I recently did a Who Remembers Video about manners because when you meet some of the younger generation today, I really want to know if the concept was lost on some of them. I was quickly reminded this Carnival season, that it’s not just the young children. Some of the older folks are hardly any different. This I got to see firsthand when Georgia was recently crawling with island people for Atlanta Carnival 2018: folks with little to no home training were abound.

Year: 2018
Place: Atlanta, Georgia

No Home Training

Excuse Me is a Common Courtesy

So, as I mentioned in my previous post about Atlanta Carnival, I took my daughter to the Children’s Parade at Salem Park. There was a huge field where the troupes were performing and we went to take a closer look since we had missed most of them walking for the parade.

There was no barrier that prevented people from just walking onto the field or blocking any views. Frankly, when we got over there, there were only a few other people standing on that side looking on at the parade. So imagine my surprise when out of nowhere, some people just walked in front of us and started taking pictures of the troupe on the field.

No ‘excuse me’ or ‘I just want to get a pic right quick’. Just walked right up and blocked our view without as much as a word. Mind you, this is a huge field with plenty of room for anybody who wanted to watch the troupes. Plus, my daughter is 3, so they could’ve stood behind her and took the pics because she is not blocking any views.

But lo and behold, I remembered that there are just some island folks with no manners and no class. Others followed suite and started walking up in front of us (I assumed they were all together). I just kindly took my daughter by the hand and to the playground. By that point, she was over it and just wanted to play. And I stepped away with not a word to the rude onlookers because I’ve learned some things/people just ain’t worth the time of day.

How can you have a civil conversation with someone that lacks the common courtesy of an excuse me and would block the view of a 3-year-old? I mean she’s small, but not invisible. There was no way that they didn’t see her there. Look at them in the pic I took when they stood in front of us. Do you really think they know anything about civility?

Mind Your Own Business

Moving on to our day at the VI picnic. There is an expression that comes to mind. All in the Kool-Aid and don’t know the flavor.

There I was ‘minding my own business’, walking in the VI Picnic with my little cousin who is one years old, but kinda small for her age. I was holding her because obviously she is a lot lighter than my  own daughter who is two years older. Oh, and did I happen to mention I have a baby bump. YES. This island gurl is preggers, but we’ll leave that post for another day.

Anyways, so we were walking back to our spot in the park and as I walk by, this guy mentions to the people he was standing with: “Look at that kno’, the baby ain’t even one and she don’ carrying another one.”

Now, as I had already experienced from the prior week, island folks with no home training were abound. In that instance, especially holding my little cousin, I mustered up my ability to control my mouth and emotions and kept it moving.

I’m also glad that I had taken a shortcut from my mother and friend who were walking back with me because when I got back and told them, their first reaction was ‘Who said that?’ Like, there were ready to go throw some words back at the fella.

I told them don’t worry about it, it’s just island folks talking. But, I found it amusing.

Clearly, his conversation skills are out of whack if the only thing he could find to talk about is a random pregnant woman that walks by. Plus, how are you going to talk about somebody when you don’t know their situation? And lastly, even if the baby had been mines, what business of it is his to speak on it.

I Heart Island People

I could make excuses and say that maybe the first set of people, really didn’t see me and my daughter standing there. Maybe it could be hard to miss a woman with a huge tummy and w 3-year old in the middle of an open field.

Then, maybe the guy who talked about what he didn’t know mistook me for someone else. Or he could’ve been some scrub that I turned down or didn’t give the time of day when I lived back home.

Who knows? I could give them all the benefit of the doubt. Maybe.

But one thing is for sure. There are some things I miss about back home and other things I don’t. This just happens to be one of latter.

 

 

 

Have you ever experienced anything like this? Is there a common behavior where you’re from that just shows some people’s lack of home training? Share your experience in the comments.