Wednesday, July 12, 2017

It is a good question

This confusion on the part of a Return of Kings reader cracked me up.
I was out with one of my readers the other night, who had the good fortune of never really coming across an American woman in his life. But this month, he’s traveling through a few parts of Europe that are more dense (quite literally, in this case) with American women. And you know what he said to me?

I’ve only heard an American girl speak a few times in my life before this week, but now that I have heard them…I don’t understand. What the fuck is the nonsense that they are talking about, all the time?

I couldn’t help but laugh at his complete shock. I also couldn’t help but laugh in despair at the fact that I really didn’t have any answer for him.
In my experience, most of it is content-policing noise meant to prevent anyone else from talking. Once I detect a woman is in the-shark-must-swim-or-die mode, I don't even bother trying to interrupt her, much less say anything of any substance to her. Just nod, smile, occasionally make interested noises, and extricate yourself from the situation as soon as is reasonably possible.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Saw this just the other day. Mid-20s couple, not unattractive. She droned on and on and on to her silent boyfriend, in that grating monotonous mannish voice, about some extremely important chain of hyper-trivia.

I felt my energy level drain just from overhearing the monologue. Walked away, wondering "does she even come up for breath?"

PA

dc.sunsets said...

The "unlimited resources" delusion of these antebellum times is unprecedented, and I believe it's why matriarchy arose.

Since I believe the delusion is a product of a cyclical and patterned natural process, I am confident it will reverse even as its symptoms become ever less tolerable.

While my timing has proved lousy, my interpretation of the tea leaves screams that we approach apogee and the trend will soon bring relief from such aggravation even as new challenges take their place.

The time is ripe for reversal.

Kettle said...

@DC

A visualization of the reversal process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdu4A0FUeZI&feature=youtu.be

Nate73 said...

Reminds me of that scene in Babylon 5 when a homeless Franklin returns the ball to the little girl. In the background we hear her parents and the wife is going on and on about how it's bad for him to disagree with her in front of the child. That scene put me off on a visceral level but now I understand its meaning.

Anonymous said...

There is an upside. I don't really like talking, so if they're doing it, it means I don't have to.

Gary Morgan said...

@d.c.,

'The time is ripe for reversal.'

Got another 6-12 months left. Quick crash imminent, then wave 5, the *madness* wave, lies ahead.

Unknown said...

Um, so for the guy who's only ever been around american women, what am i missing?

Out of Nod said...
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Matt said...
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Matt said...

Vox, how do you recommend dealing with a sister who behaves like that? Or a mother? If you see its badly affecting her life.

dc.sunsets said...

@Gary, for what little it's worth, my count has us in the final 5, ending the end of this month or sometime next month. Or we break down here. I won't know for sure until the monthly chart turns down (end of the year?) and the usual rally fails at the EMA's I watch.

I like this timing simply because it is the inversion of the beginning, when the SPX bottomed almost exactly 12 months after bond prices bottomed. I like symetry.

I also no longer put my money where my mouth is. It's too costly.

David Moore said...

I remember some years back hiking down a mountain in Wales, following a young american couple. The girl did not stop talking for close on 2 hours. Did. not. stop.

I don't recall the guy saying a word....

Timmy3 said...

What would any woman say that an American white woman would be worse? I don't know. You just won't get the pop references from a non-white woman.

liberranter said...

Q: Why don't American women fart?

A: They can't STFU long enough to build up the required pressure.

Not a joke, this.

@ David Moore:

The guy was probably lost deep in thought, thinking of either a way to throw her off of the mountain or to throw himself off.

Harambe said...

It's my experience here in South Africa too. They're not so much interested in conversation as they are in alerting bystanders to the fact that they're IN DA HOUSE. Well, it's not universally true. We're sort of friends with this American pastor and his family from Texas and they're pretty awesome and non-grating people. Their daughters are pretty and well-mannered too, so there's hope yet.

liberranter said...

We're sort of friends with this American pastor and his family from Texas and they're pretty awesome and non-grating people. Their daughters are pretty and well-mannered too, so there's hope yet.

Heh. Maybe he accepted a position in South Africa in hopes of rescuing his family from the cesspool that is contemporary American culture. Odds are that his pretty daughters would NOT be so well-mannered and feminine if they were still living in the USSA.

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