These Snowflakes Are All Alike

The old adage that no two snowflakes are alike is true about the ones that fall from the sky, but the other kind -- people who became young adults in the 2010s -- are all cookie-cutter reproductions. I recently felt the sting of one of those, and found her to be like the other members of her generation: easily offended, overly sensitive, emotionally fragile and unabashedly self-righteous. 

This one was a receptionist at a professional organization where I went for a job interview as a writer/editor. About 28 or 30 years old, she was wildly out of character for the position, with long, wild hair, tattoos covering both arms and on her neck, lots of sparkly bling and piercings, and a very low-cut blouse that showcased her cleavage and an ample bosom that was all but spilling out. An unbuttoned cardigan sweater over her blouse added to the studied outfit. She looked great and I told her so, greeting her with,"You look fabulous! You look ready to go out clubbing!"

She thanked me for the compliment, almost gushing as she said, "Oh well, I just threw this on and came to work."

My meeting went well and the two people I would be working with walked me to the front door. We all greeted the receptionist, and I again said, "She looks great, doesn't she look ready to go clubbing?" They agreed, and she laughed. Then I thought better of my comment and said, "Oops, maybe that's not a good thing at work?" Shrugging, she said," Oh well, what can I do?" I was only half-joking when I said, "You could always button up that sweater."

I forgot the incident by the time I reached my car in the parking lot. Then this morning, the man I had met with called. He began by saying how much he had enjoyed our meeting and looked forward to us working together. The he got to the reason for the call. After I left, the receptionist had gone crying to her supervisor to "report" my "telling her to button up." Apparently she was quite upset about it!

It reminded me of an incident last weekend, when a woman of roughly the same age was offended as I tried to reach my seat at the theater. Instead of moving to let me pass, she remained with her legs stretched out, then said innocently, "Oh, are you trying to get by?" I answered laughingly, "Or else I'll have to sit in your lap!"  Both she and her date were horrified. The guy said, "That's a very rude comment!" I was confused  and surprised and he repeated it, all but shaking his pudgy finger at me.

I'm telling you, the day they killed Joan Rivers ten years ago, comedy died with her. I wonder, do young people even laugh anymore?