Age-ism?

Today I went out in the field with a co worker. On the way back we had to stop and get gas. We stopped at the gas station and we were just about done when a car with three teenage boys drove up. Or should I say, attempted to drive up. Their car died out with a sputter and they had to push it back and forward to get it to line up with the gas pump. One boy ran in and paid. I heard him come out and say he put $3 in.


I thought the whole thing was rather comical. I remember being a goofy teenager and running out of gas once. I wish I would have actually been AT the gas station when it happened!

My co-worker on the other hand was looking at them with loathing in her eyes. With total hate and disgust on her face. I couldn’t believe that someone would feel that way about a bunch of kids. What had they done wrong? Sure they were a bunch of goofy teenagers that just ran out of gas. One had his hat on backwards. One had a tattoo down his forearm. One had a thin line of facial hair along his jaw line. They were all laughing. No one was threatening in any way. They were just three teen boys out having fun.

She had quite a few choice words to say about them. Some of which were “look at how they dress, like children”. They were wearing jeans, t-shirts and ball caps. I told her that’s how all kids dress. What does she want them to be wearing khaki’s and polo’s? People just don’t dress like that around here unless they have a job or school uniform that requires it.

Maybe it was some kind of deep seeded feeling from something that made her feel so strongly about them. To make her feel like they were the scum of the earth. I hope no one ever looks at my son that way when he's a teenager out with his friends.