Being 14 is not an excuse for speaking to me that way.

[Rugsrat]

I pride myself on being pretty unflappable while the customer is around. I'm also openly in a relationship with another woman (whom I love very much and am currently in the process of saving enough for an engagement ring for... ^_^ [but that's not the story])

So, the cast:

SG: Stupid girl, 14 years old.
Mom: her mother
Aunt: Her aunt. (I think.)
Me: Rugsrat!

So, they come to my register asking about 2 different webcams.

Mom: Does this [cheaper] one have a mic?
Me: No. It has a headset, so if you wanted to speak, you'd need the headset on.
SG: That's gay. So GAY.
Me: ... I resent that.

And that's all it took, I didn't even sound particularly upset. Just a flat tone and continued on as normal. Mom and aunt start tripping over themselves to make me feel less offended. Now, honestly, I wasn't THAT offended by the "gay" thing, I hear it way too often. But I'd had a LONG day and just wasn't ready to take it anymore. But here's the part that actually offended me:

Mom: She's just 14, you know how kids are... But thanks for teaching her it's not ok to talk like that.
Aunt: She didn't mean anything by it. She's just 14!

And then the SG had the audacity to say:

SG: Gay means happy, that's all.

Riiiiiiight. Like you were so happy about the cheap camera not having a built-in mic. So happy you had to sarcastically bitch about it and deride a large percentage of the population.

Now, thinking back on it, I would have LIKED to have chewed them both out for not caring until I said something, but I like my job well enough (In that I HAVE a job) to not press the issue. As it stood, I just finished the transaction like normal, even managed to wish them a good evening.

But I'm still irritated.

In short: I don't give a shit how old your spawn is. You don't talk that way while I'm around and on a short fuse.

And your guardians shouldn't be making excuses with one hand, while agreeing with me. Pick one. Be a bigoted jerk, or don't be. Hypocrisy is worse than either.

I'm gonna just hop down from this soapbox now... Rant's over.

[LillFilly]

That's like my argument with coworkers on racial slurs; technically, 'Cracker' is defined in the dictionary as derogatory, so I could supposedly go-after someone for calling me that the same as if someone used any-other racially-charged word against someone of another ethnicity. But nobody seems to believe me. Glad you taught that kid a valuable lesson!

[Exaspera]

Mom: Does this [cheaper] one have a mic?
Me: No. It has a headset, so if you wanted to speak, you'd need the headset on.
SG: That's Happy. So HAPPY.
Me: ... I resent that.

Like this makes so much more sense. :-p

[Rugsrat]

That's like my argument with coworkers on racial slurs; technically, 'Cracker' is defined in the dictionary as derogatory, so I could supposedly go-after someone for calling me that the same as if someone used any-other racially-charged word against someone of another ethnicity. But nobody seems to believe me. Glad you taught that kid a valuable lesson!

Sadly, I don't think she learned anything. The only things I said regarding the term was "I resent that".

But yeah, no one really believes they're being bigoted. Everyone else is though, right?

[Pairou]

I'm saving up for an engagement ring for my girl too, and she's trying to get one for me. <3

Seriously, does she reeeally think she's fooling anyone?

[EvilEmpryss]

That girl learned only that other people will make excuses for her mistakes rather than making her step up and be held accountable. I foresee a pregnancy precipitated by a drinking binge in her future. "It's not her fault she had sex... she only meant to have a few drinks."

[Mike Taylor]

That's like my argument with coworkers on racial slurs; technically, 'Cracker' is defined in the dictionary as derogatory, so I could supposedly go-after someone for calling me that the same as if someone used any-other racially-charged word against someone of another ethnicity. But nobody seems to believe me.

That's because "Cracker" is also the Florida term for a cattle ranch hand or a cowboy. It's actually a mark of pride for Floridians in that profession whether they're black, white or latino.

[Mr. Anubite]

In short: I don't give a shit how old your spawn is. You don't talk that way.

Edited for accuracy.

Regardless of circumstances, you don't say things like that.

[hinakiba777]

I actually got into a heated argument with someone because I berated them for saying saying something was "gay" in a negative way, but then later said something was "lame". The argument ended when my with cerbal palsy sat down and said, "I'm on Hina's side here. Being Lame is pretty cruddy." And then we all laughed, but the other person huffed off. I'm bad for playing the the word lame. I once said, "Your argument is lame because it's invalid. And an invalid is what one calls a person who is lame." I have a lot of friends with disabilities and they enjoy my humour.

But yeah, people shouldn't make excuses for the stupid stuff their kids say. Either set them straight, or make excuses. Hypocrisy does not work.

On a similar but different topic, a guest the other evening asked me about working night shift. I informed him that I work only nights, so I don't get out much during the day.

Guest= Oh, so that's why you're, like, vampircally pale?
Me=....I have anemia.

His girlfriend gasped, grabbed him arm, and dragged him away. Even down the hall I could hear her say, "You idiot, she has a blood disease!!!"

People comment on my pallor a lot. When I set them straight they get really uncomfortable and leave. No one ever apologizes. I'm not sure if they think I'll be offended or they think that my anemia is contagious. o.O

[grokit]

I'm saving up for an engagement ring for my girl too, and she's trying to get one for me. <3

Seriously, does she reeeally think she's fooling anyone?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning...3Kruger_effect <-- As posted by someone else on here recently.

[C. Cecil Ivanish]

People comment on my pallor a lot. When I set them straight they get really uncomfortable and leave. No one ever apologizes. I'm not sure if they think I'll be offended or they think that my anemia is contagious. o.O

I don't know.
I'm personally guilty of a similar faux-pas (with a friend who is hard of hearing).
When I apologised to him for having hurt his feelings (he hadn't heard me talking to him from behind his back and I asked him, in a good-natured way, "Oi Fab, are you deaf?" only to be shot by a "Actually yes, I am") he seemed even more insulted. He told me something like "It is not a handicap or anything, I lead a very normal life, you don't have to be sorry for me". Pointing out that I was not sorry for him being hard of hearing but for having joked about it, he kept complaining... so I am usually pretty careful about apologising - and even more about any possible faux-pas, to be honest.

[Magpie]

While I agree with correcting kids for saying inappropriate things, no matter what their age, I do feel that it's important to get less offended when someone who's too young to understand what they're saying says something inappropriate. When did 14-year-olds start falling into that category? I expect my girls starting at 8-10 to be able to watch what they say, and to avoid saying things that could be offensive. You don't have to think that there's something wrong with it, you just need to understand that some people would be offended, and that's enough reason to not say it.

[ShootMePlease]

I'm mortified by the way some kids act anymore. Not surprised. Mortified. I admit I wasn't Polly Purebred but I never acted the way some of these kids do. Whatever happened to respect and decency ?

On a side note, congrats on your upcoming engagement, Rugsrat !!

[EvilEmpryss]

Guest= Oh, so that's why you're, like, vampircally pale?
Me=.....

I'm preparing now for Halloween. I'm going to spread glitter all over my body and go as a Twilight vampire. My boyfriend's going topless so he can be a werewolf.

[Marmalady]

'Cracker' is defined in the dictionary as derogatory, so I could supposedly go-after someone for calling me that

I'm interested to know that - here in the UK, to refer to someone (or something) as a 'cracker' actually denotes the opposite, to say that someone is a cracker means they're very good looking. Or we might say 'that was a cracking meal we had last night' - thank heavens I didn't use it on here before finding out...