I had an interesting encounter at the Starbucks this morning. A group of older men hold their coffee club there each morning and politics is definitely the topic of choice. These guys are conservative (this is Oklahoma) and the occasional Obama/Pelosi insult can be overheard followed by a bout of bullying laughter. Most in the group are retired or semi-retired from the oil and gas industry and are, for the most part, extremely wealthy. These men have a lot of time and a lot of money on their hands. There are generally well regarded in the community and have some form of friendly communication with many of the customers that come and go from the shop.
Two of the men stepped in front of me in line as I was trying to put together my order for the family. The indecision of my 3 children coupled with my insistence on healthier snack options makes this a difficult task. This was also the busiest time of the day and the place was buzzing with the annoying background sound of disjointed conversation. I was already somewhat anxious and frustrated.
Then, the two men in front of me start to talk louder, and I couldn't help but overhear what they were discussing. They were arguing. The older man was explaining to the middle-aged man why Obama is an African born Muslim and could not possibly be a Christian. The older man said he had definitive proof of this. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I wanted to explode on the guy. I sent the kids to the car with mom.
I know the middle-aged guy. His name is John and we are cordial with each other. So, I played dumb a bit and asked John what he and his friend were discussing. I knew the older man would not pass up an opportunity to spread his vitriol for Obama. He took the bait. He reiterated what I had already overheard - Obama was born in Kenya in an American sponsored birthing facility and there is an ex-military officer who is willing to testify that he personally witnessed Obama’s birth, Obama’s Hawaiian birth certificate is an obvious fraud which anyone with even the slightest analytical skills in this area would quickly uncover, the media is protecting Obama on all of this because he has threatened to bring charges of racism against anyone who does a story on his place of birth or his religion, Obama has confided in a Democratic appointee in the State Department that he (Obama) is in fact a Muslim and that the State Department should therefore protects Muslims at all costs even if it means compromising American foreign policy interests, this Democratic appointee at the State Department is now willing to sign an affidavit verifying the above and Obama could not possibly be a Christian because he was a member of "that crazy heretical church in Chicago."
In a very loud and agitated voice, I asked John if he believed this crazy shit. John’s facial expressions indicated "no" but he dodged my question, diplomatically arguing that these types of questions should not be spread as rumor but rather should be tested in some judicial proceeding challenging Obama citizenship prior to the next Presidential election. That didn’t make me happy.
The conversation escalated. I was arguing loudly, people were watching, things were getting quit around us. I asked the older man point blank if he was just batshit crazy. He said, "who is to judge what is crazy and what is not." I pointed out that it's batshit crazy to publicly assert strange and malicious rumors which you know not to be true. I pointed out that it's equally batshit crazy to believe in strange and malicious facts which, on their face, seem unbelievable and you know cannot be verified. He again said he had the proof. I laughed and said that was a total fucking lie.
I asked him to give me the name of the ex military officer who witnessed Obama’s birth. He could not. I asked him to tell why Obama’s birth certificate was an obvious fraud. He could not, but said there are articles "out there on the web" that explain it. I asked him to give me the name of the State Department official who is willing to sign the "Obama is a Muslim" affidavit. He could not. I asked him for a source confirming that Obama is threatening the MSM with charges of racism. He could not. I asked how in the hell was Obama’s church in Chicago heretical and non-Christian. In response, he asked if I had seen the Reverend Wright videos. I forcefully replied that Reverend Wright may have been a very animated speaker who gave highly controversial and politically charged sermons, but that has nothing to do with heresy or being non-Christian.
The older man was shamed. He wanted to get away. He knew he had been exposed as a crazy, stupid, hateful asshole. I didn’t let him get away. I told him that it was simply amazing that he was unable to back up a single damn thing he was saying and his only interest was spreading his hate of Obama. I told him it’s easy for him to do this when no one stands up to him and that I suspected he wouldn’t be doing this much more after our encounter. I told him to think about me and people like me the next time he thinks about going on a cowardly offensive against Obama and spreading hateful, stupid and malicious rumors. He walked outside and sat by himself at one of the patio tables.
I got my stuff off the counter. The barista said, "it’s about time someone told off those jokers." The women behind me in line - who I unknowingly had delayed for some time while I engaged in my little battle – said, "way to go [insert my name]" (she apparently overhead my name when I ordered). I told her thanks. I passed by the older man on my way out. He was still sitting by himself. I kindly told him to have a good day.
This anger felt good. It was constructive anger. Yes, I may have took it a bit too far but these right-wing nutjobs have been taking it way too far for the last year. They’ve been attacking Obama with this crazy stuff without any real fear of being held accountable or being challenged on their falsehoods. Not any more. Not for me. I'm sick of their crazy stuff and I’m not letting them get away with it in my presence any longer. I’ve got Obama’s back.
UPDATE: A great big THANK YOU to all who have commented here. I really appreciate your support. A consistent theme in many of the comments is that the right-wingers are cowards and fold quickly when confronted with the truth. I absolutely agree. I encourage all of you to keep these nut jobs in line and expose them for the frauds that they are. Thanks again!
