The Not So Polite Side Of Suburbia and Soccer Parents

Today is a good day in that I haven't experienced any inpolite or rude people. Everyday I usually do. The worst days are when I take my sons to their soccer games. The obscenities and lack of team etiquette from some of the parents is astounding. For example, I may be quietly sitting in the sidelines, occassionally cheering on as I watch my sons play. Shouting out encouraging words like "go baby! go!" or "Come on baby you can do it!"...but when I hear other parents and what they yell at their kids, smoke just wants to blow out of my ears.

In one instance our team's parents were sitting just watching the game. We were all trying to encourage our boys since we were losing the game at that point. Well, the parents from the other team were behind talking all kinds of things about our sons! They were saying how they were not calling anything on our team and about how one player was not running at all. It was pathetic. I know that we can get really impassioned about our kids and even a little downright obnoxious, but talking about the other team's kids especially when the parents are within earshot is not ok.

Then the other team's parents start yelling at the referee because he is making bad calls. Mind you, the referee is actually not calling on their kids who are elbowing, tripping, and just plain pushing our kids and in plain sight! During that game two of our kids resulted getting injured. While I know it's part of the game, it is not ok for the parents to even encourage this behavior, which they did. I guess in this dog-eat-dog world parents are teaching their children that it's ok to push, shove, and bully their way through success. It's a shame that we can't value hard work, politeness, humbleness, and just plain respect for others anymore.

My Run In With Catty Women At Zumba Class

The stereotype is there, the woman that stops at nothing to further her agenda and hurt everyone in her path, whether at work, school, the PTA, the gym, and yes, even church. But is this really a stereotype and what is driving this increased cattiness?

Women in this era have been encouraged to be the catty bitches that they are. With popular shows like the Housewives of New Jersey, The Bachelor, and Bad Girls Club gloryfing cattiness, it's no wonder that many women feel like they are entitled to be this way. I believe that cattiness is fed even more by the competitiveness a female feels that another woman is invading her "space". Certainly cattiness in the workplace is another epidemic which requires a book for itself.

Let me give you the latest example of my encounter with a catty woman...Yesterday I was really pumped up to go to my evening Zumba class. I was dressed in all my spandex glory and my hubby had decided to be my partner that night. We stood in the long line to wait to get in the auditorium and proceeded to take our spots. Well, we had towels and water bottles in our hands so we needed to put those down so we could start our routine. So we both took turns to hold our spot. When it was my turn to drop off my things, there was some one already there that took my spot. Mind you, I only took less than a minute and my husband told me that he had told this woman to move. Well, the nasty old lady (being nice here) was so utterly rude and claimed that this was HER spot. Interesting thing though is that my husband flat out told her that she hadn't been listening that he was holding my spot. To make a long story short, the lady was so offended and nearly threatened to get "aggressive" with me. WOW.

And this is not the first time that I have encountered nastiness in Zumba. There have been several females at the 24 hour Fitness where I frequent that are so adamant that the dance floor or Zumba floor is theirs. They feel like they own the joint. You know the entitlement thing? Before moving to the Tri-Valley this behavior was foreign to me at the gym. I mean we're going to Zumba for God's sake! We're supposed to be happy, party-minded people right?

As women I think we really do an injustice to each other to keep exhibiting this type of behavior. We are thought of the nicer, gentler sex (again stereotypically speaking) but it seems like more and more competitiveness and nastiness abounds between women. If we all would support each other we could certainly move mountains. If we all supported each other Hillary Clinton would probably have beat Barack Obama for the presidency. Unfortunately with the advent of reality TV and the bad economic conditions, cattiness and competitiveness among women will probably accelerate.

What experiences can you share?