I went to Staples the other day with a friend, and rather than park the car in the lot, I let her off and waited for her in front of the door.

Apparently I was in the way of a very expensive BMW with an impatient 60-something male driver, who decided that, rather than tap on his gold-plated horn, he’d pull up beside me and give me what-for. Maybe, his shirt collar was buttoned too tightly.

“What the hell is the matter with you, you ugly, stupid bitch?”

I just stared back at him blankly, intellectually understanding how insulting and aggressive he was being, but utterly devoid of any emotional reaction to him. I was simply too tired to care. Except…

What actually struck me was that, amidst his name-calling, it never occurred to him to call me anything but those well-worn insults reserved for females. He treated me absolutely like a woman…

…which was happy and so very sad all at once.

Sad because this person is living his life in a cloud of rage. I mean in the middle of a perfectly nice day, this guy who is clearly financially secure and living in a beautiful city is so consumed with anger that he feels compelled to rudely lash out at a stranger over the slightest inconvenience.

Sadder still because women get treated like that all too often. Happy and proud as I am to be included among their number, there is no call for that kind of abusive behaviour towards us. His words are a window into his attitude toward all women – half of humanity. This kind of objectifying and dismissive vitriol is one small step from physical violence. Over nothing.

That’s more than sad. It’s frightening.