Tweet
Today I was wearing my Obama t-shirt. After all, the shirt was a birthday present to me from our son, it’s well crafted and will be useful as an extra shirt, so what’s the harm?
I walked into a shop, winter coat tightly zipped over the shirt against the weather chill, and stood in line for several moments while a salesperson and a customer in front of me loudly berated Obama [for all the damage and dismal prognosis for the country's future from his daring to be President of the USA for less than a week???!?] and every other imaginable assorted ill facing humanity.
Since the customer in front of me had been ranting over reasons she apparently perceived that Obama wanted to [destroy the world as we know it] in the midst of ongoing legislative wrangling over you and me paying for her vitamins, and since these ladies turned to me for comment, I tried to suggest as gently as I could that they not panic over legislation not yet passed.
I absorbed cautious looks from both the ladies and moved next in line. Then I opened my jacket to reveal the shirt, and claimed "Truth in lending."
accompanied with the most gentle smile in my repertoire.
The poor hapless soul behind the counter lost all powers of speech and hope of direct visual contact. She appeared breathless for several minutes. Thank heaven she didn’t faint. I suppose I was suddenly the devil-incarnate.
Oh heck. Sometimes you can’t hope to win except by pretending to lose, I guess.
I paid the bill and wished her a pleasant day, collected my ordered goods, and never received a direct look or comment during the entire encounter.
What HAVE these people been told, by whom, that they would be so terrified about participating in a normal society?!
7 Comments
We had guests over during the primaries for wine and conversation (it was not a political gathering). A woman I had just met believed almost everything that was said on right wing talk radio – “he’s not an American”, “he’s the most liberal senator”, “he’s a Muslim”, and on and on. I tried to present the facts as I knew them – I wasn’t even an Obama supporter at the time – but she just got angrier and angrier. I really think that the crap spewed on the far right programs was designed to scare the listeners, and it succeeded. Heck of a way to run a campaign for our highest office. (Nope, haven’t seen her since…)
I commend you. Sounds as if you were braver and smarter than I managed to be. My counterpart to your angry “lady” just maintained a stony silence and looked down and away for the rest of the time required for our transaction.
So I just calmly watched for any glimmer of a peek from her, while she stood there with her hands shaking as if she was terrified she might actually have to touch me. She preserved her purity of heart and soul by shoving the receipt in my general direction on the counter.
I managed not to laugh out loud, or even smirk, until I was safely out the door and down the road. Then I couldn’t help myself. Haw-hawed like an idgit all the way home. These poor lost souls need help. Too bad they don’t recognize it even when little truthiness post-its are stuck all over their miserable little snoots.
We tried. You and I. Good for us. heh.
You damn liberal ELITES with your little facts and fancy t-shirts! No wonder they were just terrified. They’ve been taught that chardonnay is flammable and to stay out of range of a splash of it, you know. Just something to keep in mind should you need more intimidation tactics.
um.. intimidation? I did nothing but pick up some medicine and pay the dear thing. She certainly took my money readily enough, although her hands were shaking so hard she had trouble typing on the little doohinky for handling credit cards.
You want honest-to-goodness intimidation? I could have stripped the shirt off and handed it to her on the spot, standing there in all my glory. Then she WOULD have looked up, but probably things would have gotten messy real fast.
Nah. I always like the quiet, friendly, nebbishy, minimalist approach when toying with their fretful little minds. Besides. It was cold, and I like my birthday shirt. ;->
LMAO!
See, it’s the being practical part that bugs them, too. I bet she spent the day thinking about how you DIDN’T hand your shirt to her, and it just probably unnerved her.
Haven’t you heard? We’re thugs that intimdated Republicans at the polling places, preventing them from voting! Obama only won because of voter fraud. So claimed the caller from North Carolina on C-span about an hour ago.
I guess it’s too late for today. Maybe you can call C-Span tomorrow morning.