Take My Wife - please!

[salsa]

Me: Hi! How are you today?

Douchebag Customer (puts items on counter for me to ring up): OK, considering...

Me: Considering?

DC: Yeah... gotta get stuff done. (makes a couple dumb jokes about men and work which I don't pay much

attention to) ... I gotta get these for my wife (indicates a dietary supplement to help with perimenopause). It helps her wake up in a good mood. (laughs so hard at his own joke, he's actually stomping his foot and bending over at the waist).

Me: silence (hopefully steely enough but not so steely as to encourage him to call and complain about me)

DC: How much is this stuff, anyway? (looks at $28 price) Wheew... expensive! Geez. Women and hormones! (more laughter at his own joke)

Me: silence as I run his debit card

DC: I mean, $28 - and for what? ... *sighs* Oh, well. *rolls eyes and makes a "tsk" sound*

Me: Here are your receipts.

DC: I wonder where I could be without having to spend this kind of money, ya know?

Me: (hands bag) Have a nice day.

DC: (takes bag) Yeah; a nice day! (in a sarcastic tone of voice, like, "Yeah, like THAT's going to happen")

Me: left wondering two things - 1) how did HE find someone to marry him? 2) how low must that poor woman's sense of self worth be to stay with someone who finds her that much of a burden? or to have accepted his dates in the first place?

 

Thanks. Just had to vent. I've had that guy before and this time the exchange stuck with me longer than it did before. Yes, the previous exchange went pretty much like the one above.

 

Why does he think I'm going to laugh at that? It's pretty obvious I'm a woman - does he think I'll laugh at these stupid misogynist jokes? Does he think I'll think it's funny for him to disparage his wife?

Years ago, I had a friend whose husband used to disparage her, make her the butt of his jokes. I saw her with a black eye on one occasion and on another occasion she described to me what, in my opinion, amounted to marital rape. Of course it was "her fault" (he said) because she bruised too easily.

 

So, through this rambling post, I guess that's what it comes down to - concerned that this exchange is the tip of the iceberg and that she also "bruises too easily" - and feeling like I ought to say something but knowing it won't do any good.

 

Thanks for letting me ramble.

[DGayle]

When my husband and I have had arguments and I've gone out on errands angry, I admit not behaving much better, though usually my vents are with clerks who know us, not random people. Usually. But if you've had this guy before, and he was the same way, then he's just plain an ass.