My MAGA moment of the month... followed by a moment of great hope... at Habitat for Humanity of all places! [View all]

[Cheezoholic]

Now where I live in rural ruby red IN I have more like a MAGA moment an hour if I leave home but this one set me off, and it takes a lot to set me off in public. I just got home from my local Habitat and, while I'm still steaming, what happened after gave me so much hope. I need to share this...

Quiick background, I'll try not to ramble.....
My closest Habitat is about 30 miles from me but I visit fairly often because I'm an avid believer in repurposing as much as I can. I go frequently enough that a couple of the extremely nice women that work there know me by name. I discovered a few years ago that the woman that's usually running the register was a grade school student of my grandmothers back in the 60's so we often have something more than coffee cans of bolts and screws to talk about. Everyone I've ever had any interactions with at this store have been extremely pleasant. Never in over a decade have I ever heard one political statement in the place. Jesus? Well yes of course but never political, it's taboo there.

Now there's also this one gentleman...er... as Nicole would say, Asshole, that I've noticed working there on fairly rare occasions over the last couple of years. I've had a few interactions with him, help carrying something to my truck etc. and I found out he works in the stores sometimes but usually drives a Habitat truck delivering between stores. One thing I noticed in the past was he was somewhat bossy, especially towards the women. Now not overtly or rudely but in that subtle way that REAL assholes know how to do and getaway with, or so they think. He rubbed me the wrong way out of the gate. I believe most will know the kind of misogynistic "compassionate" Christian male of which I speak.

Regardless as I was wading through the myriad of coffee cans full of bolts and screws I overheard him speaking to an elderly couple who were asking him about a kitchen table. I didn't catch when their conversation switched to politics but it did, here is me quoting, you don't forget stuff like this, my recollection of what he said...

Asshole employee - "... we are truly done if we let the Democrats steal it again. God will not forgive us. They've already tried to kill him twice"
Man shopping - "They didn't get him though, Praise Jesus"
Asshole employee - "Yes but they hit him, he was bleeding, that's how close they got. I've heard all these liberals saying their stuff about him, they never gave him a chance to do Gods work when he was President. All they did was attack. Then they faked Covid and tried to blame that on God..."
Man shopping - "They sure didn't give him any chance to do God's work"
Asshole employee - "...and it's not going to stop with these people until Gods army rises up. God is calling upon all of us right now. It's not going to stop until we start hanging these people. We've got to start having mass hangings of these evil servants of Satan before it's going to stop. And President Trump will lead us to the promised land, I hear God saying that every day"
Man shopping "Amen!"
Woman shopping "Amen!"

I flipped the fuck out turned and headed back towards the furniture area. I was going to go off. I was ready to start swinging. I was screaming in my head... "Hang my ass you racist misogynistic self righteous POS?" My dam had BURST!! That's when the woman at the register rushed her 80 year old self out from behind the counter faster than Sha'Carrie Richardson, grabbed my arm, looked at me and quietly said "Don't, we know".

She said it with that stern look of a woman, full of the experience of her years. That look you stop and LITSEN to because you know she's right. I know that look. My grandmother would give me that look when the winds of irrationality began blowing inside my young mind. She was definitely a student of my grandmothers. I looked back at her, first with anger, then with puzzlement, then with a look of agreement laced with sadness. She was right.

She walked me back to the counter and as she rung me up she quietly told me "you know that's not the way, we're all better than that. We will win, for him". She then glanced next to her register and facing her, away from the customers, was a freaking card with a picture of President Jimmy Carter on it and it that said "Happy 100th Birthday President Carter!" with the name of the store and store address at the bottom.

She then looked back at me with a sincere loving and caring smile. I saw my grandmother, who was this woman's teacher, and who had proudly taken me to the polls the first time I could vote... to vote for President Carter in 1980. The emotion and so important meaning of the prior 2 minutes hit me like a Mack truck. I laid down a 20 for a 2 dollar coffee can of nails, and with tears welling up in my eyes gave her the most humble and sincere thank you that I've said in many many years. I left the change on the counter turned and walked out, my hand trembling shaking that coffee can full of nails like the loudest baby rattle in the world.

Joy wins
Love wins
We're going to win.