2008 Woodie Awards
Let's Mosey Around:
This is soo embarrassing...
Brian Moser
Issue date: 9/30/03 Section: Features
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Have you ever been embarrassed? I bet you have. If you say that you have not, then imagine walking to class and your jeans get caught on a sharp object. As you pull away, your pants come off completely and you are standing there with nothing covering your private parts but a thin layer of fabric (or nothing for you commandos out there). If that situation does not seem embarrassing, then you shouldn't be at Lakeland College; you should be in Hollywood making comedy movies.
What is embarrassment anyway? Well, let us take a look at dictionary.com. Ok, it comes up as "the state of being embarrassed." Well, I guess we should look up embarrass now. Embarrass reads, "To cause to feel self-conscious or ill at ease." Now that we have knowledge of what embarrassment means, maybe we can tap into why people become "ill at ease."
This is where we should ask Jeeves at ask.com. Well, we are not going to find any answers there as the first two hits were about killing the Buddha and Hemorrhoids. We are going to have to figure this out the old fashioned way - by using our brains. The main reason that people get embarrassed is that they are concerned with what others think of them. Is it that simple?
Let's think about many various embarrassing situations. Say you have your T-shirt on the wrong way... hold on, I have to change my shirt around... ok, now why would that be embarrassing? It is embarrassing because you think that the other people think that you are a complete idiot. The same situation would happen if you put on two different shoes. You are then thinking, "They probably think that I am a boob and can't even add." Other people are thinking that you are an idiot is a big drive in embarrassing situations. The other is other people thinking about you sexually.
The sexual thinking aspect is more complex, and as far as I know, a no-win situation. First, you can get embarrassed by a person staring at you thinking about, well, do I have to mention it. You feel embarrassed and creeped out. On the other hand, you would feel embarrassed if someone looked at you and gave a disgusting look, like the person just saw Medusa or something. For some reason, the embarrassment can run both ways, like a double standard.
What is embarrassment anyway? Well, let us take a look at dictionary.com. Ok, it comes up as "the state of being embarrassed." Well, I guess we should look up embarrass now. Embarrass reads, "To cause to feel self-conscious or ill at ease." Now that we have knowledge of what embarrassment means, maybe we can tap into why people become "ill at ease."
This is where we should ask Jeeves at ask.com. Well, we are not going to find any answers there as the first two hits were about killing the Buddha and Hemorrhoids. We are going to have to figure this out the old fashioned way - by using our brains. The main reason that people get embarrassed is that they are concerned with what others think of them. Is it that simple?
Let's think about many various embarrassing situations. Say you have your T-shirt on the wrong way... hold on, I have to change my shirt around... ok, now why would that be embarrassing? It is embarrassing because you think that the other people think that you are a complete idiot. The same situation would happen if you put on two different shoes. You are then thinking, "They probably think that I am a boob and can't even add." Other people are thinking that you are an idiot is a big drive in embarrassing situations. The other is other people thinking about you sexually.
The sexual thinking aspect is more complex, and as far as I know, a no-win situation. First, you can get embarrassed by a person staring at you thinking about, well, do I have to mention it. You feel embarrassed and creeped out. On the other hand, you would feel embarrassed if someone looked at you and gave a disgusting look, like the person just saw Medusa or something. For some reason, the embarrassment can run both ways, like a double standard.