Defying Social Norms

843 Words4 Pages
It is often considered bad etiquette and unusual to burst into song in the middle of a busy mall, giving a performance lasting only just over a minute. Though, after this experience, I am at a loss to understand why. Predisposed to perform at the drop of a hat, it seemed only natural I should break the social norm of where performing is appropriate. Never has it been deemed appropriate to stand on a bench in a mall bustling with busy and unsuspecting shoppers, and burst into song and dance. It is my understanding that this social norm only exists because people have a tendency to avoid humiliation. We keep to ourselves and do not make scenes (usually) because we want to blend in with the crowd. Singing and dancing for all to see can be a very personal and revealing experience, one in which many people avoid at all cost. It is a general belief that by publically breaking a social norm we lose our dignity. I chose this specific social norm to break because I do not believe that is the case. As awkward as some people may find it, I believe showing off and proving our uniqueness is an American right that we should seize and exploit. The 5th Avenue Mall on a Sunday afternoon seemed the most beneficial place to burst into song and dance. I chose the mall because it was crowded (you can not break a social norm without people to see it –also it provided many people to interview afterwards), it was public, it is completely unassuming, and I had a strong suspicion that the acoustics, though unexplored, were amazing. Neither I nor my companions (back-up dancer and camerawoman) thought that what we were doing broke any rules the mall may have about random performances. But to be on the safe side we slyly waited for the mall cops to be as far from my performance area as possible. After one last look around and a deep breath I jumped up onto the bench and began to sing “I
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