Yeah, okay, I’m a sucker.
I accepted that guy’s super late and ‘hey you’ email.  It didn’t change the outcome so I didn’t have to bother with a change-o-grade form.  But, it’s done and graded.   I’m hoping that he’ll learn a non-existant lesson to be more considerate to adjuncts in the future, but who am I kidding?

I didn’t tell him that.   I’d rather make him go through the extra clicks to see that his grade didn’t change and he wasted the precious fifteen minutes to create the dern thing.  So, there.    Ha ha.  My pathetic attempt at revenge.

Kind of an interesting thing happened.

Baby bro and I went to the gym.  Pretty routine, cept it was fairly busy since it was mid-morning on a Saturday.    We were in the stretching area with a couple of other people.   It’s really kind of a small area and there’s not enough room for people to play with the balance balls and yoga mats, but people try anyway.

Well, there were four men there.   Two of them where about the same age.   One was a little older and the fourth was older still.   The two youngest had matching hairstyles.   They had the beard/hair combo.   You know, when the beard and head hair connect.  The slightly older one had the same type of beard/hair combo, but the hair over his forehead had a little curl to it while the others were straight.  The oldest guy had a beard too but was mostly bald.  His beard didn’t connect to his hair unless it looped behind his ears.   I didn’t look that hard.

Anyway, they were all doing floor stretches.  When the smartphone sounded a bell, all the men would switch their exercises in unison.  It was really kind of uncanny to watch.

I guess I should mention here that they where all Indian.   Indian, not like Native Americans, but Indian as from India.  Indians are pretty common around here.  A lot of them work for the local big-company around here.   From what I’ve heard, the company has no problems bringing over entire families.  (Have you ever seen an Indian wedding?   I have partially.  I saw the outside part.   It was really festive.  I was actually impressed for a moment.)

This white guy, maybe in his mid to late 30s, comes in and walks directly down the middle of the four stretching guys.  Light brown hair was cropped short and he had blue eyes. He was clean shaven. No stubble anywhere on his chin and cheeks.

——–   Don’t ask why I was paying attention to everyone’s hair.  I have no idea.

This guy gets a yoga mat thing and pretends to lay it down right in the middle of the Indian guys.    With a weird grin, he said that he was going to stretch in the middle of them so they ‘could worship him.’

The guy flashes me a smile, winks, and proceeds to one of the stretch machine things.

I just couldn’t help but endure a five-round stun.  First thought – toxic masculinity.
–   Which probably isn’t right.   Would that be an example of white entitlement?

Or did this guy really think he was being funny?
Given today’s social climate, how could something like that be considered remotely appropriate?

The younger Indians gave the guy a pity laugh.   The other two scowled, ready to attack.  I think it’s safe to assume that the men didn’t know each other and why did the guy wink at me?    I was the only female there.   Did that have something to do with it?   Did it matter that I’m white?   Well, I consider myself freckled more than white, but freckled isn’t widely recognized as an option.

What did I just witness there?
For some reason, I found the entire thing unnerving.

Should I have?

In a minute or two after the white guy uttered his ‘worship’ line, he left.  Baby bro and I left a little after him.   The four Indians kept stretching, subsequently changing positions with each bell ding from the phone.

At one point, years and years ago, would the white guy have stayed?  Maybe said something else?  Would the older of the Indians got up and decked the white guy?  Why didn’t he now?   Why did the older Indians look pissed while the younger ones tried to laugh it off?   Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

I mean, if the older generation is supposed to be more accustomed to the whole white-cracker dominance, should the bald guy have laughed instead and the younger guys be more offended?   Or maybe the younger Indians took instant pity on the poor obnoxious white guy?

I guess I’m thinking too much about this, but it’s kind of fascinating.
What if the scene changed a little and the white guy was wearing a MAGA hat or the Indian men were Indian women?  Would I have had an urge to deck the white guy if he suggested, even jokingly, that women (regardless of their ethnicity) worship him or would I have just lowered my eyes?

Personally, I hope that I would smack the guy.  But, I’d hope that my baby brother would have reached him first.

It’s just…  weird.

I don’t know.
What do you think?