i got stopped on the school run today by an older lady, who yelled across the street from me that i should be ashamed of myself..
im thinking "do i have an offensive t shirt on and ive forgot?" (its happened) no, do i have weird colour hair? (again, its happened) no, am i murdering a child (i was on my way TO the school but..) no. of course not. i look at her to find her staring at my face with disgust. She actually was yelling at me because i have Snakebites..its a minor set of lip piercings... i have two small labrets in to keep them open but respectful, so i said to this lady " I'm sorry you find something wrong, but its my body, so kindly keep your judgemental opinion to yourself!"
She THEN points me out to her friend (same age) and said "SHE shouldnt be walking around with that pen all over her body!" even though i was a mere 5 feet away! she proceeded to scream and rant about how i shouldnt be "allowed out" and "id make an awful parent" without even looking at my face. or recognising i was there, stunned.
Calmly i cross the road, and i stand in front of this lady. i smile, and say " Excuse, me i could not help but overhear you, may i please have a word?" she looked down her nose with disgust at me,but let me continue... i pulled up the sleeve of my t shirt and asked her if it offended her, she replied that it did. i asked her for a few minutes of her time, her friend agreed, so the woman was stuck there and had to listen. i explained that i had done a lot of youthwork, had been in roles of responsibilty, been straight edge for 5 years,saved a life (we wont go there) had a child, and was keeping a roof over her head, paying what i could to help others, and asked her if that offended her, she said (quite snottily) "of course not." i went on to say that i had designed all of my tattoos, and that they each had a key part in who i am, i explained each one (i have 30+) and as a parting word to them both i replied " I wear my life on my skin, how dare you be so judgemental at the thought that somebody is brave enough to be different, im glad i met you, becasue i hope today has taught you one thing, age doesnt matter, tattooed girls dont matter, the bloody weather doesnt matter, what you will remember is that i showed you enough respect to come and address your issues face to face, and you gave me none. Have a good evening ladies. try not to be judgemental next time"
Has anybody else had this experience? or similar? sorry for the essay, and i know its off topic. but with the season of goodwill and all that...
C ^^{}^^
and thank you x
