Antitheses

So I had two encounters on Friday that were about as polarized as any two encounters can be.

The first was a conversation with a woman at Starbucks. She was in her early thirties, and typing extensively while referencing out of a book that showed it had been read, and thoroughly—you know, the ones with highlighting all over the place and scribbling in the margins, etc.

I struck up a conversation with her. It surfaced that this woman was writing a book on women's rights and the obstacles holding them back. She had some good points, and was arguing that the biggest hurdles that women face in the struggle to be treated as equals are the Sexual Revolution and the widespread presence of pornography in our culture.

She has my respect and admiration.

The second encounter is completely different. I was walking into the mall to get my watch band adjusted when a twenty-something girl walked up to me, said, "I thought you might be interested in this," and handed me a business card with a porn site URL printed on it.

Ten feet later, I crumbled it up and threw it on the ground [where trash like that belongs]. She walked over, picked it up and yelled at me, "How RUDE!"

I stopped.

[note: Sometimes, when I get incensed, I say things very strongly. Right now, I was just at the limit of my patience.]

I turned around, and said back to her, "Is that web address for a porn site?"

She replied non-chalantly, "Yes," and started to walk away.

—Limit Break—

I said one last thing to her as she rounded the corner of a building. "I'm not being rude—I just respect you a whole hell of a lot more than you respect yourself."

She had nothing to say, so I went inside.

[when in Rome]
brian