“Can I just fucking finish?” Tommy’s frustration boiled over for the whole classroom to witness. I bit my tongue, almost to the point of drawing blood. He was tired of being interrupted??? The king of interruptions didn’t like it when others spoke over him? It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut.
Tommy, 20 years old, a heroin dealer and user, in for 8 years, impatient and arrogant most of the time, charming and funny the rest. Tommy, inconsiderate, disrespectful bully when he thinks he can get away with it. Tommy, carefree, chatterbox airhead when he thinks he has gotten away with his bad attitude.
A few minutes after his outburst, he asked me a question. As I tried to answer him, he interrupted me twice. I finally said, “Tommy, can I say something real?”
“Sure, Mr. Mack. Go right ahead.”
“Just a few moments ago you got very upset when we interrupted you while you were trying to speak. Now, you’re interrupting me as I try to speak. How rude are you being just now??” He shut up instantly. “This whole issue of not interrupting goes both ways.” I pressed on. “If you want us to let you speak, you have to stop disrupting class.”
Mack Ames Books and Maine Moose Patrol 