the announcer

a few days ago i was in the locker room at the gym with one of those announcing people. i reserve my last nerve for these people. this woman was absolutely certain that we all had spent our lives up until that point wondering about her and wishing we could know more. you know the type. she's having a conversation, kind of, but she is the only one talking and the person she is talking "to" is just her pawn in the universe that is her own voice. just an objectified word target in her ambitious quest to share her thoughts with strangers. the fact that she had a friend near her gave her all the permission she needed to be a complete wall of sound from the time i saw her in the fitness center until we both entered our cars in the parking lot. circling the track, showering, primping, dressing, everywhere i went by necessity, there was the voice. how do i end up on the same schedule as people like this? there was a time that i would not have been able to handle it. i would have had to walk away or risk shouting at her or kicking her or sawing my own ears off. but these days, i just find moments like this blog-worthy and interesting. while she is still talking, i am already beginning my description of her and my assessment of her behavior in my head.

this woman made a declaration about everything. she was walking fast around the track so the trainer (not her trainer) wouldn't think she was slacking. she clearly had a good workout today because her hair is frizzy. she doesn't like the television show that is on the tv in the locker room, so obviously no one is watching it. her commentary included her muscle strain, her bathing suit, the size of her feet, how many friends she has who are runners, how her jeans were fitting that day... it just didn't end. i have no idea what her friend's voice sounded like.

what makes a person act like this? it goes beyond privilege, because most of the people i know experienced some degree of racial/economic/religious privilege. and most people i know would recognize this as problematic behavior. what this woman has going on is definitely impacted by her placement on the social stratosphere, but it can only come from something deeper and more exclusive than that.

shouldn't it be socially acceptable to respond to these individuals accordingly? i don't think that her behavior is normative, so i should be able to bend the rules a little. i should be able to ask her things like: do most people find you much more interesting than i do? can you use your inside voice? why do you talk about everything you think about? have you ever met anyone else who does that?

i should be able to ask questions like these. and she should have to answer them.