Monday, February 04, 2008

Rise up Against the Dummies


It's a sad fact of life that stupid people exist. You know the type, the ignorant morons who just assume crap and vomit out whatever random nonsense comes into their heads. It's kind of a waste, really. We could use such people for more useful things like propping open doors, or construct book shelves by making two dumbasses hold a plank of wood between them. We could even burn them for fuel, thus solving the crisis of non-renewable energy because stupid people are quite plentiful. Unfortunately, all of the above is illegal, and stupidos are free to roam our planet.

My good Irish-married-to-a-Greek friend, who I shall call Mary for privacy, recently had the luxury of a spa day with her hubby at a place called Evexia in Patision. Mary has been in Greece the same time as me and is quite proficient in Greek because her in-laws speak no English. When she and her hubby were done with their treatments, they were taken into a room where a fakity fake over made up woman tried to sell them more beauty treatments. Let's call her Janice for fun.

And there in that room Janice decided to embark on one of the worst sale techniques I have ever heard of. Not realising that Mary understands Greek, she addressed her husband on why they should buy more spa treatments and it went something like: "I mean look at her skin. God only knows what she's going to look like in 10 years. You should do something about it now!"

Mary was appalled and humiliated and I was appalled on her behalf which is why I decided to name and shame the spa, EVEXIA in PATISION - DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR BUSINESS!

I had a somewhat similar experience on Saturday night when I was on a flight back to Athens. I took the window seat, Mr Zeus took the middle seat and next to him sat a Greek woman. She was in her 30s and petite, which as I learnt is the perfect size for the fascistaki that she turned out to be.

Whiling away the time before take-off, I listened to her talking a friend about so and so who was married to a Japanese woman. And then she said, in Greek: "I really don't like seeing Greek men with foreign women. I mean, it really really bothers me. These women should stick to their own kind. We have or ways, our traditions which foreign women don't understand. They just come here and spoil things. They make people unhappy."

I looked at Mr Zeus, shocked and convinced that I had mistranslated. I hadn't. Yes, she was THAT stupid. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but to express those views with a very visible foreign woman sat one seat away and a French-married-to-a-Greek in the row in front of you is just plain stupid. She put the cherry on the cake when she was flipping through the in-flight magazine and said " Vasiliiiiiiii... where is Strasbourg?"

Stupid cow. So remember, dummies, wherever in the world you may be; don't try to hide behind a foreign language you just assumed the people around you don't understand. All that will do is make you look more ignorant and the likes of me and Mary look smarter.

Image: http://www.northernsun.com/images/thumb/0826.jpg

3 comments:

Marilyn said...

I'm sort of speechless. I know stupidity like that exists, I just forget sometimes...

A hilarious and entertaining post, though ultimately quite disturbing.

-MF

sokalia said...

Aaaah, you just reminded me one of the (many) reasons why me, a born-and-raised Greek, suddenly got up and left 18 months ago. The simplemindedness, the stereotypes, and the sheer racism of some of my fellow Greeks never fails to amaze me...and shame me. So, those women thought they could just talk shit and no harm done, right? Well, they should shut the hell up!! As for the "I really don't like seeing Greek men with foreign women. These women should stick to their own kind" kind of business, sorry to break it to you hon, but those Greek men are better off with the foreign women than being with little arrogant racist you!!

Sorry for getting so worked up about this, but it seriously, seriously bothers me that they are like that..and being kinda in your place but in reverse (a foreigner living in my non-Greek boyfriend's country), I can't help but be overly sensitive to racist remarks about "ways and traditions" and "foreigners who mess it up by mixing with our own people", regardless if they're made by Greeks or non-Greeks. I just hope you never encounter a situation like this, and even if you do (knocks on wood), that you will be able to give a witty comeback (preferably in Greek, that should shut them up faster)Stay strong!

GeekGoddess said...

She wasn't stupid. Sorry to put it like this but Greek women who talk like that in public are power-tripping and know exactly what they're doing. I would feel sorry for her.