Hate Speech

[judecorp]

Yesterday, my Jennifer and I were standing outside the chinese buffet on High Street in Clintonville waiting for crena, Scott, and the kids. We were there for maybe 5 minutes, so we're doing anything other than that random loitering-type-thing people do when they're waiting and trying not to look like goobers. So there we were, in Clintonville, the Lesbian Capital of Ohio.

A beat-up Toyota Camry drove toward our general area in the parking lot, and slowed down when it got to where we were standing. A man rolled down his window and yelled at us, "No fucking gay marriage! No fucking marriage for fucking gays!" (Or maybe it was, "No fucking marriage, you're fucking gay!" It was hard to tell.) I hadn't been looking in that direction, but when he started hollering I couldn't help it. And that's when I noticed that he had two small children in the back seat of his car. At that point, I got furious.

Regardless of his personal feelings on same-sex marriage or homosexuality in general, and heck, regardless of the subject matter even, what kind of message are you sending to little children when you stop in a parking lot, roll down your window, and yell obscenities at two strangers who are standing on a sidewalk? I wanted to yell back, "I work for Children's Services! That's a great way to raise your kids!" but of course that would be a) feeding into his misery and b) another model of bad behavior. So Jen and I just stood there, and he drove off.

You know, I can totally understand and have no problem with the fact that some people believe that some of the things I do are wrong. I mean, sure, I'm in a relationship with a woman and all, but there are people who are opposed to social programs, and who are opposed to divorce, and who are opposed to non-Christians, and who are opposed to swearing and a woman's right to choose and close dancing and hip hop music and other things that I happen to be fond of. I believe in freedom of speech and thus I believe that people should be able to say whatever they want about whatever they want, and I believe in freedom of religion so I support their right to belong to a church that I don't agree with. But I just don't understand the thought process that is behind rolling down a window to shout obscenities at strangers any more than I understand protesting against a particular group of people at a funeral.

I find myself wondering what sort of dialogues this man and his children had last night in response to his little outburst on High Street. And then I have to consciously stop thinking about it, because it makes me very angry. Dude, seriously, spare the vulgarity and the hatemongering in front of the kids, hunh? If you have a problem with your assumption of who I am or what I do (I mean, it's not like I walk around wearing a tshirt that reads, "Yes, she and I have sex" or a neon rainbow flag over my head), come and talk to me about it if you want to, but don't scream the fuck-word at me across a parking lot in front of some little kids.

T-minus 2 months and counting.

Comments

[elspazz0.livejournal.com]

white trash a-holes.

(them, not you)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Seriously - what makes yelling out your car at people a good idea?

[00solstice.livejournal.com]

doesn't that constitute "disturbing the peace?"

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I think it constitutes "being an asshole."

[laserkitty.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's fucked up. Yeah, he's a great role model for his children....

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I'll never forget this one day when my brother and I were like, 11 and 14 or so, we were playing video games and were swearing like truckers. (We thought we were home alone.) Come to find out, my dad was home asleep and he woke up to go to the bathroom and heard us with our trash mouths! He got all mad and was all, "Where did you learn to talk like that?" and we were like, "Umm, you?"

Heh.

People are nuts.

[carina-s.livejournal.com]

"I LEARNED IT BY WATCHING YOU, DAD, OKAY? I LEARNED IT BY WATCHING YOU!"

Go go propaganda!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Parents who use drugs have children who use drugs.

[hope-persists.livejournal.com]

when my ex was little (circa 6-8 years old), her father would take her and her brothers with him to go gaybashing. He would go to this place (maybe a truck stop?) where gay men would go to hook up and he would pretend to want to get it on with them and then beat the shit out of them. With the kids looking on from the car the whole time. Way to fuck someone up, huh?!

It made me so intensely mad to hear that story. That is fucking ABUSE! And, if this guy has been raising his kids like that the whole time, they were probably cheering him on from the back seat! Ugh. It makes me sick!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh, that is so horrible! It reminds me of that movie Frailty, kind of. Ugh! That's way worse than this and it's just totally wrong - how can you beat people up in front of children? (Heck, how can you beat people up at all?)

Wow. How did your ex get through it?

[hope-persists.livejournal.com]

well, as kids, they would cheer him on and shit, because they didn't know it was wrong or anything. But it sure did turn my ex into a psycho. She was really homophobic for a long long time. And the internalized homophobia was insane.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can only imagine. Guh.

[katy-kate.livejournal.com]

People hate what they don't understand. The guy who yelled that at you probably has issues with understanding love among other things. It's very sad. I'm sorry that you have to deal with people like that, and that in your line of work, you are probably going to have to deal with their children, too.

-Katy

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

You know, I don't even care if he hates me personally for something he doesn't know anything about. But I do care that he's ranting and raving at strangers in front of little kids who don't even understand why he's yelling at us in the first place. Ugh.

[tetonkid.livejournal.com]

man, what a jerk. sometimes i think these people who are so angry only see what's bad about the world ... which seems like a really sad way to have to live. especially when they'll probably pass it on to their kids. i want to rescue all the children!!!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I hear ya. I mean, I grew up with my father spewing all kinds of racist crap and it was so "normal" to hear it that it didn't even phase me. I'm so glad that I grew up and learned to think for myself. Yuck.

[volumeat11.livejournal.com]

At least here, on High Street in Clinton, the kids would've been driving their drunk dad around, so he could publically announce his ignorance safely. (Driving and age have no relationship here in Clinton. I think I saw a nine year old piloting a 1981 Mercury Lynx yesterday.)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Hee!

When we were in about the 10th grade, my grandfather used to drive me to school since, well, you and I were young'ins who turned 16 in Grade 11. Anyway, there was this kid who looked about 12 years old who would take his parents' big car for a joyride every morning for about two weeks, right around that curve where Carnation Street in Woonsocket becomes that other street that the tennis courts were on...

Ha! He almost hit us several times, and then he was gone. I guess he got busted.

[volumeat11.livejournal.com]

Busted, perhaps; but at the very least, if he's still alive today, I'll bet he's got some good stories to tell.

Is it June yet?

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Sadly, no. It was dog-butt cold yesterday, so it's definitely NOT June. :(

[volumeat11.livejournal.com]

soon june, jude...

[poopsmoothie.livejournal.com]

And just yesterday my dad told me that no American had the right complain about their oppression, because for all intents and purposes it didn't exist.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Your dad should just talk to all of those people without health insurance.

[michael622.livejournal.com]

I am appalled. I know that this sort of thing happens all the time, but ... the Miss Manners in me is just /appalled/. How socially deficient do you have to be to do something so completely /rude/ and inappropriate? There are rules for proper behavior, people! Regardless of what someone's feelings on ANY subject are - that's just /rude/. It's akin to shouting, "NO DOGS FOR BLIND PEOPLE! HEY, YOU'RE BLIND, BUT THE SIGN SAYS NO PETS, STUPID!" to a blind man at a crosswalk.

I mean, honestly. They wouldn't shout, "Hey, don't eat that cheeseburger, fattie!" to someone in line at a McDonald's, would they? Although I have had someone say to me, "Watch where you're going, Roseanne!" when I accidentally bumped into them making my way through a crowded bar. come to think of it, some people are just morons and I'm ashamed of that part of the human race. *sigh*

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

The sad truth is that some people are assholes, and will say whatever they want to whomever they want. What's sadder is that these people who do things like shout rude obscenities out of their cars to people who are just standing on the sidewalk not only think what they are doing is acceptable, but also that it is the "right" thing to do.

It's disgusting.

Who raised these people? Oh wait, I met one on Saturday.