I think it's interesting how the people bagging groceries at SafeWay, or working the cash register at JC Penny, or behind the drive-through window at Burger King, always ask you how your day was.
Because really, what are you supposed to say? Everyone expects each other to say "Great!" or "pretty good," or "I'm doing fine, how about yourself?" But we're not always fine and dandy, and the person who asked you certainly isn't either, because they're stuck behind a window flipping burgers, or shoving produce into plastic bags, or putting hideous clothing on hangers and handing out receipts for a living, and for all they know, your day could have been terrible. You could have been late for work, or gotten yelled at by your boss. You could have gotten rear-ended by some idiot in a grungy Toyota and subsequently spilled your latte all over your brand new $100 tweed blazer. You could have found out that your dog died, or worse yet, a family member; you could have stumbled out of bed and broken three of your toes.
But of course, you're not going to say that to the person at SafeWay, or JC Penny, or Burger King. I mean, does anyone ever actually say "Oh, my day's been absolute GARBAGE, how about yours?"
No one cares, is the thing. No one wants to hear your life story, or listen to you rant about how much you HATE Family Guy and the fact that your husband watches it every evening when you would much rather watch the Home & Garden Channel. We're all just trained to act a certain way around everyone else; like our lives are perfect and wonderful and no I don't need your help but thanks for asking and yes, it's true, I do walk around constantly grinning like this and I AM ALWAYS THIS CHIPPER IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED.
Thank you for not sharing.
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I'm glad that I'm not the only one who notices that. The fact that people think that they have to show fake empathy to get a good reaction out of people is sad. Good post.
ReplyDeleteWell said. Societal norms and unmentioned, unquestioned behavior and responses are quite a mystery. I always wonder it myself and now I am asking myself, why do I blatantly lie about what is really going on or how I really feel. I guess we can't just go around parading our true feelings and emotions to others because it would be "unprofessional" or "weak and uncharismatic" but the truth is if we don't breath at some point, everything going on will suffocate us. I like how you put it,"No one cares," with the exception of a few truly caring people who are cursed to live in an apathetic world, no one really does care. Great post.
ReplyDelete^^^^^^^^ ROFL.
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