Weird social crap
So one part of my trip back from NYC: Boarding the plane in Westchester, I noticed a young woman in line whose face seemed very familiar to me. I thought I knew it from Dartmouth. I'm pretty sure she recognized me as being from Dartmouth, too. She was in the official WASP wife uniform: pearl stud earrings, some cute little pink cardigan. Neat, straight hair. Quintessential picture of an affluent white Ivy League woman. Any way, what caught me was that she regularly avoided meeting my eye. I'm pretty sure she recognized me, but seemed not to want me to walk up to her and ask "your face seems familiar, were you in my class?".
So I wonder why. Was it me? Sure, I was a bit eccentric back then. Big deal, that was almost 10 years ago. And it's not like she knew me well enough to have a valid opinion, given that I'm not 100% sure of her name.Or do people just not want to talk to each other? What's it gonna do to her to be approached by a guy who went to her college? Just makes me wonder. Or maybe it's the dreaded conversation with a classmate, in which one has to play the "Are you being as successful as you're supposed to?" game. The alumni magazine doesnt write articles on alums who have discovered inner peace through a simple life and honest work. They write up discoveries, public accomplishment and professional (read financial) success. So maybe people don't wanna talk because they don't want to have to do that comparison thing. Life isn't a competitive sport. Although, I certainly don't act that way. Perhaps then it's that success in life isn't a zero sum game. Everyone can win. Though not everyone can be president or CEO of IBM. Only one at a time there. Some one is and everyone else isn't. O maybe that's it. At the level we're "supposed" to achieve at, it all is a zero sum game. Smile smile and stab stab.
As one of my classmates pointed out, if MBA students in the US can't get along, what chance have we for world peace? In other words, if folks with so much in common can't see fit to interact cordially, how can we expect folks with little in common to get along? Undermines faith in humanity. When an Ivy League chic won't say hi to a classmate in in airport, the world is in sad shape.
Today we're off to Yosemite with Jamie & Anna Kate. They've never been.
So I wonder why. Was it me? Sure, I was a bit eccentric back then. Big deal, that was almost 10 years ago. And it's not like she knew me well enough to have a valid opinion, given that I'm not 100% sure of her name.Or do people just not want to talk to each other? What's it gonna do to her to be approached by a guy who went to her college? Just makes me wonder. Or maybe it's the dreaded conversation with a classmate, in which one has to play the "Are you being as successful as you're supposed to?" game. The alumni magazine doesnt write articles on alums who have discovered inner peace through a simple life and honest work. They write up discoveries, public accomplishment and professional (read financial) success. So maybe people don't wanna talk because they don't want to have to do that comparison thing. Life isn't a competitive sport. Although, I certainly don't act that way. Perhaps then it's that success in life isn't a zero sum game. Everyone can win. Though not everyone can be president or CEO of IBM. Only one at a time there. Some one is and everyone else isn't. O maybe that's it. At the level we're "supposed" to achieve at, it all is a zero sum game. Smile smile and stab stab.
As one of my classmates pointed out, if MBA students in the US can't get along, what chance have we for world peace? In other words, if folks with so much in common can't see fit to interact cordially, how can we expect folks with little in common to get along? Undermines faith in humanity. When an Ivy League chic won't say hi to a classmate in in airport, the world is in sad shape.
Today we're off to Yosemite with Jamie & Anna Kate. They've never been.
posted by Kenneth at 8:45 AM
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