Being Objective/Guy Talk

I ran into a co-worker today at a major bookstore during break. One of the few guys I work with that I feel I can shoot the shit with and speak my mind. We had some coffees (which I'm feeling right now) and decided to have a conversation about work related issues. It's not uncommon for single males in the workplace to have such discussions and sometimes they lead to talks about girls and who we think is attractive and like to date. This isn't a crime of any kind.

The conversation was neither loud nor obnoxious. The conversation was not disrespectful. It was quite objective and honest. The term "rack" may have come up on occasion, once or twice maybe, but it was far from the main idea of the dialogue. This is a perfectly natural approach. Guys look at certain things and at times discuss them with other guys. I'm quite sorry if any of this is hurtful to anyone. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm probably the most sensitive guy around (sensitive to my own complex feelings that is). Maybe too much for my own good.

A few booths down was a girl on her notebook computer wearing headphones. She wasn't very far away. I noticed her texting a bit, and sticking around. She didn't seem very happy or very sad. I didn't notice much emotion either way.

We continued talking, me and my co-worker bud, I believe the topic changed to office politics and the corporate environment. The girl a few booths down was packing up. She seemed to be rushing. She stood and took a few steps towards with her bags in hand and said, "excuse me, I overheard your conversation, maybe you guys would be able to pick-up a woman if you didn't see them as objects!"

She left quickly!

Me and my friend looked at each other with surprise and confusion. As she got further away I started to laugh. WTF?

Let's review:

• We weren't talking loud.
• There was no juvenile giggling or disrespect towards anyone.
• A majority of our talk had to do with interactions.
• It was a private conversation.
• It was a private conversation that had nothing to do with her.
• It was a private conversation that most folks with penises have with each other.
• It was a private conversation.

How I would've responded:

• Is it any of your fucking business?
• I probably have more female friends than you do.
• Is it any of your fucking business?
• Did you just get dumped?

I think it's this type of authoritarian attitude, in relation to any subject, that gets under my skin the most. I would never butt into anyone's private conversation (sober) and ever try to appear as a moral authority on anything. I would suspect a low self esteem or a recent rejection was probably the cause of this woman's attitude.

There are other issues at play too but I won't get into them as I don't want to stir the pot anymore than I have already today.

Good night.

As always, these are true stories.