He says ...
I've never been one to cause a scene. If I ever saw a friend's boyfriend or girlfriend on a date with someone else, I wouldn't lash out at him or her then.
Most of the time, confrontations like that just make matters worse.
What could appear as a date could actually be something completely harmless, causing you to look like a huge jackass.
A better solution would be to talk to the perpetrator afterward when he or she is alone.
This gives you time to cool your head, prepare your questions and handle the conversation with rationality.
Give him or her the chance to explain the situation. Was it just an innocent get-together? Does your friend know the two met?
However, I wouldn't bring it up to your friend - no matter if the beau was guilty or innocent.
Most people love to bash their friends' partners because it gives them the feeling that they are looking out for their friends.
Although it may seem like you are doing them good, you aren't.
Arguments become worse when more people become involved.
If that guy or girl was really going on a date with somebody else, there are issues in that relationship that THEY need to work out. It's not your job to fix the problems of others.
She says ...
The other night at the Holiday Inn on 13th Street and University Avenue, I stood in another long line. It appeared that a number of kiddies from Gainesville got wise and took a cue to volunteer for this year's Fest 10 in order to snag a free weekend wristband for the sold-out event.
All in attendance for a mandatory orientation meeting, the volunteers formed a staggering train that meandered along the edge of the hotel's conference room, the seasick green fluorescent lights casting unfavorable shadows across our silhouettes as we shuffled through the sign-in process.
Having shown up to this meeting alone, and also having not recognized anyone in the vicinity, I began to make small talk with the woman standing behind me who seemed to be in a similar predicament. Her name was Michelle Blanck, a 20 year-old Latin American studies junior who grew up in South Florida and had spent weeks traveling throughout Brazil. Not only did she share my love for brash bands, but Blanck was also intelligent, cultured and completely adorable. She was a perfect person with whom to discuss this week's topic.
I gave her the scenario: You are out grabbing food when you notice a close bud's boyfriend across the room, visibly macking on another girl. What do you do?
Blanck admitted that, thankfully, she had never been in this type of situation. A clear and obvious public hookup?
"I would definitely confront him right then, and I wouldn't be nice about it," she stated.
Raising a good point, Blanck continued with a breakdown of the asinine situation.
"We live in an age where everyone not only has a cellphone, but the phones have cameras as well. In a place like Gainesville, where you see a lot of familiar faces, and the circles people run in are small, it's incredibly stupid to think that one could get away with sneaking around and not get caught. Plus, it's unmistakably wrong."
Agreed. A word to the wise, Gainesvillians: Big Brother and Sister are, in fact, watching.
