To Snub or Not to Snub
Swen Nater

Have you ever been snubbed? Not sure? Oh, you have, believe me. Need a definition? OK. Actually a snub is nothing. It’s something that happens to you when nothing happens to you. By definition,

A snub is a deliberate and premeditated non-response by an eligible recipient, to the dispenser of a clear and audible in-person greeting.

Let’s say you’re walking down the hall at work or school and you see someone that also works there. About ten feet from passing each other, your eyes meet and you say, “Hello.” He ignores you, looks away, and passes without a sound or acknowledgment. You’ve officially been “snubbed.”

Snubbing is rude. The snubber makes you feel like you don’t belong on this earth and you have no value. I get snubbed all the time. At my height, I know they see me so there’s no excuse. They just choose not to respond after I’ve made the effort to be friendly. That’s rude. But I’ve discovered, some apparent snubs that I thought were snubs, were not really snubs at all, according to the official definition. That has kept my blood pressure down. Below are examples of snubs and no snubs.

The Nod Snub
You say, “Hello” and the other person makes eye contact and nods. Not a snub. It’s a partial snub, but not a pure, unadulterated, full snub. The reason is, there was a degree of response, albeit weak and bare minimum. 

The Couple Snub
You say hello to one or both of a pair of people that pass you. Once, I considered this to be a snub but some friends pointed out, when two people are engaged in conversation, they have a right to ignore the dispenser of a greeting because their conversation takes precedence. In fact, they accused me of being rude by interrupting. Wow!

The Minor Snub
When you greet a young person under the age of 21 who doesn’t know you, and he or she quickly looks the other way, you have no right to claim a snub. See definition; children are not “eligible” recipients. Children are taught not to talk to strangers.

The iPod Snub
This is when someone doesn’t respond because he or she has tuned the world out by listening to “music.” It is debatable whether this is an authentic snub. According to the definition, it is not because, supposedly, the recipient didn’t hear the greeting. However, on a larger scale, it could be considered a snub in the sense that the person, by hooking up to the device, has decided to snub everyone, including the Pope if he passed by. 

The Texting Snub
Once in a while I pass someone who is texting while walking. These are people that negotiate their way like bumper cars. They run into walls, hug the walls to get them to where they want to go, and make those coming in the other direction swerve to avoid them. It’s best to leave them alone and not greet at all because it’s a no-win. If they respond, they’re ticked off because you interrupted their typing. If they don’t, it’s a snub. Just let them pass and listen as they scrape the walls with their shoulders and run into doors.  

E-mail Snub
Some people actually employ and activate the option to have the computer tell them when the intended recipient of an e-mail has opened it. And, if that e-mail has not been opened in due time, they will call the person and ask why they snubbed. Sorry to disappoint you, but that’s not a snub. A snub can only be a snub if it’s in person. See definition. The Facebook Snub also falls under this judgment.

Paper Towel Snub
At work, we have a paper towel dispenser that is motion activated. The other day, I swished my hand over the sensor and nothing happened, although there was plenty of paper. I came back to my cube and told my fellow workers, “I just got snubbed by a paper towel dispenser.” You wouldn’t’ believe it. They immediately jumped on my case and told me, “It’s impossible to get snubbed by any machine because machines cannot premeditate a response.” I stood corrected, with wet hands of course.

Oh, yeah! I just remembered. It’s possible that I snubbed Coach Wooden one time. My first day at UCLA, walking by Pauley Pavilion, Coach and two superstars, Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe were approaching. He was in the middle. Now he’s almost six feet and they were both about 6’8” so I only noticed the two superstars who I had never met. I greeted them by name, ignoring Coach, and walked by. By definition, I did not snub Coach Wooden but, I’m thinking, he might have not seen it that way. I did sit the bench for two years.

The are few things more powerful than the “hello.” It can turn an enemy into a friend and clouds to sunshine.