People Watching - edited & toned down a bit

SOAPBOX ALERT!!!

Recently I spent a few hours at our fair city's juvenile & domestic relations court. Even though I was called as a witness by finding a summons officially & professionally jammed in my screen door, I didn't end up having to testify. This is probably a good thing, as I can famously put my foot in my mouth on occasion, although I think (I hope) I wouldn't have blurted in this instance. But, I tell you, I was ready for it. All week, I had rehearsed how I would answer any question put to me. I was eloquent, I tell ya.

And, luckily for the young child involved, he is now back in the arms of the people who will love him & keep him safe.

But there was all that time in the waiting room. We've all been in enough waiting rooms to know that a distraction is needed. I didn't think that sitting there singing to myself was such a good idea. I believe there was another court down the hall for that kind of thing. And I didn't bring along anything to read, so I started watching the people coming & going through the lofty halls of justice. I think I even slouched down in my seat with my arms crossed so I could observe unobtrusively with lowered eyes. It was fun.

Well, I take that back. It wasn't fun. It was very disheartening & discouraging.

You: "Why?"

Me: "Because of what I saw"

You: "What did you see?"

Me: "Well, let me just tell you . . ."

I was struck, I tell you, STRUCK by seeing people appearing before a court of law who showed absolutely no respect at all for the situation they found themselves in.

I saw people who showed no respect for themselves.

I saw people who made no attempt to even try to present themselves in a positive light.

And this included some of the lawyers.

Let me elaborate:

• People who looked like they just rolled out of bed and put on whatever rags they could find. Some didn't even brush their hair. Now, I know that poverty isn't uncommon amongst the denizens of the court system, but to make no attempt to look presentable? That I don't get.
  
• Young men of all colors who looked like they just came from their gang's street corner - oversized shirts, pants halfway down their butt, underwear hanging out, swaggering down the hall.
• Women who opted to put on the tightest clothes they could find. Unfortunately, most of them had also chosen to eat the worst things they could find, so their 'ample' curves were bulging & bursting around the seams. It was kind of like not being able to stop staring at an accident scene. I was kind of ashamed of myself.
  
• Female lawyers dressed for a date instead of the courtroom, with spiked high heels.

What the hell??!!

I realize that everyone has their story. I am talking generalities here. But of all the times you would want to take a little extra effort, it seems to me that having to appear before a judge would be it. What happened to respect? Or am I such an oddball because I wouldn't dream of showing up looking like any of the above?

Wait, let me think on that . . . .

Nope, I may be odd, but I'm not THAT odd.

It was an eye-opening experience that left me pretty disgusted.