My Bride Got Called a Chink at the Grocery Store

I was working on a new blog yesterday while my Bride and our two daughters were out and about. They had gone running in the nearby foothills and then were heading to Walmart to pick up a prescription. Everything seemed like a normal Sunday here in Idaho.

I was just putting the finishing touches on a funny piece called, The World Needs a Hero. It was a (mostly) satirical piece about how I’d like to become a superhero and my super power would be tracking down racist bigots, ringing their doorbell, and punching them in the dick.

It’s a satire piece, I don’t actually condone punching racist bigots in the junk. Unless you think you can get away with it. Safety. Safety first. And always use a spotter.

Anyway, I was just about to publish it when I got a message from Mai. It looked a little something like this:

What are the odds of someone like myself writing a satire piece about punching racist assholes in the balls and a racist incident actually happening to my Bride? Are you fucking kidding me? Only in Idaho. Well, and the Deep South. The Bible Belt. Texas. Parts of every state, actually.

I’ve explained what it’s like living in a quite openly racist state in a number of blogs before. The most-read blog I’ve ever posted was I Truly Hate the Ignorance and Shitty Beliefs of People in My Home State. I feel that everyone should read this if you’ve ever lived in an openly racist, bigoted area like we do here in Idaho.

After writing blogs for ten months now, and visiting the topic of racism and politics a number of times, I started wondering at some point if I was being too hard on the people of my home state. I know that most people dislike racism and bigotry. I need to remember that most people are GOOD people. The shitheads just stand out more.

Yet I also realize how many people truly embrace their racism and bigotry now that Donald Trump has emboldened these ignorant, shitty beliefs over the past seven or eight years. People have gotten too comfortable being ignorant fucks in public and online.

It’s disgusting. It’s utterly ignorant and dangerous. I instantly worked myself up into an angry mood and counted the minutes until my family returned home. I needed an explanation about that text she sent me. I finished my blog, published it, and sat here fuming until they returned home.

Mai played it cool when she got home. She told me the story of what went down. She was quite unbothered by it and very nonchalantly explained what happened. I quietly listened but was seething underneath my calm exterior while hearing the disgusting details.

She said that they were walking toward the front entrance of the store. She then heard some fella singing behind them. She turned and saw him singing something and smiled at him. She thought it was somewhat endearing, a man comfortable enough to be in public singing to himself.

He saw her turn and smile and said, “Well you all can fuck right off.”

This is when she noticed he was wearing a hat with a Confederate flag on it. She then laughed at his ignorant comment and said, “Whatever, you racist prick.”

The interesting part of all of this bullshit is that he didn’t even flinch when she called him a racist prick. He didn’t react to her answering back and he didn’t care to deny that he was a racist prick. I get it.

Walking into a Walmart with a Confederate flag hat on and telling an Asian woman she can fuck right off when she smiles at you might indicate that you’re comfortable with your racism and bigotry. What was his thought process, seeing someone turn and smile at him because he was singing?

“How dare this person of color turn around and SMILE at me? What the fuck? Damn, it, what aisle is the Skoal and PBR on, again?”

Billy-Bob here dodged a bullet yesterday. I wasn’t there with my family at Walmart. You bet your ass it would have gone a lot differently than it did. I don’t go looking for trouble in most social situations. But I’m always ready for it when bullshit like this happens.

I am just under six feet tall and weigh 225 lbs. I work out a bit and have for many years. I have a LOUD dad voice and a temper that can be activated immediately when somebody acts a fool. Especially if it’s directed toward my family. You better believe this fella would be made an example of in public, if only by my loud, angry shaming of his overt racism.

That’s the funny thing about bigoted racists, though. They tend to be bullies. Would you believe me if I told you that I’d never had anyone come at me with racist, bigoted bullshit? And nobody has said one word about my Asian bride or mixed-race children when I’ve been around? Funny how that works, huh?

We discussed this a bit more and Mai mentioned that this wasn’t the first time it had happened in a grocery store. Excuse me, Ma’am? This is news to me. Do explain, please.

She told me that another incident had happened at our nearby home grocery store, Winco. She was talking to a store employee or something to that effect and must have been standing in the way of the auto-checkout line. Suddenly, she heard a man behind her say:

“MOVE IT, CHINK.”

So if the Walmart incident wasn't bad enough, now I hear this story.

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME THIS WHEN IT HAPPENED?” I was livid.

She told me that she’d meant to tell me, but it must have slipped her mind before she got home for the day. She doesn’t take racism to heart the way I do. Which I find interesting, being she’s had more overtly racist people step to her and say shitty things than I ever have.

I’m glad it doesn’t bother her personally. I’m also happy that as an educated person with a master’s degree in counseling, she realizes that these horrific, racist verbal attacks against her speak more about the douchebags who spew these idiotic things than her. But it still REALLY pisses me off.

You have to be a special kind of stupid to even use the term “chink”. From my understanding of that particular slur, it’s most commonly used for a person of Chinese descent. Mai is half Vietnamese and half American. But I’m sure accurate details about her ethnicity don’t actually matter to this piece of filth.

I asked her to describe the person who said this to her and she was able to give me a pretty detailed description. A short middle-aged biker-looking type with long hair who she’s seen buying beer. She mentioned that she’s seen him a number of times since then. Perfect.

So now I’m prepping for my superhero duties in light of this new information. Read that blog I mentioned earlier, the plan is about to be put into action. Cock Knocker is on duty and looking for revenge. Hide your dicks.

I’ll be hanging out in the beer cooler at Winco for the next week or so. My bail money is already budgeted for, and I can still be a writer, even with a felony. The world needs a hero, and I’m ready for action. Time to punch some balls. &:^)

YOU KNOW WHY, Confederate flag-hat Man. And Winco Racist. Better start wearing cups, Fellas.