) like he did?
I feel terrible. Should I just have kept my mouth shut and kept walking?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nor Cal Wahine
You definitely should have kept your mouth shut. (Just using your own language). You heard a tiny snippet of a private conversation and without any awareness of the actual context, you snarked off. There's multiple scenarios that could have been occurring. He may have been quoting someone else. He may have been speaking to a spouse, close family member, or good friend - and using humor or sarcasm in a way that only the receiver of the call would recognize. You were a busybody who intruded in a negative way.
Not the end of the world. But a good lesson that sometimes, silence is golden.
i agree with nor cal, you did indeed intrude on a private conversation, and since there was no criminal element to the call, you should have just kept on going about your business.
and the problem isnt that you said anything, but that you said it without the benefit of having both sides of the conversation to know the actual context of what was being said.
It's hard to say what you should of done. Not everyone acts the same in the same situation but how do you know the context of their conversation? How do you know you heard it correctly? You also said that you were in a bad state of mind before this. That probably had a big impact on your outlook. I don't see how this is a hate crime of any sort, even if everything you believe of this conversation is true. People say all sorts of things in private, sometimes it's stupid or vile. But when you judged the guy for speaking on the phone that was a bit petty. Who cares? Obviously you do. Sometimes the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
The guy could have just had his ancestors headstones destroyed (see the news)....note that Trump has unleashed a wave of white supremacy and hate which seem to be bringing out the worst in many people.
Maybe he/she was discussing a subject like that. One of our good friends in Philadelphia just had all their ancestors graves defiled. It's hard to have a good day when the forces of hate have been unleashed nationally.
I became a lot happier when I realized and accepted that humans are irrational 85% of the time and that a whole lot of people are buffoons and not worth the air they suck in and blow out.
Sounds paradoxical, but I'm telling the truth. A lot happier.
Who cares about some random moron's false and irrationally angry opinion?
This.
But honestly, ignorance bugs me and I want to try to fix it when I see it, too. But in reality, you just can't. You can try, you may succeed sometimes, but idiots like the guy in the OP will always exist.
the top three all went Blue and 6 out of the top ten (many more if we figure by population percentage).....
Say what you want - the smartest states in the USA didn't vote for Trump - unless you define education, health and other civilized measurements in a "fake news" fashion.
Let me rephrase your statement. YOU believe that Hillary supporters are fools. Fine.
The term fool has nothing to do with education.
fool1
fo͞ol/Submit
noun
1. a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person.
"what a fool I was to do this"
synonyms: idiot, ass, blockhead, dunce, dolt, ignoramus, imbecile, cretin, dullard, simpleton, moron, clod; More
verb
1.
trick or deceive (someone); dupe.
"he fooled nightclub managers into believing he was a successful businessman"
synonyms: deceive, trick, hoax, dupe, take in, mislead, delude, hoodwink, sucker, bluff, gull; More
adjectiveinformal
1.
foolish or silly.
"that damn fool waiter"
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