Running Roughian

I had the great luxury recently of running in Victoria!

The sea air, the sound of the waves on the rocky beaches, the snowless pathways; absolutely fantastic! As I ran along buoyed up by endorphins and the environment I smiled and said good morning to all the people I met along my run, but to my amazement, few of them replied in kind. Most ignored me, some looked surprised that I spoke to them.

This made me wonder if people in Victoria are less friendly than the ones where I currently live. Most days when I run I smile and say good morning to the people I meet and most of them do reply in kind. Is Victoria a less friendly city?

Then it occurred to me, maybe it’s me!

Or more specifically, maybe it’s my black eye; which has, with the advancing days (5 since the incident) has begun to look more like a strangely applied eyeliner and blush combination as it has formed strawberry coloured lines above and below my eye and flaring out at the outside edge in an almost ancient Egyptian like fashion.

Are people not being as friendly as they could be because they take one look at my black eye that is now in the process of turning an interesting combination of grey-greeny-yellow and pinky-red? Do people see me as a reprobate running ruffian? Me in my dark blue baseball cap and dark running clothes do I look like a menacing marathoner?

Or could it be that they see me - well, see my eye, and are immediately struck dumb with shock and sorrow at seeing me so badly abused? Do they think I have suffered at the hand of my abusive (albeit nonexistent) husband or my equally non-existent abusive boyfriend? Perfect strangers resisting the urge to stop me and ask me if I’m all right. Are people making judgements about me based on my black eye? Do they see me with my baseball cap and black eye and think - better avoid her? Would they treat me differently if I could divest myself of my bruises and my baseball cap, would they be more receptive then?

Social experiments have been run and have proved that people’s response and behaviour changes based on the appearance of the stranger they are confronted with. “Pretty” skinny women have been sent out as “Damsels in distress” asking for assistance or dropping their groceries in a public place in the hopes that some generous do-gooder will be willing to help. The same person was dressed in a “fat suit” and sent out to the same places and perform the same acts of distress and have received less assistance.

Judgements are made every day based on appearance alone. I’m not a bruiser, I just have a bruise.