Why did you have to think about it?
I had quite a bizarre, rude and aggressive encounter with a bouncer this evening.
I was going into a bar with two friends of mine (both of them French) who are a bit older than myself. In the event that they read this and understand it, I’m going to say they are about 34.
As we walk into the bar (decisively not a club but still quite noisy), at around 2130 I add, I was suddenly stopped by the man on the door.
He asked me how old I was.
Now I’m 21 which is a significant way past the age of majority, but I accept I don’t always look it (particularly having shaven just a few hours previously), but I’m no longer used to the question. Especially because of the way I usually dress and behave; on the contrary, I am more often confused to being the manager of Marks & Spencer, Tesco, or Bristol Temple Meads railway station.
Surprised, I told the man I was 21. He asked for identity, which I didn’t have because a) I didn’t have my wallet with me and b) because I’m English and we don’t have identity cards.
After I said I don’t have ID with me, he asked (this is all in French, mind you)
What’s your date of birth?
The 10th of March, 89.
Again surprised at the question, I responded with the truth as I had no reason to lie. If you’re under-age and you have to lie, you say you’re 18 or 19, you don’t go the distance to 21.
Then came the most aggressive question:
Why did you have to think about it?
My reply:
Why did I have to think about it? Because I’m not used to people asking and French is not my maternal language!
I am thus more taken aback not by the fact that he thought I was a minor (it was dark and he has to be careful) but by the fact he thought I was French and didn’t believe me the first few times when I said I was English. This particular bar is well known in Nice (Chez Wayne) and particularly popular with ex-pats.
Normally this is the part where I would try to draw a conclusion on society or culture, but I think this guy was just an idiot. So here’s a punchline instead: having negotiated entry, we left immediately because it was too full, and went somewhere much better.
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Hadleigh,
Bouncers, as a majority, are normally fairly limited as people. My friend often describes them as Winnie the Pooh ("A bear of very little brain")…
I remember being 18 and being carded more than when I was 15 or 16 to be honest, but I appreciate that they have to do their job and that their job is to essentially control who goes in and out, although occasionally they do it far too aggressively (I was literally thrown out of Flirt once when I honestly wasn't drunk and disorderly, nor was I causing any trouble!) – but like I said, their job description is to stop things "kicking off".
An enjoyable post though, I especially like the "troubles on the continent" feel to it as well.