My 'I Still Hate George W Bush' T-shirt

So, a couple of months ago, I found this very stylish, long sleeve black t-shirt on-line.  Across the front in serial killer print, the kind of writing you would expect to see in the movie 'Seven' or perhaps 'Twelve Monkeys' or maybe even 'Fight Club,' in relatively small font, reads 'I Still Hate George W Bush.'  I wore it yesterday.  

(More below the fold)

I'm not always the most social of guys around strangers.  It really depends on my mood and yesterday, it was as black as my t-shirt because of the election.  When I feel like this, I generally like to go about my business and be left alone.  I have little patience for small talk in general, and when I'm in these dark moods, I resonate with this 'leave me alone, dammit' type of aura.  And it usually works.  It occured to me fleetingly that if I wore this shirt out to get food and later to go play poker, I may be inviting the type of interaction I wanted to avoid, but quickly dismissed this thought primarily because the aforementioned shirt was the cleanest one I had readily available.

My first stop was Jersey Mike's sub shop for a BLT.  The two guys working behind the counter looked to be in their late teens or early twenties at the very most.  One guy was as white as white gets and the other one was hispanic and spoke with a very very slight accent...the type of accent you would expect from someone perhaps born in this country, definitely raised here, but with parents who were almost certainly not.  Both of these guys commented how they liked my shirt and started talking politics with me.  The hispanic guy said that he was really pissed off because Kerry wanted to raise the minimum wage, but Bush wouldn't hear of it.  The white guy told me that Bush won Nevada because all the dumbass kids from UNLV who registered didn't vote.  He noted that only 2% of them voted.  They both shook their heads in agreement when I expressed the opinion that Bush cared more for his fat cat working friends than he did about the working man.  They both expressed disgust that he had taken the election and nodded in agreement when I mentioned that the young vote hadn't come out like we expected.  They were both of the opinion that most kids were spoiled and just didn't understand real life problems.  They were far more concerned with the economic situation of the country than with the war in Iraq.  They saw it as stupid and unnecessary...  The discussion ended with all of us agreeing that in 4 more years, we would elect someone who cared about regular Americans more than about corporate profit.

I then left and headed over to the Mandalay Bay to play some poker.  As I was walking through the casino, a dealer offered to buy the shirt from me for $1 with a smile.  As I was waiting for a seat, two people, both young males, with rueful, goddammit smiles commented that they liked my shirt.  A third guy who looked to be in his early thirties who I instantly guessed was from somewhere in the midwest because of his accent and moustache tried to strike up a conversation with me.  I instantly, whether correct or not, pegged him as a gun owning, hunter or perhaps a car mechanic in Grand Rapids.  As I mentioned, I wasn't giving off the "I want small talk" vibe, but he persisted.  His monologue was primarily of the "I don't see how it could get any worse" and "I don't understand how Bush was re-elected" variety.  I got the impression that he wasn't overly comfortable talking with strangers, but just couldn't help himself.  

After waiting an hour without being able to procure a seat, I left.  As I was walking out of the casino, a young woman who was quite attractive and probably with her mother, spoke up with a "GREAT shirt" comment.  As I passed them, I heard her telling her mother what my shirt said.

Oh, and for posterity's sake, I should mention that I did receive one neutral comment.  A gentleman who was in his 40s probably mentioned that 'it was going to be a long 4 years.'  I got the sense that he was not commiserating with my shirt's sentiment and was on the other side of the political fence, but he was polite and in no way confrontational or an ass.

So, that was my experience yesterday.  I was out for about an hour and a half and 7-8 different strangers felt the need to tell me what they thought of my t-shirt.  I took heart from this...  I really did.  It allowed me to understand that regular people understand how W is maiming our country and are just as committed as we Kossacks are in returning the country to normal.  

I won't wax philosophical right now as so many people here are much better than I am in inspiring people via the written work, but I will say this:  We will eventually restore this country to what it was and what it has been in the past.  This aberration of an administration will eventually be relegated to the dustbins of history on the 'What Was Wrong With America?' shelf.  And after we have set our great nation back on the proper course, we must not forget and we must not allow our children and grandchildren to forget this dark time...  To forget is tantamount to allowing this to happen again--