Expecting a Freeper encounter, turned out to be good chat with a Vet.

I've had a good set of encounters over the last week. One was with the freeper kid at the video store who I've been interested in chatting with for a while (I'll save that for later- got great results!), and one I just had at the store with a Vet.

I needed to grab a few sundries after making a deposit at the bank, so I pulled into one of the local grocery stores in the area. I found a good spot near the front of the store. As I pulled in, I couldn't help but notice the bumper stickers all over the car next to mine.

"Only God can forgive bin Laden
It's up to us to arrange the meeting"

"The only Woodstock I remember is this one"
(Picture of a rifle underneath)

"Terrorist hunting permit"

"Semper Fi"

-And-

"School of warfare, Baghdad"


THIS is the sort of stuff I look for as an excuse to start conversations with folks. As is my habit, I love to engage people of various ideologies to test and enlighten them... and maybe even learn something once in a while. I've always had great confidence in my ability to lead and control a conversation to keep things civil... and I've always succeeded at that. I already knew how I'd engage this person; "I like the stickers, especially the one about sending bin Laden to that meeting. Too bad our CiC isn't interested in doing that."
Of course at this point I'd expect some variation on "What do you mean?", maybe with some incredulous look or something. So I knew I'd at least get a chance to state those two quick facts Freepers hate; "Well, he dismantled the CIA's bin Laden unit, and he even said he's not interested in bin Laden at all... said he doesn't really think about him."
Now from there, I would rely on my ability to keep the conversation civil while dispensing a couple of uncomfortable facts until he either said, 'huh, didn't know that', or 'whatever, I don't listen to Liberals' (I always have a great rejoinder for being called a Liberal) That, and demonstrating you agree with them about something as fundamental as killing terrorists is a great way to disarm freepers. After all, they've been told that Bush detractors "love the terrorists".

**As always, I do not recommend that anyone go around doing stuff like this unless you know your environment and are sure you can avoid physical conflict.**

Well, I looked around and didn't see anyone walking toward the car that really fit the profile I suspected, so I simply went in the store figuring I'd missed an opportunity... which is what usually happens. I guessed it wasn't to be.

I found the items I was looking for and headed to the checkout. I had nine items, so I hesitated to get into the "about 7 or less" line... but I did anyway. :blush: Just as the cashier was ringing me up, a guy with a couple of items got into line directly behind me. One look and I knew this was the guy. He was in his late-ish fifties, mustache, wide frame prescription sunglasses on a rainy day, Sports shooting patch, USMC navy-blue baseball cap, US Marines pin... yeah, very high likely hood he belonged to the car in the parking lot. This was Shooter-man.

I said to the cashier, “I hope you need ones.”, and pulled a fistful of small bills out of my pocket. Shooter-man said, “You must be a waiter. I always had a bunch of tips when I was a waiter… always ones.”

“You’re right, I used to be a waiter too, always had cash in hand, but usually ones.” Then I explained how my wife came to hand me the wad of ones on my way out the door as I counted them out and paid the cashier. I reached back into my pocket to pay the nineteen cents left rather than break a bill. I found no change in my pocket, but before I finished saying ‘oh well’ and halfway through handing her another one, Shooter-man had already gone in his pocket and tossed two dimes on the pad.

“Nah, don’t worry about that.” he said.

I thanked him. This was a decent guy.

I lingered and we exchanged a few entertaining comments about spare change. I said thanks again as he was paying for his groceries and walked out of the store where I would throw my bags in the car and mention how I dug the stickers when he came walking out behind me.
While I was trying to take my time putting my stuff away, he came out of the store… and walked toward a different lane of cars. My first thought was ‘he forgot where he parked’.

“Oh well”. I got in the car, started it up, and just as I put it in reverse I looked in the rear-view and sure enough, he was walking right toward me. I put the car in park rather than run him over… hardly how you should repay someone kind enough to keep one of your bills intact, and rolled down my rear window.

As he was walking past the window, I said, “Hey, I was admiring your stickers there.”

“Yeah, Did you see the one in the back?

“Academy of Warfare, Baghdad? Yeah, did you serve?”

“Yep, in Vietnam and Gulf one.”

“Let me just say; Thank you for your service.”

He nodded. I said, “I like the one about the meeting, too bad we don’t have a guy who’s interested in making it happen.”

“You know what…”

Of course I’m doubting this guy would be anything but reasonable, but I’m expecting anything from "Anytime now", to how dissapointed he is with Bush.

But he said this; “We haven’t had a decent government here since Eisenhower.”

I nearly choked.

All at once I remembered the prophetic excerpt we’ve all come to know from Eisenhower’s farewell speech;



I could not have agreed more.

-Not to mention the parts about ‘preserving the future for our grandchildren’, and ‘how we can get along with the rest of the world’.

He went on to say, “I’m disgusted that we’ve lost so many young soldiers over oil.” He talked about how mismanaged and stupid the current war is, and then he told me “Go ahead and look it up, you’ll see how many alternative energy start-ups are bought out by The Bushes and the industry."

I told him I would, I mentioned how we so needed to change course. We spoke for only a minute through my rear passenger window when he said “I gotta go, good luck.”
I said ‘thanks again’, and put the car back in reverse.

I came home to the wife glaring at me because I was late, as usual, and she was going out and the kids don’t watch themselves very well.
It’s nice to get confirmation, and maybe it’s just because I’m in a Bluer than blue state, that there are so many people, whether soldiers, the overtly religious, Republicans or anyone else that one might assume a Bush-bot, that can’t stand this current government. It’s nice to see.
This fellow was a ‘Nam Vet, so it really didn’t surprise me to hear how he felt about this administration.
I’m just glad that there are so many, perhaps even enough, to put our America back together again if she should break.
As much as I would have liked to inform a Bush-bot of uncomfortable things, it was a fine thing to have affirmation from a Vet and to learn I can’t judge a shooter by his gun… or in this case, by his bumper stickers.

Thanks for the detail...I like the way that you lay out the arguments.

I'm glad to be a very small part of the larger 'death by a million cuts' method of quashing the culture of ignorance.

so blindly...so willing to give up all of their rights for the perception of safety....

..... you lost it all on me with this:

"I had nine items, so I hesitated to get into the "about 7 or less" line... but I did anyway. "

I really dislike scoflaws. You lost any moral authority you had.

But it DID say "about" 7 items or less... 9 is right 'about' 7... right?

Ok... one time I went in line with 10! Shhh!