The Peacock and the Mocker

My husband and I were out having a late lunch on Sunday.  The weather was just perfect so we sat on the restaurant’s patio, enjoying the sunshine and watching all the people who were also outdoors basking in the winter warmth that is so unique to Arizona.  I was momentarily distracted from my people watching so my husband tapped me on the leg and said, “You’re missing the fun!”  I looked up to see an odd couple stroll past.

The man was dressed on the conservative side of normal; the woman holding onto his arm was bizarrely dressed.  It was truly a sight to see. Now, before I go any further, I must qualify that my husband is the least judgmental person I know.  His pointing the woman out to me was in the same vein as if a peacock in all it’s feathered glory strolled past – something worth seeing.Our eyes followed the couple as they chatted and laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. Watching them made me feel good inside.  I smiled at my husband and he at me and we had one of those non-verbal communication moments – we wondered what brought two such seemingly different people together, we enjoyed the fact that we got to see them, we appreciated their weirdness.  It was delightful.It was then that we noticed the couple at the table alongside ours watching us watching the odd couple walking down the road.  They laughed out loud, in obvious mockery of our peacock lady, and they included us in the laugh as if we were in on a shared a joke.I felt awful.To laugh mockingly at a person is a terrible thing.  To be scornful and disdainful of somebody is cruel.I didn’t say anything to the couple next to us.  I didn’t want to “make a scene”.I felt awful.At them mocking.At them including us in the mocking.Mostly I felt awful because I didn’t say anything.“All that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”What would you have done?