Unsolicited Creepy Comment
One of the most striking differences for me here is that people feel entitled to say extremely personal comments to you about things which are none of their business. And I'm talking about total strangers. And I'm talking about rude things.
A couple of months ago, after a big snow storm, we were walking in the park with the girls. They were throwing snowballs in the water to see if the ducks would swim over, thinking that the snow was food. After a while, the girls tired of their experiment and walked away. When we got to the bottom of the hill, a woman approached us and told us that she thought it was really horrible that we allowed the children to throw snow at animals.
On another occasion, Nico shouted at Karlotta as she veered off the sidewalk and onto a busy street. A man in a nearby shop asked why Karlotta was crying, Nico responded that it was because he had shouted at her, and the man said, oh, you shouldn't yell at children.
Lastly, when Nico once took the girls to the zoo a few years ago, the two plopped themselves down on the (freshly pebbled) path and started collecting pebbles in their pocket. An older woman came over and started yelling at them, telling them that it was wrong to take things that weren't theirs and what would happen if all the little kids came and took the pebbles.
But the prize for creepiest unsolicited comment goes to a politician we met on the street yesterday. Perhaps you have heard something about Germany's tumbling birthrate (the lowest in the EU) - the Minister of Families is really setting a good example...she's got seven kids. I think it's no coincidence that the Minister of Families has seven kids, and there's something about that that I find a little weird. She may very well have lots of other qualifications, but I have to imagine that her fertility was part of the decision. But anyway, we were at a neighborhood street fair yesterday with the girls, and we walked past a booth for the SPD party. The woman standing out front offered apples to the girls and then congratulated me on having done a good job by having two babies. Now, setting aside the fact that they aren't my children...
EWWWWW! Excuse me, I just find that so inappropriate and creepy!! Let's just say that for a moment, they are my children. Did I have them for the Fatherland? Did I have them because I feel compelled to do my part to raise the national birthrate???
I like New York better. People still say shit to you, and a lot of it is pretty creepy and inappropriate, but at least it's not somebody monitoring and evaluating your behavior, telling you what you should and should not do.
Moe, where are you when I need you???
A couple of months ago, after a big snow storm, we were walking in the park with the girls. They were throwing snowballs in the water to see if the ducks would swim over, thinking that the snow was food. After a while, the girls tired of their experiment and walked away. When we got to the bottom of the hill, a woman approached us and told us that she thought it was really horrible that we allowed the children to throw snow at animals.
On another occasion, Nico shouted at Karlotta as she veered off the sidewalk and onto a busy street. A man in a nearby shop asked why Karlotta was crying, Nico responded that it was because he had shouted at her, and the man said, oh, you shouldn't yell at children.
Lastly, when Nico once took the girls to the zoo a few years ago, the two plopped themselves down on the (freshly pebbled) path and started collecting pebbles in their pocket. An older woman came over and started yelling at them, telling them that it was wrong to take things that weren't theirs and what would happen if all the little kids came and took the pebbles.
But the prize for creepiest unsolicited comment goes to a politician we met on the street yesterday. Perhaps you have heard something about Germany's tumbling birthrate (the lowest in the EU) - the Minister of Families is really setting a good example...she's got seven kids. I think it's no coincidence that the Minister of Families has seven kids, and there's something about that that I find a little weird. She may very well have lots of other qualifications, but I have to imagine that her fertility was part of the decision. But anyway, we were at a neighborhood street fair yesterday with the girls, and we walked past a booth for the SPD party. The woman standing out front offered apples to the girls and then congratulated me on having done a good job by having two babies. Now, setting aside the fact that they aren't my children...
EWWWWW! Excuse me, I just find that so inappropriate and creepy!! Let's just say that for a moment, they are my children. Did I have them for the Fatherland? Did I have them because I feel compelled to do my part to raise the national birthrate???
I like New York better. People still say shit to you, and a lot of it is pretty creepy and inappropriate, but at least it's not somebody monitoring and evaluating your behavior, telling you what you should and should not do.
Moe, where are you when I need you???
posted by Brooklyn Blade at
Monday, May 22, 2006
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