As we discussed a bit in this thread,(see posts #43 and 49), young kids (from 6 or 7 up to teenagers) will sometimes yell stuff at adults. It surprises me when kids do that, and I not sure what to do about it. My response yesterday when some kids walking home from school yelled, “Hey, do you like Slurpees?” at me (not horrible or anything, just stupid) was to ignore them.
I don’t know any of these kids; I assume they’re neighbourhood kids since they’re walking home from a local school. Is there a better response for this kind of thing, or is ignoring them the best way to go?
Yelling something stupid? Ignore completely. Yelling something threatening/sexual/nasty? I’d take a quick pic of them with my cellular phone and either give that to the police or post it up on a sign at the local grocery that says “Do you know this child or the parent of this child? Please advise them that yelling obscenities at people is rude and not tolerated in this community.”
Then again, I live in a fairly small community where probably within hours of a posting like that the parents would know about it and do some appropriate ass kicking.
For me it depends on the intent. If they’re being silly, I’m silly enough to answer back sometimes, with a good natured tone. It doesn’t actually bother me anymore if they’re laughing at me or with me.
If they’re being little shits, I’ll either ignore them or tell them to get lost or, yes, call the cops (if there’s property damage or physical danger immanent). There was one kid egging cars who I scared the pants off of once by leaning out of my window and yelling, “Tell your mom I’ll call her later!” No, I didn’t know his mother, I didn’t even know who he was or where he lived, but he didn’t know that for sure. He dropped the eggs and ran, with his compatriots tearing after and laughing at him.
I cooked the intact eggs for dinner, by the way. Waste not, and all.
I live right next to a big outdoor shopping center that is THE place for tweens and teens to hang out on Friday and Saturday nights. Without fail, my roommate and I need to go to the grocery store just about every week on one of those nights and even further without fail, there are tons of stupid kids running around in the grocery store.
Being stupid teenagers, they are regularly running around the store (trying to get away from security), screeching, giggling, and bugging grown ups there to do boring grown up things like buy laundry detergent.
One time we were there buying alcohol for something (woo hoo college!) and a group of three giggly teen age girls (I’d pin them at about 14) with bodies stuffed like sausages in too small clothes and tons of whore make up on came up to us. Now, I’d already seen these girls bothering random people all around the store, so my tolerance was low. “Um, like, giggle giggle giggle like um, um like, do like um, eggs come from chickens? giggle giggle giggle I just like um, wanna like um, know where like um, eggs come from giggle giggle giggle” My friends sort of just stared at them, but I figured I’d nip this little problem in the butt.
Now, the mature thing to do would be to ignore the slutted out child, but I am only 21 so I don’t have to be mature yet. I looked at her, smiled sweetly and said, “Um, like, the same place annoying little teenage girls come from! giggle giggle giggle Hey honey, it’s almost 10- shouldn’t you be waiting out by the curb for your mommy? I mean, I’d hate for the cops to bust you for being out past curfew! giggle giggle giggle” She and her little posse rolled their eyes and left the store, only to get stopped at the door by security. As we were leaving about 20 minutes later, we saw the little angels sitting on the curb, next to a cop,waiting for mom to come get them.
Something similar that sometimes happens to me: teenagers and young adults who are in cars and yell at me as I walk down the street. Most of the time I can’t understand what they are saying. But, why do they do it? It is usually a car with several male teenagers or young adult males, who, for some reason, must think it is fun. And, no, I am not particularly unusual looking…
Here there’s a fad of kids to prove how outgoing and random they are by yelling shit at adults in cars. One kid (they really are punks, in the truest sense of the word, in that they have nothing better to do with their lives than annoy other people) yelled something at me one time about my car. Don’t get me wrong, my car is a piece of shit, but hey, at least I have one, right?
I was in the process of parallel parking, so I just stopped and gave him the raised eyebrow. He blushed and went away.
I think the whole thing was sorta “Well, at least I’m old enough to drive a car…”
Kids do this to me all the time and I either roll my eyes at them or make a smartass remark, if it comes to me fast enough. Although one time I did make some teenagers cry at a Wal-Mart. Not like it’s hard to make emo kids cry or anything, but damn if they didn’t just pick me on the wrong day. They were making fun of me as I walked up with a cigarette…not sure if they thought I was like their age and cared, or what. But I sighed this huge sigh of suffering and told them that next time they cut their wrists, cut deeper. All three of the burst into tears. I really hope they didn’t take my advice.
I’m a man, but if I’d been in your dainty garden shoes, I’d have given a gesture like brushing crumbs off a table as I told the one with the mouth, “Go on witcher own bad self.”
The kid was telling his friends he was a tough guy, almost a man. He was telling you, “By the way, you’re looking good, mama,” in his rude-boy way. A 16-year old thinks you’re a hottie, for what that’s worth.
I deal with this at my apartment building. Kids ran amok here, and they congregate on the steps by the entryway. The teen guys will just kind of stare or say, “Hi” as I walk by. When I pass them, they’ll hoot and whistle at my back. I ignore them. The ones that approach me at night when I’m carrying groceries and offer to ‘help’ with that, I look straight at them and say, “No, I’ve got it.” I don’t break eye contact until they look or walk away.
The younger ones aren’t bad, I usually say ‘Hi’ back, or ‘Have fun’ or something like that.
As I said in the other thread, mostly I just ignore them. Depending on what they are saying or how many there are it can be uncomfortable though.
Very rarely, I come back with a smart remark but I’m not often quick on the draw (out of practice I suppose, I used to be faster on the draw when I lived with a guy who would trade zingers as a matter of course).
Well, nothing. What is to be gained by gaining the upper hand over a kid or a teenager? Will they recount your ripping riposte over milkshakes at the Chocklit Shoppe? Doubt it. Teens have those raging hormones, and a lack of impulse control. They will yell or catcall… well, just because they have to. To quote Jerry Seinfeld, “It’s part of their lifestyle.”
Now, if they are especially rude or disrespectful, you might want to involve yourself - insult them back, stare them down, threaten to call the cops. One or two things will happen. One, they’ll back down and leave/mouth off some more. It’s over. Two, it will escalate, and teens with too much time on their hands might decide to egg your car, curse at you some more, make a daily stop at your place for their amusement… and so on. Again, weigh the risks. Are you willing to expend time watching out for these turds?
If they are menacing and threatening, by all means call the police. Get a description of the jerks and the car they’re driving.
Generally your best bet is to ignore it. They are literally trying to get a rise out of you, so when you respond, you’ve just entered the game. Refuse to play as much as you can. They’re just kids, and if a kid wants to yell “Smegface!” at me as they drive by, oh well. I’ve got more important things to worry about.
They did yell something sexual/nasty when they yelled “Do you like Slurpees?” The idea is to get some clueless person (usually a woman) to engage in a conversaton that is innocuous to her but has a sexual meaning to them, and then laugh at what a dumbshit she is. Same thing as if you’re asked if you like laffy taffy.
Which is why, IMO, ignoring them is almost always the best option. They may not be saying what you think they’re saying, if they are using some song lyric or street slang that you don’t know, you ancient old person you. You may think you are responding politely to an innocent question, but really they are disrespecting you and you’re letting them. Better to sail by with nose in the air, IMO.
OK, I’ll admit to not being the sharpest banana in the chandelier sometimes, but are you using the “do you like slurpees” and “laffy taffy” things as silly examples? Or do those actually have some sexual meaning I’m unaware of? FWIW, I LOVE slurpees and laffy taffy. I feel so dirty!
BTW, about a month ago I was riding my bike and some guy/teen/someone leaned out his car window and yelled out “I CAN SEE YOUR ASS!” to me. I was baffled and still am. I’m not skinny, but I’m not huge in the ass, either. I was wearing shorts with enough coverage so my ass wasn’t hanging out. I didn’t know if it was an insult or a compliment or what, so I decided it’s a compliment. After I told that to my neighbor/friend, he now greets me by shouting I CAN SEE YOUR ASS! every time we meet, which is an added bonus.
It took me a while after I moved to grok that kids here are still basically kids, unlike the junior gangbangers and thugs I was used to in CA. I rarely have problems with the younger set and the little trouble I get is usually quelled by a stern look and use of “mom voice” to deliver a sarcastic comment. Most of the kids in my neighborhood are fairly well behaved and know that their parents will give them what-for if a grownup feels it necessary to make a complaint about the behavior of their offspring. Since my grandson visits quite often I’m pretty well known to most of the neighborhood kids, if only by reputation.
These are not silly examples, they are hip-hop references that have given the terms “sexual meanings yo’re unaware of.” If you responded to the inquiry by saying “I LOVE slurpees and laffy taffy!” they would have laughed their asses off. (A “slurpee” is a blow-job; “laffy taffy” is women’s labia.)
Laffy Taffy is slang from a rap song that means droopy inner labia that hang down farther than the outer labia. The song goes, “Shake that Laffy Taffy.” Yeah. Ew. :eek:
And on edit I see that I’m late. My bad!
And **Shirley Ujest **, of course! BFF! That said, I’m going to admit something shameful now: it was probably two years before I got your username. Yeah, I’m dumb. I still love you anyway, though!
I just assume that I have no idea what kids are talking about; it’s served me well so far. And these aren’t always teenagers yelling - this bunch were grade school kids, I would say. I was just about to go for a walk; maybe I should have gone for a walk behind them. I have a feeling that would have freaked them out a little, especially if I followed them right to their house.
Well fuck 'em, I DO love slurpees and laffy taffy. Oh, the sugar and bad jokes!
At any rate, I stand by my post. If it’s something stupid (and I put the slurpee and laffy taffy in that category) I’d ignore it entirely. That way they don’t get the satisfaction of getting any rise out of you at all. Anything I perceive as hostile/nasty/rude/sexual I would do as stated above.
Damnit. I could seriously go for some laffy taffy. I’ll leave it up to YOU sickos to figure out what kind. Woo!
I really hope they didn’t take my advice.
I still love you anyway, though!