A social norm that I observed being broken was when an individual was not making eye contact with me when I was speaking with him. When I engaged in a conversation he would not speak, and he would stare in the opposite direction but nowhere near where I was looking. There came a point where he was almost looking behind him, so I looked behind him to stare at what he was looking at but nobody or nothing was there.
I found it uncomfortable and a lack of respect and I felt like I was being ignored. I did not know whether I should continue the conversation. I am a person who makes eye contact to show respect. My dad always said, if you are talking with someone, you look them in the eyes when they’re talking to you. You engage in that conversation by looking them in their eyes.
I have never experienced something like this. It was unusual. I don’t feel that neither age, nor gender, nor race, nor class had anything to do with the reason this person could not make eye contact. It was uncomfortably not a social norm and it affected my ability to hold a conversation with him because something wouldn’t allow me to continue. Our interaction made me feel uneasy and it was extremely awkward so I could not continue this.
I have always taught my son to look at me when I’m talking to him. He tries to look right or left almost in defiance. I pound this in his head on a daily basis because he has always tried to defy authority but even him, I could get to look at me. This guy absolutely would not. There is nothing more than to say it was one of the most awkward experiences I’ve ever had.
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