"Normal" people

Finally, I have a verbal interaction with someone! I’m just getting out of my truck, finding a Freddie’s and getting ready to indulge in my frozen custard obsession, when I notice a younger white male approaching me with his phone dangling from outstretched arms as he asks me if I mind him taking pictures of my truck.

I’m so happy and ready to engage but before I can open the conversation, he tells me he agrees with everything on my truck EXCEPT (and there’s almost always an ‘except’) one thing. I, of course, want to know what that one thing is.

There’s so many things written on my truck that 30ish year old white men can find to disagree with but I’m not surprised it is the “Disarm” message he has a problem with. Come to find out, he is a weapons dealer. Hmmmm only he is no longer selling to the public, but just the military and police.

When I ask him to explain why, he tells me he doesn’t want his weapons to be part of killing “normal” people. We talk about this for awhile – I know he means white u.s.ofa. people, although he doesn’t say that.

I ask him if he thinks police and military do not kill “normal” people and of course, he doesn’t. He thinks they kill to keep us safe. Furthermore, he thinks we have to have guns.

I tell him he thinks these things because he’s a male and he’s been brainwashed to believe such rubbish so that he can continue to make money off other people’s misery and deaths.

He introduces me to his wife, also white and young, who is sitting in his giant two-door white pickup truck. He says she’s pregnant and he is protecting her. I appeal to her to talk him about another way of living on our Mother Earth, and to seek another line of business but can tell the way they smile at me that this is not a conversation they will be approaching in the near future.

But at least I’ve planted a seed – hopefully as I quote Julia Ward Howe “we womyn of thhis nation shall feel so tender toward womyn of another nation, we will not allow our sons to injure their sons”.

Maybe I should have quoted “we will not allow our sons to be taken from us to unlearn everything we’ve taught them about mercy, justice, and love” but not sure if that is the correct exact quote.

It was a great conversation and again, even though we disagreed, I’m have high hopes he will be uncomfortable at first, and then this discomfort will grow into action, maybe when he holds his newborn baby for the first time.