Hypocritical

Seldom do I use this word.

This pleasant but rather wind chilly afternoon, I went to BodyPump at the local gym. Unbeknownst to me, it was inanely packed upon my 5 minute early entrance to the class. I stood around for ten seconds just looking for a tight space to squeeze myself into. As soon as I spotted one up, I quickly put my bottle and towel to somewhat ‘reserve’ the space.

Immediately after my eyes darted left to the nearest stack of equipment in the corner of the room. Two platforms remained, however no platform raisers were there. Usually, it is most comfortable to have four platform raisers. So, my eyes darted right to the other stack of equipment, furthest from the door, and usually abundant. Nevertheless, with the class populated nearly to overcrowding, they were dwindling, and rapidly. When I managed to dart around, there were two piles separated by about a metre. I logically went first for the pile of three, then intended to top it up with the one remaining. Obviously I had made it in the nick of time.

A cunning lady, a foot shorter than I, snuck in behind me and summed up the situation for more quickly than I, and snatched the remaining platform raiser. She then turned to me, and basically assumed I would generously offer her one. Of course I wouldn’t.

Her tone rapidly changed from assuming I would give it to her, and skipped asking politely, and directly went on to guilting me into why I needed four. “What do you need four for?” My kinesiology was running through my mind, I could have given her the proper biomechanical answer if there was time. I was stuck for words.

I just thought to myself, “Fine. It’s only for a set or two anyway,” but I was absolutely nonplussed about her sense of ‘bargaining’ with me. I was about to label her racist and tell her to fuck off, but I could not justify that rapidly enough in my mind. I just handed her one and shook my head.

As I took five steps past that incident, this apparently do-gooding girl, a foot and a half shorter than I, said in a condescending whine, “When it’s this busy, you’ve gotta share.” That was ridiculous. I spun around and stated “Look at what you’ve got.” I think she replied that ‘That’s not the point,’ or something along those lines, because I knew it wasn’t the primary point of disagreement. But it was still valid as a secondary consequence. Quite literally, if she thought she was so noble in telling me what to do, she should have offered the lady (old deprived hag) two of her own raisers. I was going to call her racist too.

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The main thing from this, is why I need to learn to think faster. I can do it when examined, I can do it when I am prepared for the pressure. Spontaneously, my wit is not fast enough to generate irrefutable comebacks. I need to remember that you do NOT need to be nice to people, despite how genuine their claims are. Because within, you know that they would not do the same for you. The same applies for administering first aid to a stranger…

Harden up, Matthew.

Also, I slipped in two racist thoughts there. GW is becoming ever increasingly Asianised, and I can only imagine the disdain that brings upon the ‘whites’. Not so much a problem with younger generations, however with the old lady who snatched the last remaining step, I could see it written all over her face, in the tone of her voice, and body language. It’s an obscure one, but having been subject to it in previous eons, it’s just apparent.

Also, I never call people hypocritical because I know that I am too. However, I accept this and stay out of other people’s business as much as possible, as if preventing myself being implicated in a hypocritical way. It is quite a sad thought but now I always must remind myself to assume the worst in people I don’t know, until proven otherwise.