I was sitting on a crowded bus making its way through the busy streets of Paris when a seat opened up next to a gentleman holding onto a large suitcase. I slid into the seat just as an older woman in her late seventies, dressed to the nines, got on the bus. She made a beeline for us and said “Je peux m’asseoir?” (I can sit down?) her energy intimated this was not a request. On the off chance that I missed that, I noted that her voice did not indicate an interrogative by rising at the end, but rather a declarative statement. Thirdly, her word choice of can instead of may indicated she was not asking permission.

By Sabrina Matheny • Rumble Contributor | The movie "Saturday Night Fever" opens with John Travolta strutting confidently down the street. His arms move in rhythm to the beat as he puffs his chest out and looks around hiscity. He owns it, and he doesn’t care who knows it. Watching that scene begs the question “confidence — is it demonstrated and then felt, or felt and then demonstrated?”