it's a cultural thing
I am amazed by the number of New Yorkers who chew gum with their mouths wide open.
As a child in the Midwest I was taught that it was impolite and grotesque. As teenagers we made fun of those who couldn't figure out how to keep their lips together when they chewed. But here in New York, on the subway, in stores and on the streets, I am treated on a daily basis to someone smacking, gurgling and panting their way through a giant wad of gum like a dog with an impossible chunk of gristly beef.
Forget about those who crack and pop their gum with the repetition of a nervous tick, I'm just talking about those who chew there heads off, mouths wide open, teeth, gums and tongue on display, accompanied by more sounds than feeding time at the zoo. It crosses social and economic lines. Yesterday, a handsome, well appointed young man in a suite who got on the train at Wall Street slouched in his subway seat and gnawed his way through his gum wad like Mr. Ed.
Several years ago, I mentioned my disgust in the presence of a coworker at the Upper East Side private elementary school where I use to teach. She ran a program that helped place lower income children in New York private schools, and was particularly sensitive to prejudices against and misunderstandings of the families she aided.
"It's a cultural thing," she commented, with a nonverbal warning that I was treading on disrespect. For a second, I was afraid to comment further, but then I realized I wasn't off base.
"From what I've noticed in Chinatown," I replied politely," so is clearing your sinuses without a handkerchief. But that doesn't make it any more attractive."
As a child in the Midwest I was taught that it was impolite and grotesque. As teenagers we made fun of those who couldn't figure out how to keep their lips together when they chewed. But here in New York, on the subway, in stores and on the streets, I am treated on a daily basis to someone smacking, gurgling and panting their way through a giant wad of gum like a dog with an impossible chunk of gristly beef.
Forget about those who crack and pop their gum with the repetition of a nervous tick, I'm just talking about those who chew there heads off, mouths wide open, teeth, gums and tongue on display, accompanied by more sounds than feeding time at the zoo. It crosses social and economic lines. Yesterday, a handsome, well appointed young man in a suite who got on the train at Wall Street slouched in his subway seat and gnawed his way through his gum wad like Mr. Ed.
Several years ago, I mentioned my disgust in the presence of a coworker at the Upper East Side private elementary school where I use to teach. She ran a program that helped place lower income children in New York private schools, and was particularly sensitive to prejudices against and misunderstandings of the families she aided.
"It's a cultural thing," she commented, with a nonverbal warning that I was treading on disrespect. For a second, I was afraid to comment further, but then I realized I wasn't off base.
"From what I've noticed in Chinatown," I replied politely," so is clearing your sinuses without a handkerchief. But that doesn't make it any more attractive."
2 Comments:
A guy on the street today spit. It was pretty crowded on the street. His saliva stream landed right by my foot, but could just as easily have hit someone on their clothing. Pig.
I know what you mean about the gum thing. A Wall Street dude did the same thing while sitting next to me a couple of months ago. Smack slurp smack smack. Mouth wide open. It was so disgusting I actually got up and moved.
It's kind of big thing with the young'ns these days to have a big wad of gum in their mouths, like the chewing tobacco of the Urban Cowboy era. I notice it a lot in music videos and get grossed out. But just talking this way makes me feel old!
Poppu in SF
Post a Comment
<< Home