I recall an Instagram reel that I saw last year involving three people: a frequent guest; a character; and a little boy. They were standing at Snow White's well. The guest was interacting with the character while a little boy was looking into the well. The character tried to interact with the little boy, but he didn't respond, so it was concluded that he was intentionally ignoring her. The character did her best to not bother him anymore, but the guest started yelling at him, probably because she thought he was being rude. It ended with the little boy running away. This was the most uncomfortable video I have ever watched. I can't get myself to watch that again. In most places I like to read the comments attached to videos, but I couldn't do it on this one. I'm certain that the commenters would take a side. The reason this was so painful for me to watch was that I knew what was going on from each other's perspectives, and couldn't really take a side, with perhaps the exception that I thought the adult guest wasn't helping with the boy's inner struggles.
- The character was doing her best to stay in character, attempting to make some interactions with the guests. When the boy didn't respond to her, she backed out and tried to leave him alone, though seemingly feeling completely awkward about the situation.
- The adult guest saw the character's discomfort and started going after the boy for ignoring her. In her mind, she trying to protect and defend the character, and kept harping after the boy for his misbehavior.
- The boy was uncomfortable from the beginning, which is the reason he struggled to respond to the character, feeling either shy or intimidated (or possibly not comfortable with the girl talk around him. It could be a number of reasons, but he was definitely uncomfortable). The guest harping on him made it worse, making it extremely humiliating and painful for him. In the end, it became too painful for him to bear anymore, and he ran off feeling extremely hurt. I easily picture him either being angry or crying for a good while after that.
In this case, the magic was ruined for at least one individual, but that was not a Disney problem. This was one of those crazy cases of miscommunication and misunderstanding between individuals. As fellow humans, these problems happen everywhere, and so I always try to bear in mind, whether in one of the parks, or any other public area, that once in a while, I need to be patient and understanding with people, even, or perhaps especially, when they are acting out. There's always a reason why they are behaving that way. Perhaps they've had a bad day; Perhaps life has dealt them a tough hand and they don't know how else to respond; Perhaps they don't feel good; Perhaps their logical mind is focused elsewhere; And perhaps they are just reacting to your own poor behavior. Yes, poor behavior can insight poor responses! May I suggest something? If someone is speaking to you in a manner that seems rude to you, to take a step back and evaluate yourself to make sure your behaviors and speaking isn't behind it. Sometimes, that's not the case, but even so, maybe refusing to be resentful is the kindest thing you can do for that person. Retaliation is unproductive. That may be easier said than done, but it isn't impossible. With a little effort, it can be done!
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| Mountain Scenery. 2024 |
