I wish I could be one of those women who giggles and changes the subject when a man I don\u2019t know that well says something idiotic.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019m can pull off the giggle-redirect with incredible charm when I need to. But most of the time, I\u2019d rather counter idiocy with sarcasm and a wink.<\/p>\n
Often this changes the subject, lightens the mood, and the idiotic comments cease.<\/p>\n
But the giggle-redirect almost never works on men who are incapable of having a conversation. You know, where two people offer thoughts and finish sentences before the other person rebuts you mid-sentence.<\/p>\n
These men are rare and difficult to spot in public, but are quickly identified once their lips start moving and they begin railroading conversations and manipulating dialogue. They tend to be openly patronizing and will never admit they\u2019re wrong \u2013 especially to a woman.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s similar to the exchange you might expect between a chief political analyst for the Democratic Party and Bill O\u2019Reilly on the conservative FOX news show, \u201cThe Factor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last weekend, I encountered one of these men. And somehow the subject of religion was at the forefront of our conversation. (I\u2019m not sure it was truly a conversation since my sentences were often cut off, and what little I did say was transformed into intellectual mush before my very eyes.)<\/p>\n