Handshakes

Posted on December 31, 2003 in Attitudes Encounters Ettiquette

When you offer your hand to a person and the first thing he says is something to the effect “You’re a smart fellow, but I don’t like that you feel this way….”, what do you do?

I made a mistake tonight. I asked him to explain himself and ended up in one of those polarizing arguments about whether or not Bush is a saint.

The next time that happens I think I will say “Excuse me, but that was a handshake. What made you think that it was an invitation to a confrontation?”

If he says “Lighten up”, I have a response. “Yes. Isn’t that what I just asked you to do? It was just a handshake, right? So lighten up and leave the politics out of it?”