Everything is like the Perfume Department

I don’t know how true this is now, but apparently, back in the day, the perfume department of any major department store was like walking through the seven circles of hell.

There were ladies with perfume bottles ready to attack unsuspecting patrons with random fragrances. Spritz! Spritz! SPRITZ! Whether you want it or not you got sprayed with something that normally GOD AWFUL to smell.

There was no way to protect yourself, other than avoiding that section of the store. Because of those stories and the stuff I’d seen on TV and because I have some very angry allergies, I avoid that section of the store. In most cases, I’ll enter and exit the department store from a complete different floor or doorway to make sure I’m not bombarded.

Anyway, lately, as I've been scrolling through social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter, it occurred to me that everybody is trying to sell you something.

We’re being bombarded with the virtual perfume counter EVERYWHERE WE GO!

Try this. Buy this. You’ll like this. You want this.

It’s pretty damn exhausting and, I’d be so bold to add that just like the perfume department, it’s RUDE to overload people with stuff they don’t actually want!

I had a friend on Facebook who signed up to sell some MLM pyramid thing and before you knew it, my Facebook feed was filled with her advertisements of just how doggone good this thing was. Another one whose method of selling is to brag about how GREAT her MLM company treats her with cars and trips and such.

Which leads me to ask — when did we collectively decide, as a society, that the only conversations worth having are sales conversations?

Is that what life is all about now? Have we decided that it’s Glengarry Glenn Ross or nothing?

I miss normal conversations and interactions where the worthiness of a person wasn't based on their answer to the question “what do you do?”

I feel like I need a permanent sign that says “I don’t want whatever you’re selling.”

Is it too much to ask that we talk to and interact with people like people, again and stop treating everyone like they’re only good to you if they can buy something from you or do something for you?

Or maybe I’m just a dreamer.