Making A Point
BAD BEHAVIOR, CURRENT EVENTS, DUBLIN, I DON'T WORK HERE, IRELAND, RETAIL | RIGHT | FEBRUARY 16, 2021
I’m thirty years old but my mother raised me to be an old-fashioned lady; no elbows on the table, no pointing, no swearing, always use manners, etc. As a result, I never got in the habit of pointing. I always gesture with my full hand unless the item is super close.
I’m shopping for clothes for a funeral with my sister, who is thirty-four, in a large department store. A lady in her fifties or sixties approaches me and taps me on the arm. I’m very surprised because, due to the current health crisis, no one where I live gets close enough to touch strangers.
Customer: “Girl! Where are your children’s shoes?”
I start walking backward straight away until we’re six feet apart.
Me: “I don’t work here, but I think over there.”
I gesture to the children’s clothes area. The lady looks me up and down, steps halfway between us, scrunches up her face, and starts shouting.
Customer: “F****** rude! It’s rude to point! It’s rude to tell me you don’t work here! It’s rude to back away from me! I’m not infected with anything! You are! B****!”
Other customers nearby turn and start to stare. I’m shocked and embarrassed but anger quickly takes over. I back up a few feet and raise my voice, pointing at her with my index finger.
Me: “Get away from me right now! We are shopping for a funeral and have been isolating together to be able to attend. I’m not risking my family’s safety for some crazy old b****!”
The woman’s face turns red as some of the store’s employees start to approach to deescalate the situation. She looks from them to me before throwing her items on the floor and stomping off.
My sister, who has been silent this whole time, turns to me, half-laughing.
Sister: *With a sing-song voice* “Ooh, Mom’s going to kill you when I tell her about this!”
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