Offense Taken

 I teach social skills. When I started over ten years ago, my friends often told me that many of their co workers could use my class. I will admit to seeing some overlap with my students and all the adults I see and hang out with.

The two biggest reoccurring themes I see:

Compromise= everybody gets something, nobody gets everything

This idea of compromise is tough in this all or nothing climate. As a board member for my Condo HOA, there has been considerable conflict over bollards and bollard sleeves. First the controversy seemed to be about the color - fluorescent yellow. I can understand the desire to look at other color options. I mean , we're not an airport. But that wasn't good enough; there is one community member who has been very vocal at community meetings and through emails. For her there is only one way to fix this hideous issue:  the removal of all bollards on her street. 

"Our street wants the barriers/bollards removed entirely from our street immediately" Carol stated with emphasis at the virtual meeting. "Those bollards are an absolute EYESORE!"

When this problem didn't get taken care of fast enough for her she began putting up hand made fluorescent pink signs asking the other community members on her street to email all board members with complaints and demand that we "make Woodley (her street) great again!"

Unexpected behavior = uncomfortable thoughts and feelings from others:

At an early fall party with other teachers I was shocked to see a fellow teacher behaving unseemly while eating from a big bowl of snacks. He was standing over the bowl, picking out his favorite parts of the snack mix (coincidentally, the same parts that are my favorite), the cheesy ones! He was licking his lips and fingers and double dipping. I saw several other teachers watching with looks of disgust and shock on their faces.

"Eww, do you see that? That is terrible." One of my close friends said to me as we were standing in the kitchen talking.

"Yeah, that is gross." I agreed shaking my head, thinking,  Well there goes my appetite.

His "spidey senses" must have been tingling because he turned and asked us, "Something's gross?" He looked panicked for a minute. "What's gross? Is it what I'm eating?" I think he was worried he was actually eating something that was bad.

"Well... the way you're eating that mix is grossing us out." I told him, looking him in the eye."I mean, I don't want to eat that now."

I guess I'll never be out of a job.