A Public Affair
Dear World and the loyal readers of my dear friends L & C,
This is M reporting for duty. L and C have been so kind to allow me to share some of my insight on the world with you, so be prepared for an uncensored, raw glance into the life of an aspiring humanitarian, three toed sloth loving, soup eating individual with little self restraint for whats cooking on the brain. C has already alluded to my scandalous past in the aforementioned post, however I hope no pre judgements have been formed on behalf of my character and ability to convey the world as I see it in all of it’s glory.
Speaking of the world, I had an experience today in which I fell knee deep into what I felt was a sociology experiment. In an attempt to fufill our constant thirst for adventure and all things that are good, Leslie and I set out on our very first vision quest of the summer which coincidentally happened to fall on Memorial Day. We ventured OTP (outside the perimeter for all you NeWbz) to Lilburn to indulge in the lazy river and two water slides at Mountain Park Pool.I could not have been in more perfect positioning for some quality people watching and even some eavesdropping. I usually am not a nosy person at all but this specific occurance in which I will explain in full detail was hard not to become emotionally involved in.
Often times the ideas I concoct in my head are much better on paper than in real life. For example, going to the Mountain Park Pool today seemed like a great idea. Sun, Cool Water, a Lazy River and Two Water Slides sounded like just the right kind of therapy after working a 6 o’ clock AM shift at the bakery. Yet, I forgot to take a couple of things into account. Mountain Park Pool is a public pool, which means it attracts humans from all walks of life. I grew up in a traditional suburban subdivision complete with a homeowners association and four swimming pools/tennis courts, so it was a rare occasion in my childhood that I ever frequented a public pool. Squaretown, U.S.A is what I will refer to the development(not neighborhood!) in which I reside, equipt with tennis obsessed, bunko hosting, card carrying members of the Brookwood Football Association. You get the picture.
The mass of people present at MPP(Mountain Park Pool) was overwhelming to someone like myself who is used to a peaceful and relaxing day in the sun. However, this was far from relaxing. In fact, I became more and more distressed as the day unraveled, due in part to the melodrama occurring to the right of where Leslie and I were posted up. I began to overhear an African American man probably in his late 30’s verbally abusing his wife. They were arguing back and forth however I could only comprehend his side of the story because his yelling was much louder than hers. It seemed as though that the dynamics of this couple’s relationship was right out of my Women’s Studies books on inequality, patriarchy and the distinct gender roles which continue to deconstruct and infect our society even in the modern day. I was appalled by the lack of tact especially with this man, because let’s face it- fighting in public is tacky and trashy. Not to mention a public disturbance. As I began focusing more on what the man was yelling at his wife, I soon learned he was a complete animal. For example, here are a few things I overheard in their knock down and drag out stab at each other’s most personal character qualities:
- You are nothing. You’re a stupid stupid woman! You would be nothing without Me!
-You have an evil spirit and are God’s Curse!!
-Your DaDDy was a CRACKHEAD! Your Daddy was here on the scale (points to the ground) and I am HERE! (points much higher than previously).
-You are ungrateful and you will respect me because you are my WIFE! You will not disrespect me!
-You stupid motherf**%#^% bitch who can’t even raise your kids right. Go suck some more Dick why dont you.
- I am a SURVIVOR! I don’t NEED you!
and etc. Keep in mind their children were not playing too far from them in the lazy river. Sweet guy, huh?
I suppose this occurrence struck a chord in my inner feminist due to the fact that I also just watched the film, Precious last night. For those of you who don’t know, Precious is a story of a young black girl in Harlem who is severely verbally and physically abused by her mother, and her father who impregnates her twice via rape. I became so emotionally overcome with the feeling of retaliation that I almost mentioned something to the cops who were already there, and now that I think about it I should have said something. There is no excuse to treat a woman ( or any human) as if they are nothing, and it shocked me to see this type of interaction tangibly.
Also, I was shocked to notice the specific vernacular pused by this oh so sweet man who just wants a respectful wife to obey his every beck and call. This type of language is indicitive of the ignorant and cruel actions of certain aspects of human nature, no matter what color the man’s skin may be, although certain vernacular is more common among certain ethnicities. I hope that woman can muster up the intelligence and strength to leave that man in hopes of finding a mate who respects her and believes in her, however it is clear that with the constant opression and reiteration that she is worthless, it is increasingly more unlikely as time goes by. It got me thinking about myself and marriage and how I never want to be in an abusive relationship like so. Caution and Skepticism still remain the only ideologies in this world I subscribe to, and hopefully it will pay off in grand scheme of things and I will be rewarded with a mate who shares the same respect for the value of women and equality as I do. Remember World, It’s a dark place out there. Always best to carry a flash light with you at all times.
Anyways, I hope this wasn’t too depressing for your liking, but it was a very real and very human day, in which I felt the need to report to you. Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day. Summer is officially here!
Still perplexed,
M